The Wokingham Paper is delighted to team up with new Bracknell Bees head coach Doug Sheppard for an exclusive weekly column.
Featured in the paper every Thursday, Sheppard gives his latest views on Bracknell’s season on and off the ice in ‘Beehind The Bench’.
IT’S GOOD to see the increasing number of families and young people attending hockey night in Bracknell.
Perhaps it is because the home fans have yet to see the Bees lose or is it because our new School Zone has proved so popular? Whichever it is, let’s look at last weekend’s hockey first.
Then, at the end of this piece, I’ll tell you about all the plans we have for this month to bring the team and fans even closer together.
PREVIEW: Bees prepare for stern Swindon test
I think our away win against London Raiders on Saturday evening was our best, most complete performance this season. We played much better defensively and competed at a high level for the full 60 minutes.
Harvey Stead finally got the game-winning goal in the third period. Another young man who impressed at the weekend was Zack Milton. Zack plays for the Under-18 team but I’ve asked him also to make himself available for the Senior team. Young talents like Harvey and Zack are important for the future development of the club.
In Sunday evening’s win against Milton Keynes we put 40 shots on their goal and had the majority of puck possession.
This weekend we expect them to be much tougher in their own building.
For our home game on Sunday we play Swindon, who might be the team to beat this season. This month we’re also playing Peterborough and Bison, two teams who had great success last season.
Now some dates for your diary. “Meat and greet” the players in the Blues Smokehouse on Tuesday, October 16. Then there’s “Skate with the Players” on Saturday 20 and a Halloween Costume competition at the end of the month.
Looking further ahead, we play our Charity Games against Swindon on December 31 and January 1.
We hope to attract a large number of fans to attend so that we can raise a lot of money to support our chosen charity, Young Epilepsy.
Let’s get together for more great hockey nights.
