Milton Keynes Lightning

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Milton Keynes Lightning
MKL 2019 Logo.png
CityMilton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
LeagueNIHL National League
ConferenceNorthern Conference
Founded2002
Home arenaPlanet Ice Arena Milton Keynes
ColorsBlack, Grey & Gold
     
Owner(s)Lets Play Hockey Consortium
Head coachEngland Lewis Clifford
CaptainCanadaUnited Kingdom Russell Cowley
AffiliatesMilton Keynes Thunder
Milton Keynes Storm
WebsiteMKLightning[1]
Franchise history
2002 – presentMilton Keynes Lightning
Championships
Regular season titles3 (03/04, 04/05 & 09/10)
Playoff championships5 (02/03, 03/04, 04/05, 05/06 & 16/17)

The Milton Keynes Lightning are an ice hockey team founded in 2002 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The Lightning currently play in Britain's second-tier professional league, the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL), since the 2019–20 season. The Lightning previously competed in the top tier Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) from 2017–2019, and the tier-3/tier-2 English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL) from 2002–2017. Their home rink is 2,200-seat Planet Ice Arena Milton Keynes, known locally as the MK Arena or the Thunderdome.

Club history[]

Foundation[]

Founded in 2002, MK Lightning moved into the empty space left by the departure of the Milton Keynes Kings. The MK Kings were involved in a dispute with rink operators Planet Ice, which led to their relocation to Solihull in May 2002.[1] There they became the Solihull MK Kings before being wound up in April 2003, after a single season.[2]

2002–2006: The early years[]

The demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague in 2002/03 led to major restructuring of Ice Hockey in the UK. The Milton Keynes Lightning became a founding member of the new Elite Ice Hockey League but competed in the lower English Premier Ice Hockey League. The first Lightning squad was made up mainly of young local players, one Finnish import, Mikko Skinnari and three Canadian imports, Nick Poole as Player Coach, Claude Dumas, and Dwayne Newman. Lightning finished their maiden season in 2nd place, behind Peterborough Phantoms. The two teams met again in the playoff final, with Lightning winning. A rivalry quickly grew between them as they continued to dominate EPL Ice Hockey,[3] MK Lightning were crowned league champions in 2003–04 and 2004–05 as well as dominating the Playoffs until 2006. During this period there was a heavy reliance on Player Coach Nick Poole and Telford born Gary Clarke for points scoring.

2006–2008: League struggle[]

The 2006–07 season saw Lightning struggle for the first time. A lack of quality new players, core older players leaving, predictable tactics and an improved opposition being the main drivers. The team ended the season in 5th place[4] and were eliminated from the Playoffs in the first round.[5] 2007/08 saw the situation worsen, with a league finish of 6th. This resulted in a roster overhaul for the new season.[6]

2008–2010: Return to success[]

The Lightning squad for the 2008–09 season included several experienced ex-Elite League players, young British talent and new European imports including Lukas Zatopek, Andre Smulter and Joakim Wiklander as an injury replacement for Ales Perez whose career was ended by a serious shoulder injury. After a slow start the team dominated the second half of the season and finished runners-up behind Peterborough.[7] They then met again in the playoff final with the Phantoms winning the encounter.[8] Lightning became the team to beat in 2009–10, despite Elite league Basingstoke Bison and Manchester Phoenix joining the EPIHL. Further squad strengthening in the form of former AIK player Monir Kalgoum and the addition of netminder Alex Mettam helped Lightning dominate and a home win against Swindon Wildcats in March 2010 saw the EPIHL league trophy return to Milton Keynes.

2010–2015: Near misses, unexpected changes and disappointment[]

Despite the addition of Slovenian International Blaz Emersic, an inconsistent 2010–11 season saw Lightning finish 5th in the league and lose the play off final to Guildford Flames. 2011–12 fared no better, with the team again finishing 5th; having led the league in December. The team lost in the playoff quarter finals to eventual winners Slough Jets, despite taking a three-goal lead into the away leg. The 2012–13 season brought upheaval when just ten games into the season marque signing Adam Calder suffered a catastrophic hip injury which ended his career. Then in January 2013 Nick Poole who was by now considered a Milton Keynes Lightning legend unexpectedly announced his immediate retirement from playing. Lightning finished in 4th place and lost to Guildford Flames in the play off semi-finals.

