Brandon Stones returns to the crease for AIB Milton Keynes Lightning in 2021/22
A few months on from backstopping a win in the autumn Streaming Series, we’re absolutely delighted that Brandon Stones has committed to AIB Milton Keynes Lightning for the 2021/22 Season. 28 year old Brandon first joined MKL in 2019 after a number of years split between Sheffield and Nottingham, with a handful of Elite League appearances in the mix too. He made international appearances for GB at Under 18 level, and iced 21 times for MKL in the 2019/20 season, returning a 89.4% save percentage. Overall, Brandon made a hugely impressive and mature contribution during his first MKL season, [...]
All Round Contributor Leigh Jamieson is back for 2021/22
In a great show of strength and consistency for the upcoming season, we’re delighted to reveal that Leigh Jamieson is our first signing for 2021/22. The 2019/20 Milton Keynes Lightning Defenceman of the Year brings over 500 league appearances for MKL as part of a career which also includes Elite experience and international honours at World Championships and Olympic qualifier levels. Leigh is MK born and raised and started his hockey career in the MK junior system playing for the Storm. He’s a huge presence on the ice and bagged 53 points to finish as 5th top points scorer in [...]
All In Black Are Back for 2021/22 as Official Team Partner and Title Sponsor
We’re delighted that All In Black will be continuing as our Official Team Partner and title sponsor for the 2021/22 Season. As a Platinum Partner of MKL, they will continue their expanded and deepened relationship with the club which builds on a long term partnership. All in Black Group is the leading security, systems and training company in Milton Keynes. With over ten years experience operating across the city for clients in a range of sectors, AIB uses experience from Civilian, Police and Military backgrounds, to give their clients the insight and expertise to advise them on the right security [...]
Season Tickets 2021/22
We're pleased to let you know that Season Tickets for the 2021/22 season are now available allowing you to secure your place at the best possible price to watch Lightning hockey next season. With the world looking more optimistic about the ending of restrictions and the opening up of our sport, our thinking is that we give the most notice as possible to you all, and give you the option through our Direct Debit scheme to buy your tickets over a longer period of time. You'll have a lot of questions, so we've tried to answer as many of these [...]
NIHL National Owners agree league structure and dates
Last week the NIHL National Owners Group met to agree the structure and timings for the upcoming 2021/22 season. Working on the basis that the government plans for bringing restrictions to an end broadly follow the published timetable we’re delighted to share that competitive fixtures will begin with a cup competition on 4th September 2021. Here’s the full details, subject to final planning and confirmation: Cup Competition from 4/5th September to 25/26th September League from 2/3rd October to 2/3rd April 2022 PlayOffs 9/10th to 23/24th April 2022 Coventry Weekend 30th April 2022 The Cup Competition will be optional and its [...]
‘Game On’ for September! 2020/21 Season Complete.
We are ‘Game On’ for September. Things are starting to move...here's the latest from the NIHL Owners Group. The end of March saw the conclusion of the Spring Cup which was a fantastic online showcase of hockey, great entertainment and a deserved overall victory for the Sheffield Steeldogs. Congratulations to all involved. The five clubs who participated looked carefully at the options to continue playing into April and May, but have decided that this is not possible. We would like to thank our fans, rink operators, EIHA and Andrew Miller for their support in making the Spring Cup a success. [...]
NIHL National Update
The NIHL National owners group has tonight released an update on an upcoming series of games which will be played during February and March. AIB MK Lightning was very much part of the planning and discussion of these fixtures, but we have decided not to take part in these games. We can see there are a number of benefits in these games taking place, but for us we would prefer to focus on our long term strength and sustainability with a view to participating in the full Season return to play we hope to see in September. We’ll maintain our [...]
Virtual Air the Bear 2020
A year ago we were humbled by the generosity of MK Lightning fans when hundreds of bears were flung onto the ice after the first goal in our fixture against Sheffield Steeldogs. In these difficult times it’s not possible for us to run our annual fantastic Air the Bear event at a game so we are offering two different ways to participate in our Virtual Air the Bear. Donate to Willen Hospice With a lot of charities struggling for fundraising opportunities at the moment, we have decided to give you, the MKL fans the option to make a [...]
NIHL National Update: Amazing Streaming Series Support and What Happens Next?
The NIHL National Owners Group met earlier this week to reflect on the Streaming Series and discuss the potential next steps in our plans to return to competitive play. There was general agreement that the Streaming Series provided valuable insight into the viability of behind-closed-doors play, and was very well supported by fans from across the UK. It provided fantastic entertainment over the three weekends and the group would like to extend huge thanks to everyone involved, including the clubs, rink operators, streaming providers and fans. Well done to all three teams who took part. Moving forward, we recognise that [...]
Thank you all!
So that was The Streaming Series that was. Three weekends of the first live hockey the UK has seen since March, and we have to say we’ve had a great time. Managing to grab the win away in Sheffield on Sunday night gave us a boost in what was a learning experience on and off the ice, and we’re so glad that we were a part of this experiment with the Cats and the Dogs. The series came about after an ongoing set of conversations that the NIHL National owners group has been having over the past few months. Over [...]
