Legends Night – Legends Presentation

Huge thanks to Mike Walls for his words below.

Vito Rausa

The “Don”, Vito was the GM for the Lightning from the inaugural until 2015, helping establish the team as a top attraction and evening out in Milton Keynes. Vito always had time to engage with fans and sponsors of the team and would often be seen on matchdays behind the bench being the vocal leader in comparison to the quieter approach of Poole. His approach to fan engagement still carries on to this day, with the players taking time to pose for photographs, sign autographs and come up to the bar after games to chat to the fans.
He would be a regular at the supporter’s club summer events and AGMs, taking Q&As from fans and always being appreciative of the work the SC, volunteers and fans did for the team.
Vito still regularly comes to games, chatting to many fans about the sport and the team – sharing his passion for the team, the city and the sport of hockey.

Harry Howton

Harry was the chairman of the Lightning for the 2002 season until 2015. Harry very much oversaw from afar, trusting the day to day running of the team to Nick Poole and Vito Rausa. Harry was a pivotal figure in helping get the rink it’s refurbishment, for many years he would start the pre-season Q&A/Meet the players night with his traditional “Rink update”. Once the refurb was green-lighted, the joke was that he would have a free August evening in his calendar again.
Harry was also part of the EIHA board and was a key driver in having the EPL (and later the NIHL) having it’s own play-off weekend similar to the Elite League. The Coventry finals weekend is now a massive event in UK ice hockey and Harry is one important figure to thank not just for this team but the amazing finale all fans in the league can enjoy at the end of each season.

Nick Poole

Messi, Ronaldo, Federer? For many long-standing MKL fans the GOAT is Nick Poole. Nick moved to Milton Keynes in the late 1990s when he signed for London Knights, the next season he joined the Kings in the BNL. Nick would be the player-coach for Lightning in their first season, he would lead the black and gold for 13 seasons winning three league titles and four play-offs. He made 506 appearances as a player and is second for all-time points scored, with 211 goals and 517 assists.
Nick was replaced as coach by current GB coach, Pete Russell, but carried on with the Lightning as GM before moving on to start his successful catering business – if you haven’t tried his food yet, you’re missing out! Nick has been no stranger to the rink, having attended Lightning games when time allows and recently being out on the ice with the MK Rumble rec team.

His shirt was the first raised to the rafters and the #91 jersey retired, but his name will always be associated with Milton Keynes Lightning.  

Adam Carr

The all-time leader in appearances for Lightning, the longest-serving captain for the team and over 500 points, Adam Carr is a Lightning legend, and his number 18 shirt hangs from the rafters. Carr joined the team in their second season, joining from Isle of Wight Raiders, and made 675 appearances for the team. In that team he won three league titles, four play-off championships and the EPL cup – scoring the winning penalty shot in the final against Peterborough. ‘Carsy’ also scored the last goal in the “old” rink, scoring in overtime against Slough to send the Lightning to the play-off finals weekend in the last game at the Thunderdome before the refurbishment.

When Lightning went to the Elite League, Carr moved to Streatham, becoming the coach in 2019 and leading the Londoners to cup and championship glory.

Grant McPherson

Another legend whose retired jersey number hangs from the rafters of the Thunderdome. Grant McPherson joined the Lightning at the aged of 19 from the Edinburgh Capitals, the Scot quickly became a fan favourite due to his no surrender style of play, playing as part of the “banana” line with Michael Wales and Matty Towalski. “G” would regularly stand up for his teammates, squaring off with established heavyweights in the league and players much bigger than him. In his 13 seasons with MKL, Grant scored 182 points in 531 appearances – making him fourth in all time appearances. Grant also holds the record for the most penalty minutes in Lightning’s history.
Grant’s song is still sung by the MKL barmy army which shows the high regard that he is held in by supporters of the club.

Ross Bowers

Rosco recently had his number 61 shirt retired which hangs in the rafters alongside numbers 91 (Nick Poole), 18 (Adam Carr) and 9 (Grant McPherson). Bowers has played in 462 games for the Lightning, which included covering for injuries in the 2019 season after he had retired from the game. He won three leagues and three play-offs with MKL and contributed 96 goals and 91 assists; he was also assistant coach to Lewis Clifford helping the team to the play-off final last season.

