Manchester Storm (2015–)

This article is about the Manchester ice hockey team founded in 2015. For the earlier team, see Manchester Storm (1995–2002).
Manchester Storm
City Altrincham, England
League Elite Ice Hockey League
Founded 2015
Home arena Silver Blades Ice Rink
Colours

White, Purple, Black, & Yellow

                        
Owner(s) England Mark Johnson
General manager Northern Ireland Neil Russell
Head coach Canada Omar Pacha
Captain Canada Trevor Johnson
Website www.manchesterstorm.com

The Manchester Storm are a British, professional ice hockey team founded in 2015. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League and are based at the Silver Blades Ice Rink in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.

History

The original Manchester Storm team were founded in 1995 and were owned by the operators of the newly-opened Manchester Arena. The Storm won the First Division championship in their inaugural season, before becoming a founding member of the Ice Hockey Superleague in 1996. The Storm won the league championship in the 1998–99 season, before capturing the Autumn Cup the following season. The Storm drew many large crowds, breaking the British attendance record for a match against the Sheffield Steelers during the 1996–97 season.[1] The original Storm were forced to close in 2002 after financial problems.

The Manchester Phoenix were formed in 2003. They were founder members of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), but moved to the English Premier League in 2009 due to financial reasons. Initially playing out of the Manchester Arena, the Phoenix would eventually relocate to the Altrincham Ice Dome.

At the end of the 2014–15 season, a legal dispute arose between the management of the Altrincham Ice Dome and the Phoenix team over alleged financial impropriety regarding junior teams at the venue.[2] Around the same time, the Hull Stingrays of the Elite Ice Hockey League withdrew from the EIHL. The management of the Altrincham Ice Dome and the EIHL subsequently reached an agreement to place a team in Altrincham to fill the gap created by Hull’s liquidation. This team was to be the newly-reformed Manchester Storm.[3]

First Season (2015–16)

The side lining up facing the Nottingham Panthers for the national anthem during the Storm's first competitive match in 13 years.

On 26 June 2015, the Storm announced their first two pre-season games against the Nottingham Panthers[4] and old rivals the Sheffield Steelers. Owner Mark Johnson posted via Twitter saying fans wearing original jerseys to the matches from the previous Manchester Storm team would be rewarded with something to take home. On the same day it was made public that the newly-reformed Storm had signed their first two players: Team GB defenceman Dave Phillips and Matty Davies, who would both play in the coming season.[5]

The Storm competed in their first match in over 13 years on 29 August 2015 in a friendly against the Nottingham Panthers. The Manchester side led by GM Neil Russell, previously with the Belfast Giants, came away victors with a 5-4 win after a penalty shootout with the first goal scored by the newly-formed side coming from forward Vinny Scarsella.[6] Despite the side taking a win, behind the scenes the Storm had yet to recruit a full team and were plagued with other issues such as waiting on signed imports to arrive in the UK as well as visas to be approved.

The following evening the Storm played away in another friendly against the 2014–15 EPIHL champions the Peterborough Phantoms. The Storm won again with a 7–3 victory with four goals coming from Manchester Storm forward Vinny Scarsella.[7]

The first competitive league match took place on Saturday 5 September 2015. The Storm hosted Scottish side the Edinburgh Capitals. The game ended with the Storm winning 8–1 including a hat-trick by Luke Salazar.[8]

On Sunday 7 February 2016, the Storm set a league record in an away league match against the Edinburgh Capitals. The game ended in a 13–9 win for the Manchester side making it the highest scoring league game on record.[9]

During the course of the season several players such as Gal Koren,[10] Jamie Chilcott[11] and Matt Caria[12] departed from Manchester due to varying reasons. This, however, led to the signings of players such as Devin DiDiomete,[10] locally-born Paul Swindlehurst and Derek Roehl[12] who would all help bring a different dynamic to the team as opposed to player-coach Omar Pacha's idea of a squad built on speed. The Storm narrowly missed out on making the 2015-2016 playoffs finishing 9th in the league above last-placed Edinburgh Capitals.

Second Season (2016–17)

The Manchester-side announced two signings following the end of the regular season: player-coach Omar Pacha re-signed for the following 2016–17 season and Team GB new-comer Jack Prince would also help add to the side coming straight from a four-year-stint of NCAA ice hockey for the University of Alabama–Huntsville.[13]

Returning players include defensemen Paul Phillips[14] and Paul Swindlehurst[15] along with forward Patrik Valcak.[16]

