As a new season approaches a new look team will be hoping to take the English National League Division 2 by storm. Returning to Deeside Ice Rink are the ‘Deeside Dragons’!

Read more here …

FLINTSHIRE FREEZE V’s Ancaster Canucks

The touring Canucks face a Flintshire Freeze team never seen before! Players current, old and even new will face the traveling Canadians. ALL MONEY RAISED WILL GO TO THE FLINTSHIRE JUNIOR ICE HOCKEY CLUB!
Come along and raise some money!!!

Doors open at 4pm, Face Off 4.15pm
Adults £3
Juniors £1

Fylde flyers 13 – flintshire freeze 8

Frantic finish fails Freeze as Hull Stingrays take points in season’s home finale.

With both teams going into Sunday night’s clash at Deeside Ice Arena looking to prove a point after a win each and a draw, the game turned out to be as tense and action packed as it had promised on paper. Who would consolidate that 3^rd place in the division behind runaway leaders Solway Sharks and the second placed Sutton Sting? A packed stadium, including a good clutch of visiting Hull fans, saw the Stingrays take the spoils in a close competition.

Starting as they meant to carry on, both teams looked determined and evenly matched but it was Hull who once again made it onto the score sheet first with an even handed goal inside 3 mins. After their last encounter ended with Freeze net minder Matty Compton retaliating to an antagonistic game with a penalty called after time, the Freeze defence rallied and doggedly protected their minder from the start. Their efforts were rewarded with another fine performance from the Freeze minder pulling some superb saves throughout.  First into the sin bin was Gary Dixon who took a 2 min penalty for interference for a late check on a Hull forward who had encroached the Freeze crease. Back to full strength the Freeze forwards commenced a period of intense pressure attacking the Hull net and even hit the metal work twice. Eventually the puck was turned in to the back of the net to the home crowd’s roar: Freeze’s equaliser coming from Aled Roberts ably assisted by Gav Austin. Si Furnival was the next to concede a penalty defending in front of the Freeze posts getting 2 for hooking. James Parsons picked up the puck from the restart and darted down the ice but lost it in front of goal. No sooner were the Freeze back up to 5, when Gary Dixon left the ice for 2 mins for interference with the Hull net minder and the visiting team quickly took advantage to score a power play goal and it was 1-2 with a minute of the period left. As was becoming the norm for encounters between these teams, the period ended scrappily with Hull’s Towner in the bin for 2 mins for interference on Compton in the Freeze crease after he was pinned to the ice by Callum Ruddick until the ref’s attention was diverted from a Freeze forwards attack. Compton once again repayed his team’s support with a brilliant clearance from a breakaway attempt by the Hull forwards right on the buzzer.

Period score 1- 2.SOG made Freeze – 12 Stingrays – 14

Out on the freshly cleared ice and a man up, Freeze kept the play mostly around the Hull net at the start of the second. Even when the visitors got back to full strength, play continued to be mostly focussed around the Hull net with the occasional valuable save from Crompton when Hull did manage to get into the Freeze half. Then a lucky break saw Hull in possession of the puck and heading goal wards in a 3 on 1 defender attack and they grabbed their 3^rd. Callum Ruddick was then dismissed for 2 for cross checking but even a man down the Freeze managed to throw in some shots. A trademark Furnival slapshot was held by the goalie and Mattie Wainwright took the puck from defence to force another save after passing to Furnival.  Marc Lovell saw a shot dropped and cleared by the Hull minder but it was Compton in the Freeze goal who had to face all the challenges. He cleared one shot with his stick from a marauding Stingrays attack when they were 3 on 1 defenders, then they shot wide whilst 2 on 1. Suddenly this was becoming a scary pattern for the Freeze fans to see, brought home by a Hull forward hurtling goal-ward with only Compton to beat. Luckily, Compton cleared again and play went back to the other end…but sadly to no avail. A frustrated Furnival let his fists to do the talking and ends up with a 5 plus match for a trip from behind and a whalloping of one of the Hull’s defenders who turned turtle. Kenny ‘Whiskers’ Williams sat out his penalty and was side lined as some animosity at the end needed the refs to segregate the teams as they left the ice.

Period score 1 – 3.SOG made Freeze – 17 Stingrays – 13.