Phil Wooderson

Hitchin born Phil Wooderson is another member of the inaugural MK Lightning team from the 2002-2003 season. Wearing the number 7 jersey, Phil would play in three seasons for the team, being part of two league winning teams and three play-off championship winning teams.
After leaving the Lightning Phil would ice for the Thunder and returned behind the bench for Lightning for the 2007-2008 season as assistant-coach. He and his family are regular attendees at Lightning game with Phil regularly stopping to chat with fans and has appeared in many testimonials, most recently being one of the bench coaches alongside former MKL defender Michael Knights at Leigh Jamieson’s testimonial in August.
Phil made 95 appearances for the Lightning, scoring 7 goals and 16 assists.

Stephen Wall

Stephen was well known to MKL fans before he joined the Lightning in the 2012-2013, famously winning the treble with Peterborough Phantoms in 2009 and conceding “that” red-line goal by Lukas Zatopek.
Wall would play for three consecutive seasons, sharing netminding duties in his first season with Alex Mettam and then being part of a tandem with a young Jordan Hedley. In his three seasons Stephen would play in home MKL colours at the “old” rink, Coventry Skydome, MK:Ice (in the old Waitrose) and the refurbished Planet Ice. He also backstopped the Lightning to two play-off finals weekends and an EPIHL cup final.
Wall-y made 103 appearances for the Lightning, putting him third in the list for goalie appearances behind Mettam and Barry Hollyhead, he’ll be behind pipes again at Lewis Christie’s testimonial.

Kurt Irvine

 A player with a notorious reputation on the ice, several long-standing MK fans would admit to being slightly torn when Kurt first signed for the Lightning in 2003 at the start of their second season. This was due to him being the pantomime villain when the MK Kings battled Kurt’s previous team, Solihull/Coventry Blaze. Within seconds of his first shift, he became a popular player, in his five seasons at MK, his was the most popular replica shirt ordered. Kurt is fourth overall for Penalty minutes and led the league for PiMS in the 2003-2004 season with 227 penalty minutes. He was also part of a clash during a warmup in a play-off game against Slough Jets, which wouldn’t have looked out of place in the film Slapshot. He was also a key part in the Lightning to two league and three play-off championships, adding toughness to the forward line and allowing skilled players such as Poole, Gary Clarke and Mikko Skinnari time and space to find the net.
Despite his one ice persona, Kurt is a very friendly player off-ice who had lots of time for the fans and is a much loved and respected part of MKL history.

Dean Campbell

 A product of the Milton Keynes youth development team, Newport Pagnell born “Deano” made his senior debut for the MK Kings at the age of 15. Dean was part of the inaugural Lightning team in 2002 going on to play four and a half seasons with the black and gold before injuries meant he had to cut short his playing career.
A hard worker, who always put the team first Deano was tough to play against in the face-off circle and along the boards. He has two league championship and four play-off winners’ medals from his time at MKL. In his 169 appearances Dean has scored 37 goals and 67 assists with 84 penalty minutes.
He is a very popular Lightning player, having played in numerous testimonials for other MKL legends and you’ll get to see him again very soon in Lewis Christie’s testimonial.

Dwayne Newman

Dwayne, AKA “Dog”, was the first ever captain for the Lightning wearing the C for five consecutive seasons. He also remains the most successful captain in terms of silverware, captaining two league championship and four play-off winning sides. Dwayne was a natural captain for the side being a player that was respected by teammates and opponents alike, having played at Basingstoke, Telford, and Peterborough before joining the MK Kings in their final season.
Dwayne would leave Lightning to join the Peterborough Phantoms, the move meant a piece of his equipment was set alight and the ashes were then competed for between the Lightning and Phantoms in their annual pre-season “ashes” double-header. He would go on to play and coach the Phantoms before returning to MK for a season with the Thunder and then going to coach Chelmsford Chieftains.
Dog played 208 games for Lightning scoring 39 goals and 85 assists and amassing 374 penalty minutes. 

