London Racers

London Racers
London Racers
City	London, United Kingdom
League	Elite Ice Hockey League
Founded	2003
Operated	2003-2006
Home arena	Lee Valley Ice Centre
Colours	Red and White
Owner(s)	Roger Black, Tom Wills, Pavel Pojdl
General manager	Scott Johnston
Head coach	N/A
Franchise history
	London Racers

The London Racers was a British ice hockey club based in London, England formerly members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Although founded in 2003,^[1] it claimed to be a successor of the Harringay Racers club established in 1936. Due to a lack of suitable ice facility the club suspended its team operations part way through the 2005–06 season. It was the last professional ice hockey club to play in London.

2003–04 season

Formed and organized in only a few weeks, the Racers played their home games at Alexandra Palace. Erik Zachrisson captained the team. Their first season was a difficult one, as the team failed to win for some 40 games. Finally, a win arrived with a 3–0 victory over the Cardiff Devils. Another win followed as the team beat the Basingstoke Bison 4–0, but the team finished with a ghastly 3–49–2–2 record, still (as of 2010) the worst in league history.

2004–05 season

The team moved to the 1,200 capacity Lee Valley Ice Centre in Leyton, east London, although the arena was considered small for Elite League hockey. The offseason saw the hiring of former American Hockey League player Dennis Maxwell as Coach, who assembled a much stronger team, including perennial British all-star Steve Moria, and, with the 2004–05 NHL lockout, defenceman Eric Cairns and centre Scott Nichol from the National Hockey League. They made the playoffs in the sixth slot (out of seven teams) with a 19–19–9–3 record, but were eliminated by the Cardiff Devils.

2005–06 season

On 5 November, during a game against the Nottingham Panthers, defenseman Blaž Emeršič sustained serious facial injuries after colliding with a protruding object in the rink boardings. Days later on 13 November a piece of plexiglass was smashed. When the same section of glass smashed again at a training session the following Tuesday, serious questions regarding the safety of players and spectators were raised. Unable to find a new venue or secure agreement on improving safety at Lee Valley, the Racers withdrew their team from competitions on 21 November and subsequently folded.

Head-to-head results

This only counts competitive games. Losses include OT losses. Seasons: 3 (2003-04-2005-06) Record (W-L-T): N/A-N/A-N/A

R		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
1	Basingstoke Bison	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	Belfast Giants	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Bracknell Bees	2	1	1	0	5	6
4	Cardiff Devils	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Coventry Blaze	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	Dundee Stars	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	Edinburgh Capitals	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	Fife Flyers	-	-	-	-	-	-
9	Guildford Flames	2	1	1	0	3	5
10	Hull Stingrays	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	Manchester Phoenix	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	Newcastle Vipers	2 (1 forfeit)	1	0	1	7	2
13	Nottingham Panthers	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	Sheffield Steelers	-	-	-	-	-	-

Basingstoke Bison


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Belfast Giants


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Bracknell Bees


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Saturday 9 October 2004	Away	Lost 5-2	Elite/BNL
Friday 22 October 2004	Home	Won 3-1	Elite/BNL

Cardiff Devils


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Coventry Blaze


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Dundee Stars


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Edinburgh Capitals


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Fife Flyers


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Guildford Flames


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Wednesday 17 November 2004	Away	Lost 4-1	BNL/Elite
Friday 26 November 2004	Home	Won 2-1	BNL/Elite

Hull Stingrays


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Manchester Phoenix


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Newcastle Vipers


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
2004/2005	Forfeit	Won 5-0	Elite/BNL
Wednesday 26 January 2005	Away	2-2 (OT)	Elite/BNL

Nottingham Panthers


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

Sheffield Steelers


Date	Venue	Result	Competition
Season	Venue	Score	-

References

^ "London Racers". Euro Hockey. Retrieved 1 February 2024.

External links

London Racers website ^{[dead link‍]}

[1] "London Racers". Euro Hockey. Retrieved 1 February 2024.

[1]