Thanks in part to sponsorship from Labman, Newcastle Wildcats are delighted to be sending 4 teams to the British Universities National Ice Hockey Championships over the weekends of 7/8th and 14/15th of April at iceSheffield.
The first weekend sees the Women’s (Tier 4) and C Team (Tier 6) take part. The Women’s team have made the semi-finals for the past 2 years and are looking to go even further this year, with a squad made up of a mixture of experienced players and fresh talent. During the regular season the team finished 5th in Non-Checking 2, North, with 2 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses.
C Team go into Nationals ready to experience their first competitive games, with the majority of the side coming through the club’s beginners program this year. Joe Gubbins, a summer placement regular at Labman, heads up the Wildcats, “Sponsorship from Labman over the past year has allowed us to improve sessions for new players enormously; allowing us to purchase more playing kit, as well as training aids, making it possible for more people to get involved in the club.”
A Team (Tier 2) and B Team (Tier 3) compete after mixed seasons for both teams. A team finished the regular season in 3rd place following 4 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses. With a full-strength squad available for Nationals this time round though, the team are aiming to take home the title, after falling to eventual champions Hull in the semi-finals last year.
B Team have struggled to find consistent goal scoring this year but have improved massively as the season went on, and are looking to carry that momentum into Nationals. Last year B team finished 3rd in their group with 2 wins and 2 losses so are looking to build on that and make the knockout stages of the competition this year.
The Nationals also pose a different challenge for the teams, as the games are 22 minutes long, rather than the standard 60, so expect some fast-paced, high-intensity action.
Want to watch the games? British Universities live stream the entirety of both weekends on their [YouTube channe](.
The schedule for the weekend is as follows:
7/8th April
Saturday
8:35am Newcastle C vs Imperial C
11:09am Newcastle C vs Caledonia Steel Queens
7:43pm Newcastle Women vs Southampton C
9:12pm Newcastle Women vs Nottingham D
Sunday
8:35am Newcastle C vs Leeds C
Semis and Final follow
6:58pm Newcastle Women vs Hull A
8:52pm Newcastle Women vs Bradford
Semis and Final follow
14/15th April
Saturday
8:48am Newcastle B vs Leeds B
10:54am Newcastle B vs Sheffield D
2:12pm Newcastle B vs London B
6:09pm Newcastle A vs Sheffield B
7:36pm Newcastle A vs Coventry and Warwick A
Sunday
8:24am Newcastle B vs Nottingham C
11:42am Newcastle B vs Northumbria B
Semis and Final follow
7:21pm Newcastle A vs Southampton A
9:27pm Newcastle A vs Northumbria A
Semis and Final follow