The disruption continued in 2013–14 as home games were played in Coventry due to the renovation of the Milton Keynes rink. Due to a lack of practice ice time, the team struggled for consistency but finished in a credible 4th place. They were also the runners up to Basingstoke Bison in the cup. The 2014–15 season started with Lightning continuing to play out of Coventry. Indifferent early form left the team languishing near the bottom of the league. The refurbishment of the Milton Keynes rink was completed a month into the season and the first game back on home territory was played on 18 October 2014 against Sheffield Steeldogs in front of a capacity crowd of 2,500. Despite the return to home ice; Lightning continued to perform poorly. The loss of key players through roster changes and a series of injuries increased pressure on an already struggling team saw Lightning finish the season in 7th place, their lowest ever position. Despite poor league performances, Lightning defeated Guildford in the playoff quarter finals before losing to Manchester Phoenix in the semi final game.

2015–2017: Management change and new partnerships[]

At the end of the 2014–2015 season it was announced that head coach Nick Poole would take over the duties of General Manager from Vito Rausa and be replaced by Team GB coach Peter Russell. This was shortly followed by the announcement in May 2015 that Milton Keynes Lightning would be forming a partnership with Elite League side the Coventry Blaze.[9] This partnership lasted just one season. The 2015–16 season also saw a change from the traditional white, black, and gold colours to a white, black, and blue combination which reflected the sponsorship of local company Smith Recycling. Despite a promising start, the season ended with MKL managing just a slight improvement on their previous years final position, finishing 5th. Lightning went on to qualify for the Play Off final, losing to Guildford Flames 6–2. At the end of the season it was also announced that from the start of the 2017–2018 season, Milton Keynes Lightning would play in the Elite Ice Hockey League.

In November 2016, Nick Poole stepped down from the role of General Manager, citing that he wanted to pursue new challenges with his family outside of hockey. Lightning secured a 2nd place league finish in their final EPL season and on 18 March 2017 won their first EPL cup in a penalty shootout against Peterborough. In the playoff campaign, Lightning finished 2nd in their group, winning 5 out of 6 games to qualify for the finals weekend. Lightning would then go on to win their 5th playoff title, beating Guildford 8–3 in the semi-final and then defeating Telford in the final 7–2.

2017–2019: Elite League Hockey[]

Following the announcement in May 2015, Milton Keynes Lightning formally joined the Elite League for the 2017–2018 season. With this also came a change in ownership. Planet Ice, the Milton Keynes rink operators who had run the franchise since its temporary use of the Coventry Sky Dome during the 2013–2014 season sold the club to the Midlands-based husband and wife team of Graham and Monica Moody. Lightning's inaugural season in the Elite League had a promising start but poor away form and a series of disappointing results left them languishing near the bottom of the table at the turn of the new year. The situation worsened in January when US Import Matt Nickerson had his contract terminated after an altercation with a Guildford Flames fan when leaving the ice. In February 2018 it was announced that Coach Peter Russell would be leaving the club by mutual consent at the end of the season and replaced by Canadian Doug McKay. The team finished 11th in the league and outside of the play off places.

After a poor start to the 2018–19 season, with the team languishing at the bottom of the league, Doug McKay himself parted company with Milton Keynes Lightning in November 2018 citing 'personal reasons'. Coaching responsibilities initially passed to players Ryan Lannon and Tim Wallace, with Wallace taking sole charge for the remainder of the season in January 2019. In March 2019 it was announced that MK Lightning's two-year stay in the Elite League would come to an end and that from the 2019–2020 season the team would complete in the new National Hockey League, a two import league equivalent in the British ice hockey structure to the defunct English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL). The reason behind this return to the second tier of UK Ice Hockey was financial. Lightning finished the season a disappointing 11th, 24 points behind 10th placed Dundee Stars.

2019–2021: Back to its Milton Keynes roots and supporters ownership[]

Soon after the completion of the 2018–2019 season and the decision to leave the Elite League, Milton Keynes Lightning announced that Lewis Clifford would be the Head Coach for the inaugural season of the new NIHL National league. Clifford had been a stalwart of the Milton Keynes Thunder team, Assistant Coach to Nick Poole at Lightning and then Head Coach at Thunder. However, before the commencement of the season, preparations were thrown into disarray with revelations of unpaid wages/reimbursements for both former players and off ice staff, outstanding debts to suppliers and poor stewardship by the owners. This led to the majority of the club's sponsors publicly denouncing the situation and declining to provide further support.