Michael Farn

Farny joined the Lightning in 2009 from Swindon Wildcats and would win the league in his first season with Lightning. The number 55 would play nine seasons with Lightning, scoring 36 goals and 181 assists in 429 games, and being a part of the cup and play-off double-winners. When Lightning jumped up to the Elite League, Farn would join Streatham along with Adam Carr becoming captain and then player-coach, leading the London side to Southern League, cup and play-off glory. Last season he would also guest for the Lightning twice to help cover for injury and illness. Whilst not able to attend the legends night, Farny recently attended Ross Bowers’ shirt retirement and will be back on the ice in a couple of weeks for Lewis Christie’s testimonial. 

D-man ‘Farny’ played for eight seasons in MK, part of the team that won Cup & Playoff double in his last season with us. After MK he signed at Streatham ending his career there as player-coach. He returned to MKL for two games last season and we know you’ll give him another huge welcome on 29th April.

Blaz Emersic

Slovenian Blaz joined Lightning midway through the 2010-2011 season and would see out his playing career at Milton Keynes making 372 appearances in seven seasons. Described as the Rolls-Royce of MK Lightning, Blaz oozed class averaging over a point a game with 165 goals and 221 assists. His performance at the play-off finals in 2017 will live long in the memory, picking up 3 goals and 5 assists over the weekend whilst on a line with Frantisek Bakrlik and Craig Scott.
Blaz would also spend the first MKL elite season as Pete Russell’s assistant-coach. Blaz and his partner, Sylvia, were truly dedicated to all things Lightning and are always made very welcome at the Thunderdome by the MKL barmy army.

Lewis Christie

Whilst current captain, Lewis Christie, will hopefully be on the ice for the Lightning, he is a legend that has played a huge part in MK Lightning’s history and deserving to be included in this list. Lewy is third for all time appearances for the MKL, scoring 147 points in his 13 seasons with the Lightning.
A very popular figure, the number 66 has won it all at MK with a league, cup and play-off winners medal to his name and being awarded a testimonial at the end of this season.
Lewis’ testimonial match takes place on 29th April so don’t forget to get your tickets to celebrate Lewis’ contributions to the club and to see some of the legends above on the ice again as well as many more. 

Ross Green

Having celebrated his 500th league appearance last weekend against the Bees, “Sloth” is a player who is easily considered a Lightning legend. He has played in 13 seasons for MKL and has played his entire senior career in Milton Keynes either with the Lightning or Thunder and is someone many in the Storm juniors admire and look up to.

Leigh Jamison

The game will also mark 600 regular season appearances for Leigh Jamieson. Leigh was a key part of the first Lightning team, after playing for MK Kings as a teenager, and it is fitting that he achieves his 600th appearance on anniversary night.  (Click here to read on Leigh’s 600 games)

Lewis Clifford

A man who needs no introduction to the MKL faithful. Cliff came through the ranks of the MK junior system and play nine seasons with the MK Thunder, before becoming their player-coach. In his time as a Thunder player he would also represent the Lightning, before becoming the assistant coach for the Lightning for six consecutive seasons, first being the assistant to Nick Poole and then Pete Russell. Cliff would also step behind the bench during Lightning’s second season in the Elite League coaching the side before Doug McKay arrived in the country and then acting as assistant coach on an interim basis following the Canadian’s departure in November of that season.
Cliff would become the Lightning head-coach for three seasons, helping lift the club from the fallout of the ill-fated EIHL campaign and re-establishing the teams’ traditional values. He also faced the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic stopping the 2019-2020 season and cancelling the entire 2020-2021 season. Last season, Cliff coached the team to a play-off final which included coming back from 4-1 down in the semi-finals against Peterborough.
His passion for the sport in Milton Keynes makes him a popular figure with fans and players of the sport in the city.

Off-ice the Lightning have been blessed over the years with some of the very best volunteers and we’re delighted to welcome to the legends night Karen Starkey and David Carmichael. 

Karen Starkey

Karen dedicated a massive amount of time and energy to the team, ensuring match nights on numerous seasons went smoothly. She would often be one of the first at the rink on a matchday and one of the last to leave, not to mention the hours organising in between matches and during the off-season, a role which may not be noticed but helped to shape the MKL matchnight experience to what it is today.
Still attending matches when she can, Karen is still active following the team on social media and is warmly welcomed by long-term fans of the club. 

