The London Racers was a British

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

club based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

formerly members of the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

. Although founded in 2003, it claimed to be a successor of the

Harringay Racers Harringay Racers refers to multiple British ice hockey teams based in Harringay, London, United Kingdom. Harringay Racers The first team to use the Harringay Racers moniker was founded in 1936 and initially played alongside Harringay Greyhou ...

club established in 1936. Due to a lack of suitable ice facility the club suspended its team operations part way through the 2005–06 season. It was the last professional ice hockey club to play in London.

2003–04 season

Formed and organized in only a few weeks, the Racers played their home games at Alexandra Palace. Erik Zachrisson captained the team. Their first season was a difficult one, as the team failed to win for some 40 games. Finally, a win arrived with a 3–0 victory over the Cardiff Devils. Another win followed as the team beat the

Basingstoke Bison The Basingstoke Bison are an English Ice Hockey club from Basingstoke. They currently compete in the NIHL National League and have previously been members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and its successor the Elite Ice Hockey League. History ...

4–0, but the team finished with a ghastly 3–49–2–2 record, still (as of 2010) the worst in league history.

2004–05 season

The team moved to the 1,200 capacity Lee Valley Ice Centre in

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

, east London, although the arena was considered small for Elite League hockey. The offseason saw the hiring of former

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

player Dennis Maxwell as Coach, who assembled a much stronger team, including perennial British all-star Steve Moria, and, with the 2004–05 NHL lockout, defenceman

Eric Cairns Eric Cairns (born June 27, 1974) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman and current director of player development for the New York Islanders. His last season (2006) was with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL. Playing career Drafted in the ...

and centre

Scott Nichol Scott B. Nichol (born December 31, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. On June 5, 2013, he announced his retirement to accept a job as the director of player development for the Nashville Predators, where he played from 200 ...

from the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. They made the playoffs in the sixth slot (out of seven teams) with a 19–19–9–3 record, but were eliminated by the Cardiff Devils.

2005–06 season

On 5 November, during a game against the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

, defenseman Blaž Emeršič sustained serious facial injuries after colliding with a protruding object in the rink boardings. Days later on 13 November a piece of plexiglass was smashed. When the same section of glass smashed again at a training session the following Tuesday, serious questions regarding the safety of players and spectators were raised. Unable to find a new venue or secure agreement on improving safety at Lee Valley, the Racers withdrew their team from competitions on 21 November and subsequently folded.

Head-to-head results

This only counts competitive games. Losses include OT losses. Seasons: 3 (2003-04-2005-06) Record (W-L-T): N/A-N/A-N/A

Basingstoke Bison

Belfast Giants

Bracknell Bees

Cardiff Devils

Coventry Blaze

Dundee Stars

Edinburgh Capitals

Fife Flyers

Guildford Flames

Hull Stingrays

Manchester Phoenix

Newcastle Vipers

Nottingham Panthers

Sheffield Steelers

External links

London Racers website
{{British ice hockey Defunct ice hockey teams in the United Kingdom Ice hockey clubs established in 2003 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2005 Ice hockey teams in London Former Elite Ice Hockey League teams 2003 establishments in England 2005 disestablishments in England