Bracknell Bees
| Bracknell Bees | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| League | English Premier Ice Hockey League |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Home arena | John Nike Leisuresport Complex |
| Colors | Black, White and Gold |
| Owner(s) |
 Bees Live LTD through license from John Nike |
| Head coach |
Lukas Smital |
| Captain |
Matt Foord |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 4 (89/90, 99/00, 04/05 & 06/07) |
| Challenge Cups | 4 ( 88/89, 89/90, 04/05 & 07/08) |
| Playoff championships | 1 (06/07) |
The Bracknell Bees are an ice hockey team from Bracknell, Berkshire, UK. They compete in the English Premier Ice Hockey League.
The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1987, under the ownership of John Nike OBE. Bees began life in the Heineken League Division Two, under the leadership of former Durham Wasps and Nottingham Panthers forward, Jamie Crapper, where they finished 6th. The following season, Heineken withdrew their sponsorship of the second division, which was renamed the English League Division 1. Bees narrowly missed out on the championship to the Humberside Seahawks, but then won the league the following season, gaining promotion to the Heineken League Division 1. Having finished third, behind Humberside and the Slough Jets, Bees progressed to the top tier of British hockey, the Heineken Premier Division, via the play-offs, alongside the Seahawks.
Once at the top, it was a struggle and Bees were regularly mid-table or below, before eventually being relegated in 1995, under the leadership of Mike Urquhart.
That sparked a new beginning for the club. Urquhart left and was replaced by Jim Fuyarchuck, who re-installed the feel-good factor at the Hive (Nickname of the Bees home, the John Nike Leisuresport Complex) Bees again finished third in the first division (No longer sponsored by Heineken) but this time, they missed out to Milton Keynes Kings in the promotion play-offs.
However, this did not matter, as the following season saw the formation of a new league – The Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL) which was the country's first fully professional league since the 1950s.
Bees were expected to be one of the smaller teams in this big league, playing against teams with big arenas. However, a creditable 6th of 8 was followed by a 3rd-place finish and then a fourth, before Bees did the unthinkable and took the Superleague title. Coach Dave Whistle, in only his second season as a coach, took the little club to the very top
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