A bit of a quiet week on the hockey front this week, with no BUCS games for any of the teams. However, this meant that the 3s had a bruising encounter with some Rossall School nippers, eventually coming away with a 5-3 victory. The match wouldn't be without its casualties though, with Bellend employing a two-footed challenge to let the school boys know he was there, before Bambi was lucky to escape with both eyes still intact, after a clearance by the Rossall keeper hit him square in the face.

2 games in 3 days for the 1st XI versus Preston

With no game on Wednesday, a friendly was organised for the 1st XI with Preston for Thursday night. Missing a few key players, including Gearnose who elected to play for LUMHC rather than his club side, it was a mix of Preston's 1st and 2nd XI that lined up to face the LUMHC 1st XI under the Thursday night lights. A sizeable crowd packed into the Lancaster (Bailrigg) Sports Multiplex for the fixture, and they were treated to a festival of fast-paced hockey. Max opened the scoring early on, taking 3 attempts to beat the Preston keeper, but eventually getting it in on the 3rd attempt to give Lancaster an early lead. It didn't take long for the away side to respond, with a short corner whizzing past Jellis' right hand before he had a chance to move. Whilst parity had been restored, the early pace of the game did not relent, with chances for both teams. Pete Mansfield had two chances in quick succession, but couldn't control either of the through balls, perhaps put off by how quickly the Preston 'keeper was off of his line. Pete was shown how to do it by Preston at the other end, as the first third ended with a goal, as a fierce reverse strike across the D was deflected in to give Preston a 2-1 lead.

At this point it appeared that a celebrity was amongst the Preston ranks, with Kevin Kampl (above) having retired from his football career at Bayer Leverkusen to take up hockey in Northern Lancashire. However, even Kevin's star quality couldn't prevent the away side from conceding right at the start of the second third, as good work down the left by Pete led to an easy finish for Dynamo to level things up once again. The fast start to the third saw the Red Rose start to dominate proceedings, with Beryl Sesh-Penney running the show from a CDM position. Alvaro went on a mazy run, skinning 3 Preston players, before politely waiting for them to get back into position so he could skin them again, but the move went unconverted, as Buster's reverse hit went narrowly wide. Despite dominating the third, Lancaster ended the period behind once again, as Preston scored with the last hit before the hooter sounded. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly with both teams tiring after such a fast-paced game, the number of chances slowed considerably in the final third. Fortunately for the home side, the one chance they did get was converted spectacularly. A short corner was awarded after a hard stick tackle, and, despite a poor injection, the best was made of a bad situation and a second short was won. The injection on this one was much better, sent straight to the second chateau, where Buster was waiting to absolutely cream his drag flick top bins. This would be the last meaningful chance of the game, as the final whistle blew with the score at 3-3. A very exciting game of hockey, a deserved result for both sides, and great preparation for the 1st XI for their big game this week (more on that below).

Then, on Saturday, the 1st XI got an important 8-2 victory over Preston's 3rd XI, meaning they can still be promoted if they win and results go their way on Saturday. You can read Bin's match report from Saturday here

Shoutout of the week

Whilst training twice a week and having two games a week is enough for some people, this isn't true for 1st XI 'keeper Dylan, who is also an active part of the University's kickboxing society, training 3 times a week for kickboxing alongside hockey and studying. Dylan took part in his first competition this weekend in Leeds, the national university kickboxing championships and won both fights he took part in, before having to drop out with a suspected broken toe. Hopefully his kickboxing exploits do not affect his hockey career, but nonetheless everyone at LUMHC is proud of Dylan the Creeper's achievements, repping for Lancaster on the national stage. 

Chags emerges onto social scene

With no games and deadlines looming before the end of term, it was perhaps unsurprising that attendance was a bit poor for Wednesday social. However, the theme turned out to quality rather than quantity, particularly with CHAGS on his first ever social. With Jedi having secured the inaugural third nomination for social sec, Bellend thought it wise to heed his advice and take the club in a direction back towards the glory days of Steve and Jessie. The result was multiple sudden death games, including pre-drinks favourite 'Never Have I Ever', which meant all in attendance enjoyed a boat race. With new man Wineamo in the opposing coxless four, the current exec fancied their chances against the young upstarts. However, Eileen had other ideas, getting thoroughly outclassed by LADynamo, meaning another forfeit pint for the losing boat of the current exec. The evening went into a tailspin from then on, not only as the boys had missed out on probably the greatest Champions League game in history, but also as even Draco's usual behaviour was surpassed by his exploits after a bottle of Buckfast. The usual crew slipped off into the night after Bentley's, leaving a hardcore band left in Sugar. The early leavers would live to rue their mistakes though, missing out on Wineamo catching himself on some Holly, CHAGSY taking a trip to Booths and Sesh-Penney being tempted by a damsel in distress. 