The rink operators Planet Ice also decided not to award the ice contract for the 2019–2020 season to Graham and Monica Moody but to the Supporters-based consortium formally known as the Milton Keynes Ice Hockey Club and colloquially as 'Lets Play Hockey' for them to ice a team in the NIHL National League. This consortium had been set up after the announcement that Milton Keynes Lightning would no longer ice in the Elite League and had, with the backing of Planet Ice unsuccessfully applied to operate a Milton Keynes Elite League franchise for the 2019–20 season. Shortly after the announcement, the English Ice Hockey Association confirmed that the team under the management of the Lets Play Hockey consortium had been accepted into the new NIHL National League. Once confirmation of the league place had been made, clarification was provided that Lewis Clifford would continue to be the coach under the new ownership regime. The new owners also confirmed that the team would continue using the Milton Keynes Lightning name. The 2019/20 season ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the team sitting in sixth position.

With the restrictions placed upon the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the 2020/21 season was delayed. However, Lightning participated in the Streaming Series along with Sheffield Steeldogs & Swindon Wildcats in November 2020 as part of the Return to Play programme.

Arena redevelopment[]

In March 2013, Milton Keynes Council approved plans to redevelop the Leisure Plaza after failed attempts in 2006 & 2011. The development of the arena was funded by Morrisons Supermarkets and took 17 months to complete. This forced Lightning to play their home games at the Coventry Sky Dome during the 2013/2014 season & part of the 2014/2015 season. The team returned to the redeveloped rink which had been renamed the "MK Arena" on 18 October 2014 against Sheffield Steeldogs, in front of a sell out crowd in excess of 2,500.

Club honours[]

  • EPIHL League: 3
Winner (3): 2004, 2005, 2010
Runner-up (3): 2003, 2009, 2017
  • EPIHL Playoffs: 5
Winner (5): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2017
Runner-up (3): 2009, 2011, 2016
  • EPIHL Cup: 1
Winner (1): 2017
Runner-up (4): 2003, 2007, 2010, 2014

Club roster 2021–2022[]

Netminders
No. Nat. Player Catches Date of birth Place of birth Acquired
29 England Brandon Stones L (1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 (age 29) Nottingham 2019 from Sheffield Steeldogs
32 Czech RepublicUnited Kingdom Matthew Smital L (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 (age 22) Brno, Czech Republic 2021 from Slough Jets
Defencemen
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired
5 England Ed Knaggs L (1998-06-13) 13 June 1998 (age 23) Hemel Hempstead 2020 from Bracknell Bees
15 England James Griffin R (1993-04-08) 8 April 1993 (age 28) Swindon 2015 from Coventry Blaze
19 England Leigh Jamieson R (1985-07-30) 30 July 1985 (age 36) Milton Keynes 2019 from Streatham IHC
21 England Ross Green R (1992-02-19) 19 February 1992 (age 30) Chelmsford 2019 from Milton Keynes Thunder
55 England Ben Russell R (1994-03-24) 24 March 1994 (age 27) Milton Keynes 2019 from Streatham IHC
66 Scotland Lewis Christie R (1989-08-30) 30 August 1989 (age 32) Edinburgh 2019 from Free Agent
Forwards
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired
10 England Bobby Chamberlain R (1995-03-16) 16 March 1995 (age 26) Hull 2020 from Hull Pirates
11 England Callum Field R (2004-08-03) 3 August 2004 (age 17) Northampton 2020 from Sheffield Steelhawks JIHC
12 England Michael Power R (2000-06-20) 20 June 2000 (age 21) London 2020 from Bracknell Bees
14 England Hallden Barnes-Garner R (1998-02-28) 28 February 1998 (age 24) Milton Keynes 2019 from Milton Keynes Thunder
16 EnglandNew Zealand Liam Stewart L (1994-09-04) 4 September 1994 (age 27) London 2019 from Skycity Stampede (New Zealand)
17 CanadaUnited Kingdom Russell Cowley L (1983-08-12) 12 August 1983 (age 38) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2019 from Basingstoke Bison
28 United States Tim Wallace R (1984-08-06) 6 August 1984 (age 37) Anchorage, Alaska, USA 2022 from Free Agent
48 CanadaUnited Kingdom Adam Laishram R (1997-04-08) 8 April 1997 (age 24) Ashburn, Ontario, Canada 2021 from St Francis Xavier X-Men (Canada)
71 LatviaUnited Kingdom Edgars Landsbergs R (1999-04-09) 9 April 1999 (age 22) Daugavpils, Latvia 2021 from KS Cracovia (Poland)
86 England Sean Norris R (1999-09-14) 14 September 1999 (age 22) Ascot 2021 from Basingstoke Bison
98 England Sam Talbot R (2001-04-10) 10 April 2001 (age 20) England 2021 from Basingstoke Bison
2 Way Players/Loan Players
No. Nat. Player Two Way/Loan Club Shoots/Catches Date of birth Place of birth Acquired
3 England Tyler Nixon Sheffield Scimitars R (2001-07-26) 26 July 2001 (age 20) Rotherham 2021 from Sheffield Scimitars
13 England Morgan Clarke-Pizzo Nottingham Panthers L (1999-12-15) 15 December 1999 (age 22) Peterborough 2022 from Peterborough Phantoms
33 England Milique Martelly Streatham IHC R (2004-01-01) 1 January 2004 (age 18) England 2021 from Streatham IHC
39 England Sam Russell Coventry Blaze R (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 21) Milton Keynes 2019 from New England Wolves (USA)

