Season 2017/18 - January 27th - 28th

(action from Sunday Night's NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) matchup between Oxford City Stars and Chelmsford Chieftains, thanks to Paul Foster for the photo)

Saturday 27th January
NIHL South One (Britton)
London Raiders 1-4 Basingstoke Bison
Swindon Wildcats 10-4 Milton Keynes Thunder
Peterborough Phantoms 6-2 Cardiff Fire

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) 
Solent Devils 9-2 Cardiff Fire 2
Guildford Phoenix 9-2 Slough Jets
Basingstoke Buffalo 4-6 Swindon Wildcats 2

Sunday 28th January
NIHL South One (Britton)
Invicta Dynamos 2-5 London Raiders
Bracknell Bees 3-5 Streatham
Cardiff Fire 2-9 Peterborough Phantoms
Milton Keynes Thunder 1-4 Swindon Wildcats

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson)
Peterborough Phantoms 10-2 Haringey Huskies
Oxford City Stars 11-4 Chelmsford Chieftains
Solent Devils 6-3 Bristol Pitbulls

NIHL South One (Britton) Standings
1. Peterborough Phantoms Played 23 Won 19 Pts 40
2. Basingstoke Bison Played 21 Won 18 Pts 36
3. Swindon Wildcats Played 21 Won 15 Pts 33
4. London Raiders Played 21 Won 13 Pts 26
5. Bracknell Bees Played 21 Won 11 Pts 23
6. Streatham Played 22 Won 10 Pts 21
7. Milton Keynes Thunder Played 25 Won 7 Pts 20
8. Invicta Dynamos Played 21 Won 6 Pts 15
9. Cardiff Fire Played 23 Won 0 Pts 0

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) Standings
1. Oxford City Stars Played 19 Won 17 Pts 34
2. Solent Devils Played 17 Won 15 Pts 31
3. Bracknell Hornets Played 15 Won 14 Pts 28
4. Peterborough Phantoms 2 Played 18 Won 12 Pts 24
5. Guildford Phoenix Played 17 Won 11 Pts 23
6. Chelmsford Chieftains Played 14 Won 9 Pts 18
7. Slough Jets Played 20 Won 8 Pts 16
8. Haringey Huskies Played 18 Won 8 Pts 16
9. Cardiff Fire 2 Played 14 Won 6 Pts 12
10. Invicta Mustangs Played 19 Won 5 Pts 11
11. Bristol Pitbulls Played 15 Won 5 Pts 11
12. Basingstoke Buffalo Played 16 Won 4 Pts 10
13. Swindon Wildcats 2 Played 16 Won 3 Pts 7
14. Lee Valley Lions Played 16 Won 0 Pts 3

In South One (Britton) this weekend Peterborough Phantoms built up a four point lead over second placed Basingstoke Bison by defeating bottom side Cardiff Fire twice, netting 15 goals in the two games.  Bison themselves scored a 4-1 success at London Raiders to bounce back from last weekend's loss at Swindon Wildcats.  The Raiders also bounced back by winning at Invicta Dynamos, meaning they hold onto that fourth place, three points ahead of Bracknell Bees.  Third placed Wildcats recorded two wins this weekend as well, netting ten at home to Milton Keynes Thunder before going to MK and defeating them for a second time in 24 hours, meaning they remain third.  Fifth placed Bees continue to struggle after they lost at home to Streatham, who themselves are now up to sixth and just two points behind the Bracknell side, whilst finally Cardiff Fire are still pointless after that double thrashing at the hands of The Phantoms, meaning it's 23 losses out of 23 so far.

Into South Two (Wilkinson) and Oxford City Stars annihilated Chelmsford Chieftains on Sunday to really lay down a marker in the division if they already hadn't of.  That's Chieftains fifth defeat, and second against The Stars, meaning they remain in sixth spot, and six points behind the top four now.  Starts themselves have a three point lead over Solent Devils at the summit, with the Devils recording two impressive home wins over the weekend against Cardiff Fire 2 and Bristol Pitbulls, whilst fourth placed Peterborough Phantoms 2 netted ten in their home success against Haringey Huskies.  Fifth placed Guildford Phoenix netted a big home win over Slough Jets, whilst down at the bottom Swindon Wildcats 2 netted only their third win in 16 after they won at Basingstoke Buffalo, meaning they are now just two points behind them in the table, and now four ahead of bottom side Lee Valley Lions.

