2015–16 Bracknell Bees season
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| Season 2015-16 | |
| League | EPIHL |
| Head Coach | Lukas Smital |
| Home Ice Rink | John Nike Leisuresport Complex |
| League position | 10th (of 10) |
| Premier Cup | Group Stage |
| Play-Offs | DNQ |
During the 2015-16 season, the Bracknell Bees participated in the semi-professional English Premier Ice Hockey League.
Due to an issue with the ice at the John Nike Leisure Centre the home game against Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday 31st October 2015 was postponed. It was re-scheduled for Thursday 26th November 2015 with a 7:45pm faceoff. The club addressed the issue on the official website stating "While a mid-week game is not an ideal option for either team or the fans, this date is unfortunately the only viable date available for both teams and the rink."
Towards the end of November the club released a statement regarding speculation over the clubs short, medium and long term viability. The club revealed that the season’s finances have been severely affected by a number of factors including the fact that season ticket sales were down 20% on the previous season. The club also listed the fact that the first temporary closure of the ice rink due to plant failure at the beginning of the season also had a negative affect, with the pre-season games being played at an alternative venue, the projected loss of expected match night ticket sales and match night fund raising came to around £8,000.
The incorrectly manufactured shirts supplied for the season took a long time to resolve and hampered sales of replica shirts. The second temporary closure of the ice rink also meant a loss of incoming cash. Between the 24th October and 15th November, the club received £441 in match night ticket sales and £800 in match night fund raising. During this period the salary and rink rental costs alone amount to over £28,000. The ice contract in place requires an upfront payment at the start of the season equivalent to four weeks with the remaining payments being spread across the remainder of the season with payments ending at the end of February 2016.
In the statement the club also pointed out that the fixture scheduling sees a third of the season’s home games being played in the last seven weeks of the season. Due to all the aforementioned issues the club had encountered severe difficulty in meeting its weekly and monthly salary obligation in October and admitted that it was likely they'd struggle to meeting the salary obligations in line with agreed payment dates for November and December. The club finished the press release saying "The challenges we are faced with this season are challenging but not insurmountable. We remain with the objective of taking this club into the Elite League where it rightfully belongs"
The club had further financial problems which led to an away game at the Hull Pirates on Friday 4th March 2016 to be postponed. The club blamed it on "complications with travel arrangements". A fans forum was held on Monday 7th March at 7.30pm in Honies Restaurant at The Hive where chairman Andrew Cross and general manager Ben Beeching who operate under the name of Precision Sports Marketing (PSM), spoke about the short and long-term future of the club. They discussed plans to set the club up as a charity model which would allow the ownership of the club to be expanded. They also revealed the club was £74,000 short of their top-end expectations for the season and confirmed that the club owed at least £9,000 in unpaid wages.
The club appealed to fans for assistance in raising funds to facilitate the teams coach travel for the final game of the season against the Manchester Phoenix. The required total of £1,295 was met by donations and the Bees ended up with a 6-2 road win to end the campaign.
Contents
Ticketing
| Individual Tickets | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult ticket (over 21yrs old) | £13.50 |
| Concession ticket (OAP / Over 60’s) | £10.00 |
| Disabled Supporters ticket (including a Free helper ticket) | £10.00 |
| Young Adults (aged 17-21) and Students (with a valid NUS card) | £8.00 |
| Junior (3yrs – 16yrs) | £5.00 |
| Junior (under 3yrs) | Free |
| Family ticket (2 adults and 1 junior) | £27.00 |
| Family ticket (2 adults and 1 young adult/student) | £30.00 |
| Family ticket (2 adults and 2 juniors) | £32.00 |
| Family ticket (2 adults and 2 young adults/students) | £38.00 |
| Family ticket (1 adult and 2 juniors) | £21.00 |
| Family ticket (1 adult and 2 young adults/students) | £27.00 |
Standings
English Premier League
| Team | Pld. | W | OL | L | GF | GA | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basingstoke Bison ** | 54 | 40 | 2 | 12 | 207 | 122 | 82 |
| Peterborough Phantoms * | 54 | 35 | 8 | 11 | 215 | 140 | 78 |
| Guildford Flames * | 54 | 34 | 5 | 15 | 204 | 170 | 73 |
| Telford Tigers * | 54 | 34 | 1 | 19 | 221 | 152 | 69 |
| Milton Keynes Lightning * | 54 | 32 | 5 | 17 | 197 | 150 | 69 |
| Swindon Wildcats * | 54 | 30 | 5 | 19 | 195 | 195 | 65 |
| Sheffield Steeldogs * | 54 | 24 | 5 | 25 | 197 | 233 | 53 |
| Manchester Phoenix * | 54 | 20 | 8 | 26 | 170 | 216 | 48 |
| Hull Pirates | 54 | 11 | 5 | 38 | 134 | 277 | 27 |
| Bracknell Bees | 54 | 10 | 4 | 40 | 153 | 238 | 24 |
[**] EPIHL League Champions. [*] Secured play-off berth
Schedule And Results
Pre-season
The pre-season schedule would start with a series against the reigning League & Cup champions, the Telford Tigers. The Bees hosted the Tigers at The Hive on Saturday 29th August 2015, before making the trip north for the second game of the series on Sunday 30th August 2015.