Statistical records[]

Top ten appearances[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons App
1 England Adam Carr 2003–2017 inclusive 687
2 England Leigh Jamieson 2002–2004, 2009–2017 & 2019–2022 602
3 Scotland Lewis Christie 2008–2017 & 2019–2022 567
4 Scotland Grant McPherson 2006–2016 & 2019–2020 542
5 Canada Nick Poole 2002–2015 inclusive 506
6 England Ross Green 2008–2016 & 2019–2022 480
7 England Ross Bowers 2002–2008, 2009–2010, 2011–2015 & 2019–2021 473
8 England Michael Farn 2009–2017 & 2021-2022 439
9 England Michael Wales 2003–2012 inclusive 385
10 Slovenia Blaz Emersic 2010–2017 inclusive 382

Top ten points scorers[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Pts
1 England Gary Clarke 2002–2009 & 2010–2011 767
2 Canada Nick Poole 2002–2015 inclusive 728
3 England Leigh Jamieson 2002–2004, 2009–2017 & 2019–2022 549
4 England Adam Carr 2003–2017 inclusive 524
5 Slovenia Blaz Emersic 2010–2017 inclusive 398
6 England Greg Randall 2002–2006 & 2007–2009 260
7 England Michael Wales 2003–2012 inclusive 259
8 Finland Mikko Skinnari 2002–2008 inclusive 246
9 Finland Andre Smulter 2008–2011 inclusive 229
10 England Lewis Hook 2014–2018 & 2020 226

Top ten goal scorers[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Gls
1 England Gary Clarke 2002–2009 & 2010–2011 436
2 England Adam Carr 2003–2017 inclusive 248
3 Canada Nick Poole 2002–2015 inclusive 211
4 England Leigh Jamieson 2002–2004, 2009–2017 & 2019–2022 187
5 Slovenia Blaz Emersic 2010–2017 inclusive 171
6 Finland Andre Smulter 2008–2011 inclusive 111
7 England Lewis Hook 2014–2018 & 2020 106
8 England Ross Bowers 2002–2008, 2009–2010, 2011–2015 & 2019–2021 101
9 England Greg Randall 2002–2006 & 2007–2009 98
10 England Michael Wales 2003–2012 inclusive 96

Top ten goal assists[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Ast
1 Canada Nick Poole 2002–2015 inclusive 517
2 England Leigh Jamieson 2002–2004, 2009–2017 & 2019–2022 362
3 England Gary Clarke 2002–2009 & 2010–2011 331
4 England Adam Carr 2003–2017 inclusive 276
5 Slovenia Blaz Emersic 2010–2017 inclusive 227
6 England Michael Farn 2009–2017 & 2021-2022 179
7 England Michael Wales 2003–2012 inclusive 163
8 England Greg Randall 2002–2006 & 2007–2009 162
9 Finland Mikko Skinnari 2002–2008 inclusive 155
10 Scotland Jordan Cownie 2013–2017 inclusive 142

Top ten penalty minutes[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons PIM
1 Scotland Grant McPherson 2006–2016 & 2019–2020 1305
2 England Michael Wales 2003–2012 inclusive 1131
3 England Kurt Irvine 2003–2008 inclusive 1109
4 England Leigh Jamieson 2002–2004, 2009–2017 & 2019–2022 1095
5 Scotland Lewis Christie 2008–2017 & 2019–2022 689
6 Czech Republic Lukáš Zátopek 2008–2014 inclusive 509
7 England Ross Bowers 2002–2008, 2009–2010, 2011–2015 & 2019–2021 479
8 Canada Nick Poole 2002–2015 inclusive 452
9 England Matt Towalski 2005–2012 inclusive 446
10 England Michael Farn 2009–2017 & 2021-2022 420