The start of the 3^rd and Freeze came out working hard to kill that 5 min penalty, and it paid off. Fresh back on the ice, Williams looped round the back of the Hull net to flick a precision pass to an unmarked Ben Simister in front of goal to duly slot in goal no 2 for the Freeze and it was 2- 3. Compton kept cool with a couple of crucial saves at the other end until Freeze find themselves a man up for an illegal equipment call against Hull. A minute later the advantage is lost when Mike Jones assisted a Hull forward head first into the boards behind the Freeze net and is off for 2 mins for boarding. Play was even and tense as Freeze dug deep to get equal on the score board – the side nets were hit twice and the home fans could barely watch as shots peppered the Hull goal. When Hull went a man down for tripping, Freeze threw everything they could at the Hull net but had no joy – the luck was with the Stingrays on the night. Just inside the last 5 mins and Dixon clashed with a Hull defender behind the net and is left dazed on the ice, and the Hull player was off for 2 mins for another tripping. Freeze quickly called a time out to talk tactics with 4:22 on the clock – they obviously needed to be in a good position to pull the goalie for an extra out player with the hope of grabbing a goal for the draw…but when to do it??? Play restarted and Freeze shots went in thick and fast but nothing got through. Then, with only 1.24 left on the clock, Hull called their time out to discuss their options. At the restart, the Freeze home fans hold their breath as the Freeze net minder stayed out and waited for his team to earn the face off down the ice in front of the Hull goal. They duly delivered with only 41.1 secs left on the clock. Freeze send six out players and no goalie onto the ice clearly stating their aim to go for at least a draw. Play is frantic, frenetic and feverish around the hull net as Freeze focussed on scoring. After even more action around the Hull net, a Stingray defender knocked the net out with 17.4 secs left and the play was restarted but…the Stingrays intercepted and shot the puck down the ice to the minder-less Freeze net.  The puck ended up at the side boards and the Stingrays got there first to easily slide a shot into the undefended Freeze net to kill the game with 6 seconds left and make it 2 – 4 .  The Freeze players gave it their all and the fans benefited from a great game – only acouple more away games and the Charity match to look forward to in June to bring the season to a close.

Period score 2 – 4. SOG made Freeze – 15 Stingrays – 12

Total penalties incurred: Freeze – 37 mins, Stingrays – 8

MVP: Freeze – 17 Aled Roberts

Stingrays – 14 Tom Ralph

Total shots on goal: faced by Freeze: 39, by Stingrays: 44

FREE ENTRY!!!!!!
The Flintshire FREEZE face the Stingrays in the last home game of the season. In a series that sees a win for both sides plus a draw, it leaves this game as a must win for both sides.

Support the club, tell all your friends and family, come down and support the FREEZE!

*OFFER* FREE entry for all!

The Freeze face big spending Sutton this Sunday on the back of what will hopefully be a Freeze win the day before, away to Sheffield. After 3 defeats already against The Sting this season the Flintshire side will be going all out for a win.

Face Off 6.30pm

*OFFER* Juniors £1 when accompanied by a full paying adult (one junior per paying adult)

Adults £5.00
Juniors £2.50
Family £13.00 (2+2)

Come along and support the FREEZE!

Bradford Bulldogs 1Flintshire Freeze 6

THE bench took centre stage on the road for the Freeze as they kept the pressure on rivals Sutton Sting for second place in EIHA North Two.

None of Karl Creamer’s starting six got on the scoresheet but the head coach was pleased, not disappointed, with a result he claimed was ‘a great team performance’.

Simon Furnival opened the scoring after eight minutes before the first of the second-string hotshots, Michael Jones, found the net on 16 minutes.

The Bulldogs hit back two minutes later but Matty Wainwright popped up with a goal four minutes into the second period.

There was a lull as both teams shut up shop for a while but in the final period the Freeze sparked into life once more.

Furnival added his second in the 42nd minute and within 42 seconds Wainwright completed his brace.

The final word went to Kenny Williams who scored with seven minutes remaining.

Other than the scoreline it was an even game, with the Bulldogs’ netminder fielding 42 shots to Freeze stopper Phil Crosby’s 41.

For head coach Creamer the result owed a lot to the Freeze’s teamwork.

“We played for 60 minutes out there,” he said. “I’ve been coming to Bradford for 40 years and it was a horrible place to come then.

“It has got no easier but we put all that to one side.

“The players took on board what we have been saying to them about playing the whole game and it paid off.

“Our first line is our best offensively but with Marc Lovell, Andy Chappell and James Parsons it can also be our best defensive line, as proved by them not conceding any goals while they were out there.

“When it mattered the second line stepped up and they got the goals we needed and that tells me a lot about where this team is headed.”

