London Raiders

The London Raiders are an ice hockey team which play at the Lee Valley Ice Centre.

They were known as the Romford Raiders when they were based at the Romford Ice Arena in the London Borough of Havering. They were founder members of the English Premier Ice Hockey League but later competed in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). Their development team was the Romford Spitfires who played in Division 2 of the NIHL before being succeeded in 2009-10 by the Romford Fury. The team colours were white, gold and blue.

History


The club was founded in 1987 under the name 'Romford Raiders' and coached by Gord Jeffrey, who went on to become a hero amongst the Romford fans. Some of the best-known players to play for the Raiders include Rob Stewart, Dave Whistle and Mike Ellis, all of whom went on to play and coach at the highest levels in the UK.

The Raider's first ever match was played on 13 September 1987, against the Oxford City Stars. Romford's first captain, Erskine Douglas, also scored Raiders' first ever goal.

On 28 November 2010, during an English National League game against the Bracknell Hornets, Danny Marshall scored his 1,232nd point as a Raider when he assisted on a short-handed goal by Frankie Harvey. With that point, Marshall became the clubs all-time leading scorer, surpassing Gord Jeffrey's long-standing record.

The Romford Raiders became the London Raiders after the Romford Ice Arena was sold by Havering Council to investors. The team subsequently had to move to Lee Valley Ice Centre and became the London Raiders.

Honours

 * 1987/1988: Heineken League Division 2 Champions; promoted to Division 1.
 * 1989/1990: Heineken League Division 2 runners-up; promoted back to Division 1 after play-offs.
 * 1990/1991: Fourth in Division 1; narrowly missed on promotion to the Premier League.
 * 1991/1992: Reached play-offs.
 * 1996/1997: English League (Southern Conference) Champions.
 * 2000/2001: English Premier League play-off Champions.
 * 2001/2002: English Premier League Cup Winners.
 * 2004/2005: English Premier League Cup Winners; reached play-off finals.
 * 2011/2012: English national league south division 1 Winners.
 * 2011/2012: South East trophy Winners.
 * 2011/2012: English national league south division 1 Playoff finalists.