Top ten points to game ratio[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Pts
1 England Gary Clarke 2002–2009 & 2010–2011 2.03
2 Sweden Joakim Wiklander 2008–2010 inclusive 2.00
3 Czech Republic Robin Kovar 2019-2020 1.86
4 England Greg Owen 2002–2003 1.74
5 Sweden Stefan Ketola 2005–2006 1.71
6 Sweden Monir Kalgoum 2009–2011 inclusive 1.67
7 Finland Andre Smulter 2008–2011 inclusive 1.58
8 Finland Tony Alasaarela 2007–2008 1.50
9 EnglandNew Zealand Liam Stewart 2019–2022 inclusive 1.48
10 Slovakia Stan Lascek 2013–2015 inclusive 1.45
10 Canada Steve Moria 2005-2006 1.45
10 Finland Antti Holli 2016–2017 1.45

Top ten goals to game ratio[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Gls
1 England Gary Clarke 2002–2009 & 2010–2011 1.16
2 England Greg Owen 2002–2003 1.10
3 EnglandNew Zealand Liam Stewart 2019–2022 inclusive 0.86
3 Sweden Stefan Ketola 2005–2006 0.86
5 Finland Andre Smulter 2008–2011 inclusive 0.77
5 Slovakia Stanislav Lascek 2013–2015 inclusive 0.77
7 Czech Republic Milan Kostourek 2014–2015 0.75
8 Czech Republic Robin Kovar 2019-2020 0.73
9 England Sam Talbot 2021–2022 0.71
10 Czech Republic Kamil Tvrdek 2012–2013 0.65

Top ten assists to game ratio[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Ast
1 Sweden Joakim Wiklander 2008–2010 inclusive 1.59
2 Czech Republic Robin Kovar 2019–2020 1.14
3 Sweden Monir Kalgoum 2009–2011 inclusive 1.06
4 Canada Nick Poole 2002–2015 inclusive 1.02
5 Finland Tony Alasaarela 2007–2008 0.98
5 Finland Antti Hölli 2016–2017 0.98
7 Finland Markku Tathinen 2015–2016 0.91
8 Czech Republic Ales Perez 2007–2009 inclusive 0.89
8 Canada Francis Verreault-Paul 2017–2018 0.89
10 England Gary Clarke 2002-2009 & 2010-2011 0.88

Top ten penalty minutes to games ratio[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 14 March 2022 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons PIM
1 England Kurt Irvine 2003–2008 inclusive 5.38
2 United States Matt Nickerson 2017–2018 4.77
3 England James Morgan 2006–2007 4.30
4 Canada Steve Carpenter 2004–2005 4.06
5 Czech Republic Frankisek Bakrlik 2015–2017 inclusive 3.63
6 England Daniel Croft 2007–2008 3.59
7 Canada Francis Verreault-Paul 2017–2018 3.23
8 England Michael Power 2021-2022 3.15
9 England Michael Wales 2003–2012 inclusive 2.94
10 Czech Republic Tomáš Káňa 2019–2020 2.83

Top ten save percentages[]

League, Cup, Play Offs & Streaming Series Games; as at Monday 7 March 2022 (Players with under 20 appearances not included)
Player
No. Nat. Player Active Seasons Sav
1 Poland Prezemyslaw Odrobny 2016–2017 92.35
2 England Alex Mettam 2009–2013 inclusive 91.65
3 Scotland Jordan Marr 2015–2016 91.47
4 England Barry Hollyhead 2002–2004 & 2006–2012 91.27
5 England Stephen Wall 2012–2015 inclusive 91.13
6 England Allen Sutton 2002–2008 inclusive 90.97
7 Sweden Finland Miika Wiikman 2017–2018 90.22
8 England Lee Lansdowne 2005–2006 90.20
9 England Dean Skinns 2015–2016 & 2019–2020 90.08
10 Canada Patrick Killeen 2018–2019 89.52

NHL drafted Milton Keynes Lightning players[]