The Bracknell Bees pre-season would also see the continuation of the traditional M4 Derby Classic series match-ups against the Swindon Wildcats. The Bees travelled to face the Wildcats at the Link Centre on Saturday 5th September 2015 (face off 5.45pm) before hosting Swindon back at The Hive on Sunday 6th September 2015 (face off 6pm) in the second game of the two match series.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 29th August 2015 | Telford Tigers | Home | Lost 4-2 |
| Sunday 30th August 2015 | Telford Tigers | Away | Lost 4-1 |
| Saturday 5th September 2015 | Swindon Wildcats | Away | Lost 12-2 |
| Sunday 6th September 2014 | Swindon Wildcats | Home | Lost 4-3 |
Regular Season
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Competition | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 12th September 2015 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Away | Lost 6-3 | - | League/Cup | Milan Kostourek (2), Frantisek Bakrlik |
| Sunday 13th September 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Home | Won 5-2 | - | League/Cup | Milan Kostourek (2), Frantisek Bakrlik, Lukas Smital, Callum Fowler |
| Saturday 19th September 2015 | Swindon Wildcats | Away | Lost 8-4 | - | League/Cup | Frantisek Bakrlik (2), Lukas Smital, Milan Kostourek |
| Sunday 20th September 2015 | Hull Pirates | Home | Won 10-3 | - | League/Cup | Frantisek Bakrlik (3), Vanya Antonov (2), Matt Towalski (2), Callum Fowler, Matt Foord, Tom Beesley |
| Saturday 26th September 2015 | Peterborough Phantoms | Away | Lost 3-0 | - | League/Cup | - |
| Sunday 27th September 2015 | Basingstoke Bison | Home | Won 4-1 | - | League/Cup | Frantisek Bakrlik, Lukas Smital, Milan Kostourek, Matt Towalski |
| Saturday 3rd October 2015 | Manchester Phoenix | Home | Lost 4-2 | - | League/Cup | Callum Fowler, Josh Smith |
| Sunday 4th October 2015 | Telford Tigers | Away | Lost 3-2 | - | League/Cup | Matt Foord, Frantisek Bakrlik |
| Saturday 10th October 2015 | Hull Pirates | Away | Win 7-2 | - | League/Cup | Milan Kostourek (2), Vanya Antonov, Scott Spearing, Lukas Smital, Frantisek Bakrlik, Callum Fowler |
| Sunday 11th October 2015 | Guildford Flames | Home | Won 4-3 | - | League/Cup | Vanya Antonov (2), Frantisek Bakrlik, Milan Kostourek |
| Sunday 18th October 2015 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Home | Lost 3-1 | - | League/Cup | Callum Fowler |
| Saturday 24th October 2015 | Telford Tigers | Home | Lost 6-1 | - | League/Cup | Frantisek Bakrlik |
| Wednesday 28th October 2015 | Guildford Flames | Away | Lost 3-2 | 2,046 | League/Cup | Callum Fowler, Frantisek Bakrlik |
| Sunday 8th November 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Away | Lost 7-3 | - | League/Cup | Frantisek Bakrlik, Josh Smith, Vanya Antonov |
| Saturday 14th November 2015 | Basingstoke Bison | Away | Lost 10-2 | - | League/Cup | Scott Spearing, Jan Bendik |
| Sunday 15th November 2015 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Home | Won 7-2 | - | League | Milan Kostourek (4), Matt Towalski, Vanya Antonov, Frantisek Bakrlik |
| Sunday 22nd November 2015 | Swindon Wildcats | Home | Won 4-3 | - | League/Cup | Milan Kostourek (2), Frantisek Bakrlik, Matt Foord |
| Thursday 26th November 2015 | Peterborough Phantoms | Home | Lost 3-2 (OT) | - | League/Cup | Carl Thompson, Vanya Antonov |
| Saturday 28th November 2015 | Peterborough Phantoms | Away | Lost 5-2 | - | League | Sam Waller, Tom Beesley |
| Sunday 29th November 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Home | Lost 4-3 | - | League | Vanya Antonov, Milan Kostourek, Matt Foord |
| Saturday 5th December 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Away | Lost 7-3 | - | League | Milan Kostourek (2), Jan Bendik |
| Sunday 6th December 2015 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Home | Lost 5-2 | - | League | Lukas Smital, Milan Kostourek |