Here are the fixtures for this weekend
Saturday 3rd February
NIHL One South (Britton)
London Raiders vs Cardiff Fire
Bracknell Bees vs Invicta Dynamos
Swindon Wildcats vs Streatham
Basingstoke Bison vs Peterborough Phantoms

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson)
Solent Devils vs Guildford Phoenix
Bristol Pitbulls vs Lee Valley Lions
Invicta Mustangs vs Bracknell Hornets

Sunday 4th February
NIHL South One (Britton)
Invicta Dynamos vs Basingstoke Bison
Cardiff Fire vs Bracknell Bees
Streatham vs London Raiders

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson)
Cardiff Fire 2 vs Haringey Huskies
Guildford Phoenix vs Peterborough Phantoms 2
Chelmsford Chieftains vs Basingstoke Buffalo

One final thing i'd like to say is London Raiders home game with Cardiff Fire on Saturday is their first game at their new home back in Romford at Sapphire Ice and Leisure.  The Raiders, formally known as the Romford Raiders, moved out of their old Rom Valley Way home a few years ago and relocated to Lee Valley and renamed themselves London Raiders.  But now they are back in Romford so good luck to them and let's hope for their sakes they get a win in their first outing at their new home.  They are playing Fire, who have lost all 23 games this season, so you would fancy them grabbing that win as well.

Season 2017/18 - January 20th - 21st

(Thunder and Phantoms getting ready for their NIHL South One (Britton) showdown at the weekend, thanks to Andrew Day for the photo)

Saturday 20th January
NIHL South One (Britton) results
London Raiders 6-3 Brackell Bees
Invicta Dynamos 5-1 Cardiff Fire
Basingstoke Bison 2-1 Swindon Wildcats (PSO)
Milton Keynes Thunder 1-6 Peterborough Phantoms

National Cup Quarter Finals South Group
Telford Tigers 4-4 Streatham

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) results
Solent Devils 5-0 Basingstoke Buffalo
Peterborough Phantoms 2 8-1 Invicta Mustangs
Slough Jets 6-4 Chelmsford Chieftains
Swindon Wildcats 2 2-9 Oxford City Stars
Cardiff Fire 2 3-5 Guildford Phoenix

Sunday 21st January
NIHL South One (Britton) results
Peterborough Phantoms 4-2 Invicta Dynamos
Bracknell Bees 3-2 Milton Keynes Thunder (PSO)
Swindon Wildcats 4-2 Basingstoke Bison
Streatham 1-2 London Raiders

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) results
Lee Valley Lions 2-3 Slough Jets (OT)
Bristol Pitbulls 3-1 Cardiff Fire 2
Chelmsford Chieftains 11-3 Swindon Wildcats 2

Tables
NIHL South One (Britton)
1. Peterborough Phantoms Played 21 Won 17 Pts 36
2. Basingstoke Bison Played 20 Won 17 Pts 34
3. Swindon Wildcats Played 19 Won 13 Pts 29
4. London Raiders Played 19 Won 12 Pts 24
5. Bracknell Bees Played 20 Won 11 Pts 23
6. Milton Keynes Thunder Played 23 Won 7 Pts 20
7. Streatham Played 21 Won 9 Pts 19
8. Invicta Dynamos Played 20 Won 6 Pts 15
9. Cardiff Fire Played 21 Won 0 Pts 0

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson)
1. Oxford City Stars Played 18 Won 16 Pts 32
2. Bracknell Hornets Played 15 Won 14 Pts 28
3. Solent Devils Played 15 Won 13 Pts 27
4. Peterborough Phantoms 2 Played 17 Won 11 Pts 22
5. Guildford Phoenix Played 16 Won 10 Pts 21
6. Chelmsford Chieftains Played 13 Won 9 Pts 18
7. Slough Jets Played 19 Won 8 Pts 16
8. Haringey Huskies Played 17 Won 8 Pts 16
9. Cardiff Fire 2 Played 13 Won 6 Pts 12
10. Invicta Mustangs Played 19 Won 5 Pts 11
11. Bristol Pitbulls Played 14 Won 5 Pts 11
12. Basingstoke Buffalo Played 15 Won 4 Pts 10
13. Swindon Wildcats 2 Played 15 Won 2 Pts 5
14. Lee Valley Lions Played 16 Won 0 Pts 3

Well in South One (Britton) we saw Phantoms go two points clear of second placed Bison after the Peterborough side scored two wins, against Dynamos and Thunder, whilst Bison defeated Wildcats in a Penalty Shoot Out before losing to the same side the next day, meaning the Swindon side are now five points off second with a game in hand.  The Raiders had a terrific weekend and broke into the top four after defeating the Bees and then local rivals Streatham, the Bees did bounce back to beat Thunder on penalties whilst Streatham had held Telford Tigers on the road in their National Cup Quarter Final South Group clash the night before, which is a very good result indeed, so the Raiders defeat would of hurt.  And Fire are now pointless from 21 games after they suffered another heavy defeat, this time round at the hands of Dynamos in Kent.   