After an unexpectedly large Wednesday night, the boys were back at it again on Saturday with VK world cup. Having emerged as a social presence on Wednesday, Chags solidified his position in the LUMHC social order with an impressive debut performance, eventually crashing out at the semi final stage. Having exhausted his reservoirs after a stellar performance, Chags joined Binwah in the corner, with the representatives from Italy and Monaco unable to hack it for the rest of the evening. Despite a poor group stage performance, Flo managed to find himself in the final by virtue of an EXTREMELY quick bottle in the final heat. However, the social sec would be usurped by the social-sec elect Jordan Belfort, who took the final VK crown of the year to assert his credentials for next semester. 

Patriots hockey

The past weekend saw rival colleges Furness and Cartmel battle it out over a multitude of sports to see who could claim bragging rights for this academic year. This meant that the age-old enemies faced off on Friday night on the hockey field, with a large crowd on the sidelines providing an electric atmosphere. The odds were always in Cartmel's favour, with a much larger number of university hockey players than Furness. Having said that, Furness battled against the odds stacked against them, and it took a while for Cartmel to find a breakthrough. This eventually came after Bambi finished off a sweeping Cartmel counter, with the assist provided by 2 Chainz. Stout defence from Furness meant that the score remained at 1-0 as the halftime whistle blew. Thriving in a new-found CB role, Haggis was the catalyst for the second goal of the game, enjoying B2B megs before hitting the ball through his own legs to the far post for a simple tap-in to double Cartmel's lead. In the final quarter, 3rd team captain and gamekeeper-turned-poacher Jolly scored his first goal in living memory, with a powerful finish after excellent build-up play from Bambi and Nay. Cartmel could be happy with the 3-0 victory whilst Furness could be proud of their resilience in the face of adversity. Thanks to all who came down to watch and to Dryllan and Sesh for umpiring. 

The return of Meet The Squad

After hard work by Kernkroft and Haggis, the updated Meet The Squad homepages are finally complete, and can be viewed here:

1st XI Meet The Squad
2nd XI Meet The Squad
3rd XI Meet The Squad
Development Squad Meet The Squad

After an extended hiatus, the Meet The Squad profiles are back as well, and back with a bang. To restart proceedings, we have a 6-part special, featuring Ben Mackerel, Bertie, Francis, Phil, Sesh and Wheels. Click on the handsome faces to read more about them.

Big week ahead for the 1st XI

After an outstanding season, it all comes down to this week for the 1st XI, both in BUCS Division 2A and North West Division 3. 1 point behind Liverpool John Moore heading into the final game away at the same opposition, the boys know that only a win will suffice if they are to overtake their opponents and be re-promoted back to Division 1A as champions. Having lost the home game 5-3, the 1st XI travelled to Liverpool a few weeks ago to play John Moore in the cup. Learning the mistakes from the first time around meant a much tighter affair, and Lancaster were unfortunate to be edged out on penalty flicks, after drawing 1-1 in normal time. Hopefully the upward trajectory of results against John Moore can be carried on, and whilst the lads know it will be a hard-fought contest, they are confident of emerging from Liverpool with a victory and the 2A title. 

Saturday then sees the 1st XI take on Golborne at home at 12:00. Starting the day two points behind second-placed Rochdale, it is clear that only a win will suffice if any ambitions of reaching the playoffs are harboured. The Red Rose will be hoping for a big win against Golborne to end the Saturday season on a high, and hoping that Rochdale slip up so that they can enter the Division 3 playoff rather than their rivals. All in all, a big week for the 1st XI, that will ultimately decide the success of their season before Roses. 

Back in Lancaster, the 2nd XI can crown a magnificent season with a win over Salford. Having already sealed the title two weeks ago against the same opposition, Hopeless' men have the chance to secure an unprecedented 100% league season with a win over Salford, which would give the boys real momentum before Roses. Backed on the sidelines by the 3rd XI who don't have a game themselves, the LUMHC 2nd XI will be preceded by the LUWHC 2nd XI, who are also looking to celebrate after wrapping up their title last Wednesday. If you're interested in coming to watch the title celebrations, take a look at our Facebook event. 

Similarly, best of luck to the LUWHC 1st XI, who have their last BUCS game of the season, but particularly to the LUWHC 3rd XI, who can leapfrog opponents Bolton and take their BUCS title if they beat their opponents on Wednesday. 

Hopefully celebrating a playoff position for the 1st team in Saturday League, the whole club will then gather at Lancaster House hotel on Saturday evening to celebrate at End of Season dinner, which should be a marvellous occasion as always. 

Week Ahead summary

A big week, particularly for the 1st XI, rounded off by End of Season dinner on Saturday

The 1st XI

Wednesday: Liverpool John Moore 1st XI (A)
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Saturday: Golborne 1st XI (H) - 12pm

The 2nd XI

Salford 1st XI (H) - 3.30pm

The 3rd XI

Will be on the sidelines, cheering on the LUMHC and LUWHC 2nd XIs