1985/86 Season - Heineken Division 1

The following text is taken from the 1986-87 Ice Hockey Annual - edited by Stewart Roberts :

Philosophic Lions Finn-ish Second

While the main prize - the Division One Championship - just eluded the Eastenders, they finished as worthy runners-up and, to their unconcealed delight, carried off the new Division One Trophy. The team was formed only two years ago, so they were philosophic about second place. As team manager Mike Smith said: "It takes longer than that to build a team that's ready for the Premier. We'd be silly to rush it."

It's easy to pinpoint Lion's downfall - they took only one point off Solihull and Telford, their only genuine championship rivals. In fact, the writing was on the wall as early as 20 October when Tigers beat them
11-8 in the Valley. When Barons came to town on 12 January the margin was even wider: 12-6.
With two of Solihull's imports out injured at the end of the season, a win at Telford on 30 March would have given Lions a final chance. It was not to be. Solihull obligingly lost at Altrincham that day but Lions failed to take advantage, being edged 7-6 at Telford.

Naturally, the club then looked to the Division One Trophy as a chance to salvage something from the season. Their task was made easier as their opponents in the two-leg final were the injury-hit Barons. A tense 4-4 draw at Solihull was followed by a convincing 9-1 home win. Lions' season could be said to be not so much polished as Finn-ished! Their three popular Finnish imports - the only ones in the country - gave the side excellent leadership. All three were voted to the All-Star team - Ari Arvilla on left-wing, Janne Lehti on defence, and Vesa Pennanen in goal. Pennanen's average was the best in the division.

Thanks goes to Martin Isaac at eurohockey.net for the info used on this page.

GP = Games played
W = Won
L = Lost
T = Tie
GF = Goals For
GA = Goals Against
PTS = Points