Swindon Cubs clinch tournament title!

Swindon Cubs U10 team have ended their season with a triumphant win last weekend at the Sheffield Scimitars U10 Ice Hockey Tournament.

The Cubs, all aged between 6 and 10 years, had already been proclaimed Champions of the Southern league finishing their league season undefeated.  They went on to contest the National Championship in May against the winners of the Northern U10 league.  Here they met strong competition and after knocking out the Sheffield team in the semi-final they met Nottingham in the National Final. The final was a battle between two league champions, neither of whom had lost a game and desperately wanted to claim the title. After 1 hour of determined and relentless play however, the Cubs finally had to concede defeat and claim the Runners-Up prize, losing 4-2 to Nottingham.

The opportunity to play in the Sheffield Tournament meant the Cubs would once again meet the newly-crowned National Champions as well as other strong teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Holland. Coached throughout the tournament by Daryl Lipsey and Bryan Larkin, the players the Advertiser’s readers voted ‘Swindon’s Greatest Ice Hockey Players of All-Time’, the Cubs were single-minded about winning.

A hectic weekend saw the team playing with determination and displaying maximum effort, never giving up until the final buzzer had sounded.   The first 2 games against familiar Southern teams saw comfortable wins over Romford 11 – 1 and Cardiff 11 – 3.  The third game however, was against the National Champions Nottingham and Swindon had a point to prove as they were determined not to lose to them again. The atmosphere was tense but the crowd provided lots of loud encouragement and support and saw the Cubs confidently beat their adversaries with a final score of 2-0 leaving Nottingham hugely disappointed.

The next games saw further wins against the home team Sheffield and the Scottish contenders, the Fife Eagles.

The only team to offer a threat to Swindon’s title were the Hokij Wolves from Holland who were equally unaccustomed to defeat.  Meeting in the Final of the Competition before a huge crowd, both sides were determined to make their point but after some exciting passes, stunning hockey and goals, spurred on by the magnificent support of the crowd, the Cubs claimed the Tournament title beating the Wolves 2-1 and ending a brilliant season of U10 ice hockey.