Lee Valley Lions

The Lee Valley Lions have put the next piece of the 2018/19 roster puzzle in place with the re-signing of forward Ben Gillingham.

The 27-year-old was a Bracknell and Guildford junior before moving to the Midlands to study at the University of Nottingham.

Whilst there he played four seasons for the Nottingham Mavericks, Mavericks ‘B’ and Mavericks ‘D’ sides in BUIHA (British Universities Ice Hockey Association) competition, scoring 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in a total of 49 games. He also represented the University of Nottingham in their Varsity games against Nottingham Trent University in 2011 and 2012.

Ben then joined the Lions in 2015, playing 13 games in the 2015-16 campaign and scoring one goal and one assist. He followed that up with two goals and one assist in 15 games in the 2016-17 season, although he was hampered by a wrist injury.

Last season was Ben’s breakout year in a Lions jersey, as he scored three goals and assisted on a further nine to give him 12 points in 20 games. He was also voted the club’s Most Improved Player at the end of the season.

He now returns for his fourth campaign in the green and white jersey, and will be looking to build on his points output from last season.

Click here to see Ben’s career statistics courtesy of eliteprospects.com.

Ben Gillingham returns to the Lions for his fourth season with the club (Photo © Kim Jones)

The Lee Valley Lions are delighted to welcome defenceman Jack Ball back to the club after almost four years away, as he becomes our latest signing ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

After the likes of Michael Jacobs, Joe Berry and Aaron Mallet all agreed to return to the Den after varying lengths of time away from the club, Ball is the next familiar face to come back to the club.

The 26-year-old from Dagenham began his career at Lee Valley back in 2011, playing three full seasons with the club as well as starting the 2014-15 season as a Lion. During that time, he scored one goal and assisted on a further seven, for a total of eight points in 66 games.

In November 2014, Jack made a cross-London switch to Haringey, where he spent the next three and a half seasons – first with the Racers and then with the Huskies. During his time at Alexandra Palace, Jack made 87 appearances in a Haringey jersey, scoring one goal and tallying 11 assists for a total of 12 points.

He now makes the swap back to East London for the upcoming campaign, and will hope to utilise his experience and become a key part of the Lions’ backline.

Click here to view Jack’s career statistics courtesy of eliteprospects.com.

Jack Ball in action during his first spell with the Lions (Photo © Julianne Bonner)

The Lee Valley Lions are looking for volunteers to help on match days with the following:

• Announcer;
• Programme designer.

In return for helping the Lions you’ll get free entry to every home game.

If you’re interested please contact Eddie Joseph on 07958 743680, send us an email via the Contact Us page, or contact us on any of our social media channels.

The Lee Valley Lions are thrilled to announce the addition of defenceman Joe Trotter for the 2018-19 season.

Trotter returns to ice hockey after nine years away from the game, with the Lions hoping that the 6’0 tall blueliner can add some muscle to the defence corps.

Joe was a Lee Valley junior for many years, starting in the Under-12 side and making his way up through the age groups to the U19s. In his final season of U19 hockey, the hard-hitting defenceman tallied six assists as well as taking 75 penalty minutes.

After taking a year out of the game, Joe then graduated to senior hockey in the 2008-09 season with the Slough Harrier Hawks in ENL2, playing 22 games and scoring one assist. He came up against the Lions four times that season, with Lee Valley winning three of the four encounters between the sides.

To date, 2008-09 is Joe’s only season of senior hockey – until this season, as the Newham native returns to the Den to renew acquaintances with the sport.

Click here to view Joe’s career statistics courtesy of eliteprospects.com.

We will announce another addition to the blueline at 7pm tonight!

The Lee Valley Lions are delighted to welcome back netminder Aaron Mallet, who returns to the team after three years away.

30-year-old Mallet played junior hockey at Haringey and Milton Keynes before joining the Lions ahead of the 2012-13 campaign. He played 46 games for the Lions over three seasons before taking some time out of the game.

Aaron returned to hockey in the 2016-17 season with Haringey, playing 17 games, before again taking last year out of the sport.

He is now back in the Lions net and will form a goaltending tandem with James Andrew, who was announced earlier today.

Click here to view Aaron’s career statistics courtesy of eliteprospects.com.

We will announce the signings of two defencemen tomorrow – stay tuned!

Aaron Mallet in net during his first spell with the Lions (Photo © Julianne Bonner)