| Saturday 12th December 2015 | Swindon Wildcats | Away | Lost 9-8 (PSO) | - | League | Milan Kostourek (2), Alex Barker (2), Lukas Smital (2), Josh Smith, Carl Thompson |
| Sunday 13th December 2015 | Manchester Phoenix | Away | Lost 2-1 | - | League/Cup | Milan Kostourek |
| Saturday 19th December 2015 | Telford Tigers | Away | Lost 7-3 | - | League | Lukas Smital (2), Milan Kostourek |
| Sunday 20th December 2015 | Basingstoke Bison | Home | Lost 4-0 | - | League | - |
| Saturday 26th December 2015 | Guildford Flames | Home | Lost 5-2 | - | League | Vanya Antonov, Milan Kostourek |
| Sunday 27th December 2015 | Basingstoke Bison | Away | Lost 3-2 | - | League | Milan Kostourek, Alex Barker |
| Monday 28th December 2015 | Swindon Wildcats | Away | Lost 3-2 | - | League | Scott Spearing, Milan Kostourek |
| Friday 1st January 2016 | Guildford Flames | Away | Lost 7-3 | 1,943 | League | Carl Thompson, Jan Bendik, Vanya Antonov |
| Saturday 2nd January 2016 | Hull Pirates | Away | Lost 6-3 | - | League | Milan Kostourek (2), Alex Barker |
| Sunday 3rd January 2016 | Telford Tigers | Home | Lost 6-4 | - | League | Alex Barker (3), Milan Kostourek |
| Saturday 9th January 2016 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Away | Lost 4-1 | - | League | Vanya Antonov |
| Sunday 10th January 2016 | Guildford Flames | Home | Lost 2-1 | - | League | Carl Thompson |
| Saturday 16th January 2016 | Telford Tigers | Away | Lost 3-1 | - | League | Carl Thompson |
| Sunday 17th January 2016 | Hull Pirates | Home | Won 6-3 | - | League | Vanya Antonov (2), Josh Smith, Milan Kostourek, Lewis Turner, Carl Thompson |
| Saturday 23rd January 2016 | Peterborough Phantoms | Away | Lost 4-1 | - | League | Matt Foord |
| Sunday 24th January 2016 | Swindon Wildcats | Home | Lost 7-4 | - | League | James Galazzi (2), Milan Kostourek, Matt Foord |
| Saturday 30th January 2016 | Basingstoke Bison | Away | Lost 3-1 | - | League | Scott Spearing |
| Sunday 31st January 2016 | Swindon Wildcats | Home | Lost 3-2 | - | League | Carl Thompson, Vanya Antonov |
| Saturday 6th February 2016 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Home | Lost 4-2 | - | League | Vanya Antonov, Scott Spearing |
| Sunday 7th February 2016 | Manchester Phoenix | Home | Lost 3-2 | - | League | Vanya Antonov, Scott Spearing |
| Saturday 13th February 2016 | Peterborough Phantoms | Home | Lost 4-0 | - | League | - |
| Sunday 14th February 2016 | Hull Pirates | Home | Won 4-3 | - | League | Scott Spearing (2), James Galazzi, Carl Thompson |
| Wednesday 17th February 2016 | Guildford Flames | Away | Lost 4-0 | 2,023 | League | - |
| Sunday 21st February 2016 | Basingstoke Bison | Home | Lost 5-3 | - | League | Josh Smith, Vanya Antonov, Carl Graham |
| Saturday 27th February 2016 | Manchester Phoenix | Home | Lost 6-2 | - | League | James Galazzi, Alex Barker |
| Sunday 28th February 2016 | Manchester Phoenix | Away | Lost 5-1 | - | League | Alex Barker |
| Saturday 5th March 2016 | Milton Keynes Lightning | Away | Lost 7-0 | - | League | - |
| Sunday 6th March 2016 | Manchester Phoenix | Home | Lost 7-4 | - | League | Carl Thompson, Vanya Antonov, Lukas Smital, Alex Barker |
| Friday 11th March 2016 | Hull Pirates | Away | Lost 6-5 (OT) | - | League | Jan Bendik (2), Josh Smith (2), Lukas Smital |
| Saturday 12th March 2016 | Sheffield Steeldogs | Away | Lost 4-2 | - | League | Vanya Antonov (2) |
| Sunday 13th March 2016 | Peterborough Phantoms | Home | Lost 4-1 | - | League | Carl Thompson |
| Saturday 19th March 2016 | Telford Tigers | Home | Lost 6-5 (OT) | - | League | Lukas Smital (2), James Galazzi (2), Vanya Antonov |
| Sunday 20th March 2016 | Manchester Phoenix | Away | Won 6-2 | - | League | Vanya Antonov (2), Carl Thompson, Lukas Smital, Matt Foord, James Galazzi |