Onto South Two (Wilkinson) and Stars continue to dominate the league after they trashed Swindon Wildcats 2 on the road to open up a four point lead, whilst third placed Devils netted a shutout win over Buffalo on Saturday evening to put five points between them and fourth placed Phantoms 2, who themselves thrashed Mustangs at the weekend.  Most surprising result of the weekend saw Jets beat Chieftains meaning the Slough side are up into the playoff places after they scraped past bottom side Lions after overtime on Sunday to make it a weekend double.  Chieftains did bounce back to hit double figtures at home to Wildcats 2 at Riverside, meaning they hold onto sixth spot, whilst fifth placed Phoenix won in Cardiff against Fire 2, meaning the Cardiff second string had a poor weekend after they also lost to Pitbulls in Bristol the following day.

Here are the weekend's fixtures
Saturday 27th January
NIHL South One (Britton)
London Raiders vs Basingstoke Bison
Swindon Wildcats vs Milton Keynes Thunder
Peterborough Phantoms vs Cardiff Fire

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson)
Solent Devils vs Cardiff Fire 2
Guildford Phoenix vs Slough Jets
Basingstoke Buffalo vs Swindon Wildcats 2

Sunday 28th January
NIHL South One (Britton)
Invicta Dynamos vs London Raiders
Bracknell Bees vs Streatham
Cardiff Fire vs Peterborough Phantoms
Milton Keynes Thunder vs Swindon Wildcats

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson)
Peterborough Phantoms 2 vs Haringey Huskies
Oxford City Stars vs Chelmsford Chieftains

Solent Devils vs Bristol Pitbulls

Season 2017/18 - January 6th - 14th

(action from Haringey Huskies vs Basingstoke Buffalo in NIHL South Two (Wilkinson), thanks to @77phlhtchnsn77 for the photo)

NIHL South One (Britton) Results
Saturday 6th January
Streatham 4-3 Milton Keynes Thunder (OT)
Swindon Wildcats 5-4 Bracknell Bees (OT)
Cardiff Fire 1-7 London Raiders 

Sunday 7th January
Invicta Dynamos 2-5 Streatham
London Raiders 2-5 Peterborough Phantoms
Bracknell Bees 2-3 Basingstoke Bison
Milton Keynes Thunder 0-5 Swindon Wildcats

Saturday 13th January
Cardiff Fire 0-3 Milton Keynes Thunder

National Cup Quarter Finals South Group
Swindon Wildcats 8-0 London Raiders

Sunday 14th January
National Cup Quarter Finals South Group
London Raiders 2-6 Swindon Wildcats
Streatham 2-5 Telford Tigers

Latest NIHL South One (Britton) standings
1. Peterborough Phantoms Played 19 Won 15 Pts 32
2. Basingstoke Bison Played Played 18 Won 16 Pts 32
3. Swindon Wildcats Played 17 Won 12 Pts 26
4. Bracknell Bees Played 18 Won 10 Pts 21
5. London Raiders Played 17 Won 10 Pts 20
6. Streatham Played 20 Won 9 Pts 19
7. Milton Keynes Thunder Played 21 Won 7 Pts 19
8. Invicta Dynamos Played 18 Won 5 Pts 13
9. Cardiff Fire Played 20 Won 0 Pts 0

Phantoms and Bison remain the top two in the division, tied on 32 points each with Phantoms ahead on tiebreakers, whilst the top four is made up of the ex EPL sides with Wildcats and Bees in third and fourth respectively.  The leading ex National One sides are Raiders, Streatham and Thunder, who are only a win away from joining Bees on 21 points.  Dynamos are a bit further back whilst Fire have lost all twenty games played this season in the league.  In the National Cup Quarter Finals, Wildcats took control of the South Group with two wins over the Raiders, netting fourteen goals in the two games, whilst Tigers got the better of Streatham in the other tie to take place.  The Phantoms are in the North group but were not in action at the weekend.

