This Saturday we will recognise the remarkable contribution to MK Lightning and MK Ice Hockey which has been made by Ross Bowers, as we retire his number 61 jersey.
37 year old Ross has spent his hockey life in and around MK, beginning his career in the junior system of MK Kings. He made his first MK Lightning appearance in the club’s first season in 2002, making an appearance alongside such greats as Nick Poole, Gary Clarke, Dwayne Newman and Leigh Jamieson.
Ross spent the second MKL season splitting his time between the Lightning and MK Thunder before stepping up full time with the Lightning in the 2004-2005 season.
Overall Ross has been part of teams which have won significant honours over the years:
2002-2003 EPIHL Playoff Champion
2003-2004 EPIHL Champion and EPIHL Playoff Champion
2004-2005 EPIHL Champion and EPIHL Playoff Champion
2005-2006 EPIHL Playoff Champion
2009-2010 EPIHL Champion and EPIHL Champion
In all, Ross made 507 League, Cup and Playoff appearances, scoring 111 goals and 104 assists for 215 points, and 489 penalty minutes. His most prolific season being the league winning 2009-2010 campaign where he scored 24 goals and 22 assists in 56 games.
Ross spent all but one season of his playing career in Milton Keynes, this coming in the 2008-2009 season when he stepped up to the Elite League with the Basingstoke Bison.
From 2019, Ross stepped behind the bench joining Lewis Clifford’s coaching staff as Lightning began their campaign in the NIHL National League. Ross continued this role for three seasons, with his final game being the Playoff Championship decider in Coventry in April 2022. After this Ross retired from hockey but has enjoyed watching games from time to time as our guest this year.
We are retiring Ross’ jersey to recognise the length and breadth of his contribution across the years. He has been a huge influence on Lightning, with his competitive approach and points scoring skill as well as a popular player both with fans and teammates. Despite suffering a serious injury in early 2019, Ross showed his grit and determination by pulling the Lightning shirt on as injury cover in the 2019-20 season appearing 7 times. This shows his dedication and is one of the reasons we are proud to recognise what he has done.
Welcome to Ross and his family for tonight’s very special celebration of 20 years of MK Lightning and his own role in that.