This Sunday the Freeze are on the road again as they go to Hull Stingrays, a side who have proved awkward customers this season.

“Being on the road is a strange one because sometimes you are playing without the pressure of your home fans’ expectation,” said Creamer.

“But they will be being told not to let us come to their barn and get a result and they will make it hard.

“But we did it earlier in the season and if we play like we did at Bradford, we can do it again.”

Flintshire Freeze sizzle then fizzle out in 10 – 1 win.

Sunday night and once again the Freeze welcomed local rivals Lancashire Raptors to Deeside Ice Rink for another game sponsored by Specsavers.  They may only have brought a squad of 10 players and there were only 2 refs available but the crowd was boosted by new supporters from Freeze team sponsors Urenco and Specsavers and it was the biggest so far this season.

On 18 seconds Andy Chappell found himself in the sin bin for 2 mins for elbows, but this did not stop the Freeze piling on the pressure. They were soon scorching onto the scoreboard when Steve Fellows converted a pass from Gary Dixon at bang on 2 mins for a shorthanded first goal. Just over 4 mins later, a Mike Jones pass found Si Furnival in front of goal waiting to slot the puck straight through the middle of the Raptor’s crease to make it 2-0. Play briefly went to the Freeze net but Phil Crosby was in for a quiet night as the action was clearly at the other end. Fellows soon found Furnival once more goal hanging to lift in the Freeze’s 3^rd. Within 40 seconds of the restart James Parsons made his first appearance on the score sheet for the night when he nattily turned in a Marc Lovell shot to make it 4-0. Still not half way through the first period and Furnival got his hat trick when Chris Varney found him in a familiar spot again in front of the Raptor’s net. The Freeze really sizzled in this purple patch of the 1^st period – 4 goals in just over 3 mins – and shots went in thick and fast. Callum Ruddick hit the post and Lovell shot wide but then it seemed the Freeze forwards eased off the gas. Dixon got into a kerfuffle with the Raptor’s Paul Mercer on the boards and both were off for 2 mins for charging and roughing. With teams back to full strength, a Freeze shot slipped behind Phil Pearson between the posts for Raptors and bobbled tantalizingly close to the goal line but seconds later Aled Roberts made it actually count when he squeezed a slinky 6^th past the post just inside the last 2 mins of the period. Period score 6-0.SOG made Freeze – 34 Raptors – 3

The second period started and it was just like ‘For whom the bells toll’…  but don’t panic – it was just a false fire alarm. And another. And another. It could have been the bell for ‘seconds out…round 2!’ as the crowd, now swelled by bikers and boarders from the newly opened Extreme sports zone, saw Dixon in the bin for 2 mins for interference and swiftly joined by Furnival for an uncharacteristic case of unsportsmanlike conduct which saw him off ice for 10 mins. The fire alarm was still intermittently interfering with the game but in just under 6 mins Chappell ignored the distraction and got focus back on the ice with a jinky run to slide goal no 7 under the splayed legs of the Raptor’s minder. Parsons got sent off for 2 mins for charging but apart from a couple of saves from Crosby, all attention was again at the other net even when the Freeze were a man down. But when the Raptors go a man down for high sticks, Freeze take full advantage when a Gavin Austin pass gives Parsons the powerplay goal.

Period score 8-0.SOG made Freeze – 15 Raptors – 2.

Inside 4 minutes of the 3^rd period and Parsons got his hat trick and it was 9 -0. A minute later and Dixon decided to entertain the crowd by using his fists to dispute the Raptor’s only goal of the night which nevertheless broke Crosby’s hopes of a shut out for the game. The Freeze minder hotly disputed it, but 9-1 it was, and the ensuing disagreement meant Dixon found himself once more in the bin for 2 mins for charging and 4 for fighting alongside Raptor’s Mercer who got 4 mins for fighting. Once more, twice in two games now, the penalty calls after the goal saw the restart from in front of the Freeze goal and not the centre circle. Amongst all the confusion, Freeze Captain Lovell coolly slotted home goal number 10. Raptors went a man down for a tripping offence with less than 8 mins on the clock but Freeze could not capitulate. The game, which had started with such a bang, and had all the whistles and bells (curse those fire alarms!) seemed to fizzle out to a lacklustre end

Final score: 10-1. SOG made Freeze – 17 Raptors – 7

Total . SOG made Freeze – 66 Raptors – 12

Total penalties incurred: Freeze – 24 mins, Raptors – 10

MVP: Freeze – 10 Andy Chappell

Raptors – 10 Mike Vigelskas