Here are this weekend's fixtures in the NIHL South One (Britton) section
Saturday 20th January
London Raiders vs Bracknell Bees
Invicta Dynamos vs Cardiff Fire
Basingstoke Bison vs Swindon Wildcats
Milton Keynes Thunder vs Peterborough Phantoms

National Cup Quarter Finals South Group
Telford Tigers vs Streatham

Sunday 21st January
Peterborough Phantoms vs Invicta Dynamos
Bracknell Bees vs Milton Keynes Thunder
Swindon Wildcats vs Basingstoke Bison
Streatham vs London Raiders

Now onto the results for NIHL South Two (Wilkinson)
Saturday 6th January
Cardiff Fire 2 2-3 Peterborough Phantoms 2 
Solent Devils 14-3 Slough Jets 
Invicta Mustangs 6-2 Bristol Pitbulls
Haringey Huskies 6-5 Basingstoke Buffalo (OT)
Bracknell Hornets 7-3 Lee Valley Lions

Sunday 7th January
Oxford City Stars 4-5 Bracknell Hornets
Swindon Wildcats 2 5-3 Haringey Huskies

Saturday 13th January
Cardiff Fire 2 9-6 Invicta Mustangs
Solent Devils 6-4 Swindon Wildcats 2
Haringey Huskies 5-10 Bracknell Hornets
Slough Jets 5-3 Bristol Pitbulls

Sunday 14th January
Guildford Phoenix 12-1 Lee Valley Lions
Bracknell Hornets 5-3 Peterborough Phantoms 2
Oxford City Stars 14-0 Haringey Huskies
Chelmsford Chieftains 3-5 Solent Devils

Latest NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) standings
1. Oxford City Stars Played 17 Won 15 Pts 30
2. Bracknell Hornets Played 15 Won 14 Pts 28
3. Solent Devils Played 14 Won 12 Pts 25
4. Peterborough Phantoms 2 Played 16 Won 10 Pts 20
5. Guildford Phoenix Played 15 Won 9 Pts 19
6. Chelmsford Chieftains Played 11 Won 8 Pts 16
7. Haringey Huskies Played 17 Won 8 Pts 16
8. Cardiff Fire 2 Played 11 Won 6 Pts 12
9. Slough Jets Played 17 Won 6 Pts 12
10. Invicta Mustangs Played 18 Won 5 Pts 11
11. Basingstoke Buffalo Played 14 Won 4 Pts 10
12. Bristol Pitbulls Played 13 Won 4 Pts 9
13. Swindon Wildcats 2 Played 13 Won 2 Pts 5
14. Lee Valley Lions Played 15 Won 0 Pts 2

Stars remain top but have Hornets breathing down their necks after the latter won in Oxford before recording a double the weekend just gone.  Devils are in third after three wins over the last two weekends, with Phantoms 2 falling further behind the top three after one win and a defeat over the last two weekends.  Down the bottom and Wildcats 2 recorded only their second win of the campaign with victory over Huskies in Swindon, meaning they are now three points ahead of bottom side Lions, who lost twice over the last two weeks meaning they have lost all fifteen so far this season.

Here are this weekend's NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) fixtures
Saturday 20th January
Solent Devils vs Basingstoke Buffalo
Peterborough Phantoms vs Invicta Mustangs
Slough Jets vs Chelmsford Chieftains
Swindon Wildcats 2 vs Oxford City Stars
Cardiff Fire 2 vs Guildford Phoenix

Sunday 21st January
Lee Valley Lions vs Slough Jets
Bristol Pitbulls vs Cardiff Fire 2

Chelmsford Chieftains vs Swindon Wildcats 2

Season 2017/18 - Festive/New Year Period

(Swindon Wildcats Max Birbraer bears down on the Bracknell Bees' goal during their game at the Link Centre, Picture: CALYX PICTURES)

NIHL South One (Britton) Results

Saturday 23^rd December

Basingstoke Bison 6-4 Bracknell Bees

Peterborough Phantoms 6-2 Swindon Wildcats

Tuesday 26^th December

National Cup Group D

Swindon Wildcats 6-4 Basingstoke Bison

Wednesday 27^th December

National Cup Group D

Basingstoke Bison 3-4 Swindon Wildcats (OT)

Friday 29^th December

Swindon Wildcats 5-4 Peterborough Phantoms (OT)