Player
Nat. Player. Active Seasons Year Drafted Round & Draft Pick Team
Canada Claude Dumas 2002–2003 1985 Round 5 Draft Pick 103 Washington Capitals
Finland Janne Jokila 2012–2014 inclusive 2000 Round 7 Draft Pick 200 Columbus Blue Jackets
Finland Martti Järventie 2015–2016 2001 Round 4 Draft Pick 109 Montreal Canadiens
Czech Republic Robin Kovář 2019–2020 2002 Round 4 Draft Pick 123 Edmonton Oilers
United States Ryan Lannon 2018–2019 2002 Round 8 Draft Pick 239 Pittsburgh Penguins
United States Matt Nickerson 2017–2018 2003 Round 3 Draft Pick 99 Dallas Stars
Sweden Andreas Valdix 2018–2019 2003 Round 4 Draft Pick 109 Washington Capitals
Slovakia Juraj Gráčik 2011–2012 2004 Round 5 Draft Pick 142 Atlanta Thrashers
Slovakia Stanislav Lascek 2013–2015 inclusive 2005 Round 5 Draft Pick 133 Tampa Bay Lightning
Czech Republic Tomáš Káňa 2019–2020 2006 Round 2 Draft Pick 31 St Louis Blues
Canada Patrick Killeen 2018–2019 2008 Round 6 Draft Pick 180 Pittsburgh Penguins
United States Paul Phillips 2017–2018 2009 Round 7 Draft Pick 195 Chicago Blackhawks
United States Christian Isackson 2017–2018 2010 Round 7 Draft Pick 203 Buffalo Sabres
United States Robbie Baillargeon 2018–2019 2012 Round 5 Draft Pick 136 Ottawa Senators

Retired numbers[]

Player
Number Nat. Player Active Seasons Acquired
91 Canada Nick Poole 2002–2015 inclusive 2002 from Fife Flyers
18 England Adam Carr 2003–2017 inclusive 2003 from Isle of Wight Raiders
9 Scotland Grant McPherson 2006–2017 & 2019–2020 2006 from Edinburgh Capitals

Head coaches[]

Coach
Nat. Coach Active Seasons Acquired
Canada Nick Poole 2002–2015 inclusive (Player-Head Coach 2002–2013, Head Coach 2013–2015) n/a First Head Coach Position
Scotland Peter Russell 2015–2018 inclusive 2015 from Okanagan Hockey Academy
Canada Doug McKay 2018 2018 from Orlik Opole (Poland)
United States Ryan Lannon 2018–2019 (Joint Player-Head Coach 2018–2019) n/a First Head Coach Position
United States Tim Wallace 2018–2019 (Joint Player-Head Coach 2018–2019; Player-Head Coach 2019) n/a First Head Coach Position
England Lewis Clifford 2019– 2019 from Milton Keynes Thunder

Club captains[]

Captain
Nat. Captain Active Seasons as Captain Acquired
Canada Dwayne Newman 2002–2007 (Career with club 2002–2007 inclusive) 2002 from Solihull MK Kings
England Gary Clarke 2007–2009 (Career with club 2002–2009 & 2010–2011) 2002 from Basingstoke Bison & 2010 Guildford Flames
England Adam Carr 2009–2017 (Career with club 2003–2017 inclusive) 2003 from Isle of Wight Raiders
Canada Kevin King 2017–2018 (Career with club 2017–2018) 2017 from Rapaces de Gap
United States Tim Wallace 2018–2019 (Career with club 2018–2019 & 2022) 2018 from Sheffield Steelers
Canada United Kingdom Russell Cowley 2019– (Career with club 2019–) 2019 from Basingstoke Bison

Season-by-season record[]

Associated teams[]

References[]

  1. ^ "MK Kings live on in Solihull". Milton Keynes Citizen. May 2002.
  2. ^ "Solihull MK Kings finally call it a day", Milton Keynes Citizen, April 2003]
  3. ^ "Phantoms Renew Lightning rivalry"[permanent dead link], Peterborough Telegraph, September 2007
  4. ^ "English Premier League final table", Milton Keynes Citizen, March 2007
  5. ^ "Lightning win proves to be all in vain", Milton Keynes Citizen, April 2007
  6. ^ "Lightning Set for New Term Face Off", Milton Keynes Citizen, September 2008
  7. ^ "Players are positive after great finish to the season, Milton Keynes Citizen, April 2009
  8. ^ "Lightning fall at the final hurdle, Milton Keynes Citizen, April 2009
  9. ^ Tracey Richardson (1 May 2015). "MKL & Blaze announce development partnership". Milton Keynes Lightning. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

External links[]

Preceded by EPIHL Playoff Champions
2016–2017
Succeeded by
n/a
Preceded by EPIHL Champions
2009–2010
Succeeded by
Preceded by EPIHL Cup Winners
2016–2017
Succeeded by
n/a
Retrieved from ""