David “Bussy” Carmichael

Bussy was the man that ensured the numerous MK Lightning squads made it to away games on time and, just importantly, got back home. There were many early starts and very late nights in getting a team to and from games, and getting the bus returned on time before getting fined and that’s without mentioning the many characters that would have been passengers onboard.
There are many stories that have been told on player podcasts and in fan social events over the years and Bussy probably has many more which have yet to be told!

Chris “Dicko” Dickens

Chris has made a name for himself over the years with an endless number of Lightning media and matchnight contributions, from commentary, matchnight announcing, interviews, producing Christmas videos (and outtakes!) and hosting testimonial evenings for some of the greats.

Most recently his role has been as anchor commentator and overall leader of Lightning TV, building a team and producing what is widely acknowledged as one of the best streams in the league. Indeed Chris set the bar high, continuing the high quality production and experience which was also seen as leading during the Elite League years.

There are also a number of legends who couldn’t be with us tonight but we had to mention.

Pete Russell 

The current Great Britain coach, had the unenviable task of taking over the coaching reigns from Nick Poole. Pete would admit the first few months in the role were tough after replacing an icon like Poole, however his style of hockey won fans over and his first signing, a certain James Griffin, showed he had a good eye for popular players which also include Bobby Chamberlain, Shemmy Odrobny and Frankie Bakrlik. Pete would win the cup and play-offs with MKL in his second season as head coach and coach the Lightning in their first season in Elite League. He would go on to coach Glasgow Clan and then in Germany but he and his family, have always been warmly welcomed back when he and the GB team have played in MK.

Chris Wiggins 

Despite only playing in two seasons for the Lightning, “Wiggy” quickly became a very firm fan favourite. In his 74 games for MKL, he picked up 11 points and 198 penalty minutes.
A true man mountain, Wiggy would add some toughness to the Lightning forward lines, willing to drop the gloves with any opponents. He is also responsible for one of the most talked about and meme-worthy moments in MKL history where, instead of doing the traditional thing of fighting, he decided to bend Peterborough’s Tom Norton over his knee and smack his opponent’s backside with his stick – it was technically called as a roughing minor in the end!

John Neville

John is no stranger to MK Lightning, he was the managing director of Planet Ice when the Lightning moved into the refurbished rink in 2014. John’s aim for the facility and the team as one of the main attractions to the arena is seen to this day with the Lightning regularly seeing attendances of over 2000 for matches.
Now, as the director of Basingstoke Bison, John is always at the rink when Bison are in town and regularly joins Chris on commentary for a Basingstoke perspective on the Lightning TV live stream.

Sarah-Jane Smyth

Sarah is another member of the off-ice team who thoroughly deserves to be acknowledged as a legend. Sarah-Jane was pivotal in raising the profile of the Lightning in around Milton Keynes, this came from organising the team being out in the community including town carnivals and charity walks, engaging with sponsors, liaising with VIP guests and setting up the school visit scheme – something which Tim Wallace continues to this day.
Several sponsors that Sarah-Jane has worked with, have continued to be involved with the team and these businesses and the people who are involved with them are now considered a big part of the Lightning family. 

Mark “DJ Bertie” Canham

Mark has been a constant in the DJ booth since our first season back in 2002 and is very much one of the unsung heroes of the off-ice team.

Located in his crow’s nest in the corner of the arena, DJ Bertie turns up week after week to keep everyone entertained with his tunes and playlists which are a massive part of the game night experience.  He has a knack of picking tunes with real meaning, whether it’s quietly (or loudly) marking the passing of a great artist, through to setting the tone for special events his music choices are always on point.  And he of course has the fastest slider action in hockey, fading up just the right music when the play stops.  Whether you want music which is funny, uplifting or motivational or something to help dry the tears of defeat, ice hockey is always better with a DJ Bertie soundtrack.

The players, staff and volunteers are only a small amount of the number of amazing sponsors, players, volunteers and fans who have been a part of this team over the last 20 years. The word legend is often used freely, however when it comes to this club anyone who has put on the Lightning colours, offered their time, stepped onto the ice and been involved in any way over the last two decades we thank you and think you are all legends!