Saturday 30^th December

Basingstoke Bison 1-2 Peterborough Phantoms

National Cup Group D

Bracknell Bees 7-2 Swindon Wildcats

Monday 1^st January

Peterborough Phantoms 3-4 Basingstoke Bison

National Cup Group D

Swindon Wildcats 5-3 Bracknell Bees

NIHL South One Latest Standings

1.       Basingstoke Bison Played 17 Won 15 Pts 30

2.       Peterborough Phantoms Played 18 Won 14 Pts 30

3.       Swindon Wildcats Played 15 Won 10 Pts 22

4.       Bracknell Bees Played 16 Won 10 Pts 20

5.       London Raiders Played 15 Won 9 Pts 18

6.       Milton Keynes Thunder Played 18 Won 6 Pts 16

7.       Streatham Played 18 Won 7 Pts 15

8.       Invicta Dynamos Played 17 Won 5 Pts 13

9.       Cardiff Fire Played 18 Won 0 Pts 0

There were five league games over the festive/new year period and they all involved the top four sides, Basingstoke Bison, Peterborough Phantoms, Swindon Wildcats and Bracknell Bees.  On the Saturday before Christmas Bison defeated Bees in a thriller whilst Phantoms thrashed Wildcats and then on the Friday evening before new year Swindon defeated Peterborough after overtime before The Phantoms fought back to beat leaders Basingstoke in Hampshire to regain top spot.  However on new years day Bison bounced back to defeat The Phantoms and take top spot back once again, and it means the top two, Bison and Phantoms, now have an eight point gap to third placed Wildcats.    The Wildcats were also involved in four National Cup Group D encounters, winning three and losing one, as they qualified as group winners for the Last Eight of the competition.  The two other South teams in that group, Bison and Bracknell Bees, failed to qualify for the knockout phase.

Here are next weekends NIHL South One (Britton) fixtures

Thursday 4^th January

National Cup Group B

Peterborough Phantoms vs Sheffield Steeldogs

Saturday 6^th January

Streatham vs Milton Keynes Thunder

Swindon Wildcats vs Bracknell Bees

Cardiff Fire vs London Raiders

National Cup Group D

Basingstoke Bison vs Telford Tigers

Sunday 7^th January

Invicta Dynamos vs Streatham

London Raiders vs Peterborough Phantoms

Bracknell Bees vs Basingstoke Bison

Milton Keynes Thunder vs Swindon Wildcats

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) results

Saturday 23^rd December

Bristol Pitbulls 5-7 Oxford City Stars

Saturday 30^th December

Guildford Phoenix 3-5 Bracknell Hornets

NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) latest standings

1.       Oxford City Stars Played 15 Won 14 Pts 28

2.       Bracknell Hornets Played 11 Won 10 Pts 20

3.       Solent Devils Played 11 Won 9 Pts 19

4.       Peterborough Phantoms 2 Played 14 Won 9 Pts 18

5.       Guildford Phoenix Played 14 Won 8 Pts 17

6.       Chelmsford Chieftains Played 10 Won 8 Pts 16

7.       Haringey Huskies Played 13 Won 7 Pts 14

8.       Cardiff Fire 2 Played 9 Won 5 Pts 10

9.       Slough Jets Played 15 Won 5 Pts 10

10.   Bristol Pitbulls Played 11 Won 4 Pts 9

11.   Basingstoke Buffalo Played 13 Won 4 Pts 9

12.   Invicta Mustangs Played 16 Won 4 Pts 9

13.   Swindon Wildcats 2 Played 11 Won 1 Pts 3

14.   Lee Valley Lions Played 13 Won 0 Pts 2

Only two games took place in the league over the festive period and those games saw league leaders Oxford win a thriller in Bristol against the Pitbulls, who to be fair put up a decent fight against the leagues best side.  Stars now have an eight point lead over the teams below them although Bracknell and Solent both have four games in hand.  The Hornets were involved in the other game that took place and it was against fifth placed Phoenix in Guildford, and the Hornets buzzed their way to a 5-3 win to take second place back off Solent Devils. 

Here are this weekends NIHL South Two (Wilkinson) fixtures

Saturday 6^th January

Cardiff Fire 2 vs Peterborough Phantoms 2

Solent Devils vs Slough Jets

Invicta Mustangs vs Bristol Pitbulls

Haringey Huskies vs Basingstoke Buffalo

Bracknell Hornets vs Lee Valley Lions

Sunday 7^th January

Oxford City Stars vs Bracknell Hornets

Swindon Wildcats 2 vs Haringey Huskies