Benson And Hedges Cup
The season faced off with its traditional curtain raiser - the B+H Cup. Bracknell were placed in the same group as the Medway Bears, the Guildford Flames (gits) and the Basingstoke Bison (*£^$&*~#¬!!!!!). The results went as would have been expected. Medway put up a brave fight, in particular their young goalie Steven Smith, but were downed convincingly 16-0 at the 'Hive and 13-1 back in Gillingham. The two games against the Flames were, as usual, much closer, with both eams well aware of the importance of this local derby. Bracknell were victorious in both games, winnning 4-1 in the 'Hiveand 2-1 away. Unfortunately, they were not so lucky against the detestable Bison, losing on both occassions. Bracknell still had enough points to go through to the quarter-finals, where they were dranw against....the Bison! In the fist game, away, Bracknell went down 5-3, but knew they could turn it around at home. Indeed they looked to have done this, cruising to a 4 goal lead, before Blake Knox stepped in and won the game, and the round, for Basingstoke. In other games, Cardiff took a surprising early exit in the quarter-finals. The Bison were knocked out in the semis by Ayr, whilst Nottingham beat their much-hated near-neighbours Sheffield. Nottingham then went on to win the cup in front of Sheffields fans, beating Ayr 5-2.
Out With The Old, In With The New
The new ISL came into existence in September, with Bracknell opening at home to Cardiff, and only narrowly losing 5-4. They won their first point the following evening, away at Manchester. Two other new leagues, the Premier League and the Northern Premier League, came into existence as well, replacing the old Division 1. Also receiving a face-lift were the play-off Championships. It was announced that, in a complete break with tradition, the Wembley weekend would be scrapped. Instead, the Championships would be held at the Nynex Arena, Manchester, over two weekends. Obviously, there were many who questioned this decision. Many thought that attendances would be severly affected, both by the move to Manchester and the use of seperate weekends. However, strangely, nobody questioned the wisdom of trying to host an enjoyable event surrounded by Mancs, surely the biggest barrier to success.
Notable Results
Bracknell's first win of the season came on the 13th October, when the Ayr Scottish Eagles were stung 6-3 in the 'Hive. this acheivement was even more notable for the fact that the Eagles had the best away record in the league. However, the result was eclipsed the following weekend when Bracknell travelled to the House of Steel and beat the Steelers 5-1. The Panthers, Devils, Cobras and Storm were to follow, leaving only the Bison.
Killer Bees On The Hunt For Bison
Despite having beaten every other team in the league at least once, Bracknell could not seem to beat the Bison, the only that counted. Having already lost to Basingstoke four times in the B+H Cup it was hoped that we would avenge ourselves soon. Alas this was not imediately to be the case, and Bracknell lost the first three games. Bracknell did finally beat the Bison in mid-December. The University of Manitoba Bison, that is. Still, it was nice to finaly blag a Moo-moo and served as a valuable morale booster. So it was no surprise that soon after Bracknell won in the 'Hive, before travelling to the Playground and winning a highly amusing match 9-6. By now the Bison had realised just what a poor team they really are, and had started to acheive results more appropriate to their station. they were therefore travelling downwards very fast, much to the amusement of the Bracknell faithful, as was Bracknell winning the final league match 6-2.
GB's Olympic Quest
GB began their season well placed in their Olypic Qualifying Group to win it, and go through to the next round. They began well, defeating Slovenia in sheffield, and then beat Holland comfortable 8-2 in the Netherlands. This left the final, crunch match against the Swiss. Should GB win, they would automatically win the group and progress. But the Swiss still had another game to play, against whipping boys Denmark, and so could easily progress themselves should they take at least a point. Unfortunately, GB were unlucky and were held to a 3-3 draw, leaving the Swiss to anihilate the Danes and carry on. Still, it was good whilst it lasted.
Bees Soar
Bracknell's form took off after Christmas, partly thanks to the arrival of new players such as Shawn Snesar and, earlier, Jeff Johnstone. The Bees began to climb up the league and were eventually able to hover at sixth spot. They acheived more than anyone expected, winning 15 of their 42 matches, and beating everybody. Elsewhere, Cardiff and Sheffield were angrily vieing with each other to take the league title. Matters were not helped after a high stick by Shannon Hope fractured Jamie Leach's cheekbone, particularly when the league declared it was accidental and passed no punishment, leading to Leach taking Hope to court. However it was Cardiff who had the last laugh on the ice, when they secured the title against old boss and Furnace hero John Lawless' Manchester Storm, Sheffield finishing a close second.
Disaterous Play-offs
Bracknell went into the easier play-off group, facing the Panthers, the Steelers and, yet again, the Bison! Obviously, expectations were high, with the group representing a good chance of at least two good nights out and four easy points (I'll let you work out the order). Instead, Bracknell failed miserably, failing to win a single match. They took only two points, won from an overtime loss at Basingstoke, and one when they held the Bison to a draw in the return game. Revenge was partialy gained by the fans, though, when Merv the Perv's celebration of his overtime winner at the Playground were ruined by Bees fans hurling wooden spoons at him. You gotta larf! Sheffield finally got the better of Cardiff, in the first semi-final, winning 5-3, whilst Nottingham pulled back a three goal deficit against Ayr in the final five minutes, helped partially by the now traditional illegal stick call by Mike Blaisdell. The game went to sudden death, and was finally settled in the 116th minute, after six periods of OT. Sudden? Ha! In the final the following week, Sheffield comfortably beat the Panthers 3-1, with one of the goals being scored by Jason Lafreniere (presumabaly spurred on by Janet's Lazyboy shirt! Swindon had already won the final of the two Premier Leagues, against the Fife Flyers, and Sunderland had beaten Fife in the U-16 Final.
That's it, then. Probably the best year for Bracknell ever!