Current roster

Netminders [17]
Number Player Place/Date of Birth Catches Acquired Joined from
40 Mike Clemente[18] United States Great Falls, Virginia, USA
9 January 1990		 L 2016 Rungsted Seier Capital (Metal Ligaen)
30 Phillip Spanswick[19] England Warrington, England
15 October 1992		 L 2016 Manchester Phoenix (EPIHL)
1 Stephen Wilcock[20] England Preston, England
27 September 1985		 L 2015 Blackburn Eagles (NIHL 2)
Defence [17]
Number Player Place/Date of Birth Shoots Acquired Joined from
2 Omar Pacha[21] Canada Boucherville, Quebec, Canada
18 November 1986		 L 2015 Hull Stingrays (EIHL)
42 Paul Phillips[22] A United States Darien, Illinois, USA
16 July 1991		 L 2015 Lillehammer IK (GET-ligaen)
7 Connor Varley[23] United States Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA
3 June 1992		 R 2016 Penn State University (NCAA)
10 Dallas Ehrhardt[24] Canada Calgary, Alberta, Canada
31 July 1992		 R 2016 Ducs de Dijon (Ligue Magnus)
23 Paul Swindlehurst[25] England Blackrod, England
25 May 1993		 L 2016 Nottingham Panthers (EIHL)
44 Trevor Johnson[26] C Canada Italy Trail, British Columbia, Canada
25 January 1982		 L 2016 HC Pustertal Wölfe (Alps Hockey League)
Forwards[17]
Number Player Place/Date of Birth Shoots Position Acquired Joined from
4 Adam Harding[27] Wales Cardiff, Wales
3 January 1993		 R F 2016 Swindon Wildcats (EPIHL)
11 Jack Prince[28] England Leicester, England
28 October 1988		 L F 2016 University of Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA)
15 Mario Valery-Trabucco[29] A VenezuelaCanada Caracas, Venezuela
19 February 1987		 R C/RW 2016 Kallinge-Ronneby IF (Hockeyettan)
18 Taylor Dickin[30] Canada Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
23 January 1989		 L LW 2016 Edinburgh Capitals (EIHL)
26 Darian Dziurzynski[31] Canada Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada
30 March 1991		 L LW 2016 Indy Fuel (ECHL)
27 Cody Cartier[32] Canada Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada
3 June 1990		 R F 2016 Mount Royal University (CIS)
29 Eric Neilson[33] Canada Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
18 August 1984		 R RW 2016 Missouri Mavericks (ECHL)
71 Mark Heatley[34] Canada Germany Freiburg, Germany
4 May 1984		 L F 2016 SC Riessersee (DEL2)
73 Matt Bissonette[35] Canada Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada
16 January 1992		 L C 2016 Chamonix HC (Ligue Magnus)
81 Patrik Valcak[36] Czech Republic Ostrava, Czech Republic
16 December 1984		 L C 2015 Allen Americans (ECHL)
TBC Nardo Nagtzaam[37] Netherlands Nijmegen, Netherlands
9 May 1990		 L LW/C 2016 Free agent
70 Jake Nurse[38] England Manchester, England
24 September 1990		 L F 2016 Altrincham Aces (NIHL 2)

Notable Former Players

Former players [17]
Number Player Place/Date of Birth Position Acquired Released
15 Jamie Chilcott[39] England Hull, England
6 June 1993		 R 2015 2015
23 Vinny Scarsella[40] United States Lackawanna, New York, USA
23 September 1989		 R 2015 2016
13 David Phillips[41] England Beverley, England
14 August 1987		 R 2015 2016
24 Devin DiDiomete[42] Canada Italy Stratford, Ontario, Canada
9 May 1988		 L 2015 2016

References

  1. ↑ Ducker, James (27 October 2002). "End of an era?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  2. ↑ MacFarlane, Nigel (11 April 2013). "Phoenix confirm 15/16 EPL spot amid home ice row". The Bolton News. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
  3. ↑ "STORM JOIN THE EIHL". Elite Ice Hockey League. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Nottingham Panthers announce pre-season friendly against Manchester Storm". Nottingham Post. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  5. ↑ "Storm begin roster with Phillips and Davies". The Bolton News. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  6. ↑ "Manchester Storm 5 Nottingham Panthers 4 (penalty shots): Match report: Storm return with win". Nottingham Post. 2015-08-29. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  7. ↑ "Phantoms 3 - 7 Manchester Storm". Peterborough Phantoms. 2015-08-30. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  8. ↑ "Manchester Storm 8 Edinburgh Capitals 1: Ice Hockey's Elite League". Manchester Evening News. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "SUNDAY NIGHT REVIEW". EIHL. 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  10. 1 2 "Devin Didiomete signs for Storm – Manchester Storm". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  11. ↑ "Chilcott leaves the Storm – Manchester Storm". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  12. 1 2 "Derek Roehl Signs For The Manchester Storm! – Manchester Storm". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  13. ↑ "Jack Prince Joins The Storm!". Manchester Storm. 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  14. ↑ "Paul Phillips Returns To The Storm! – Manchester Storm". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  15. ↑ "SWINDLEHURST SIGNS FOR STORM! – Manchester Storm". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  16. ↑ "VALCAK RETURNS TO THE STORM! – Manchester Storm". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Eliteprospects.com - Manchester Storm". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Mike Clemente". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  19. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Phil Spanswick". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Stephen Wilcock". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  21. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Omar Pacha". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Paul Phillips". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  23. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Connor Varley". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  24. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Dallas Ehrhardt". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  25. ↑ "Swindlehurst Signs For The Storm". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  26. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Trevor Johnson". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  27. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Adam Harding". manchesterstorm.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  28. ↑ "Jack Prince - Manchester Storm". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  29. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Mario Trabucco". manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  30. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Taylor Dickin". Manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  31. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Dziurzynski completes Storm's roster!". Manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  32. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Cody Cartier". Manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  33. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Eric Neilson". Manchesterstorm.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  34. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Mark Heatley". Manchester Storm. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  35. ↑ "Manchester Storm - Matt Bissonette". Manchester Storm. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  36. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Patrik Valcak". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  37. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Nardo Nagtzaam". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  38. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Jake Nurse". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  39. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Jamie Chilcott". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  40. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Vinny Scarsella". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  41. ↑ "David Phillips - EIHL Profile". eliteleague.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  42. ↑ "DIDIOMETE JOINS STORM". eliteleague.co.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2015.

External links

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