Lee Valley Lions

The Lee Valley Lions were formed in early 1984 and competed in a friendly game series. The 1984/85 season was their first competitive season. The team competed in the British Heineken League Division One (BD1), the second tier of British Ice Hockey, where they finished a credible sixth place in their first season. The 1985/86 season saw the Lions dominate the league alongside Solihull and Telford. The team finished in second place, following a 6–7 loss in their last game at third-placed Telford Tigers on the final day of the league season. In the following season, the Lee Valley Lions won their league and lifted the British League Division One Trophy, the only silverware the Lee Valley Lions have won to date.

The early successes of the team were never reached again. However, in 1986 the Lions recorded what probably remains their biggest win in the club's history with a 3–2 victory over Premier Division Nottingham Panthers in the Autumn Cup. From 1986/87 through to 1989/90 the Lions languished near the bottom of the league. They never finished higher than seventh place (1987/88). In fact, in 1988/89 the Lions would have been relegated if not for the expulsion of the Deeside Dragons from the league.

In 1990 British Engine became the team's main sponsor. This prompted a change in the team's colours from the original white, green, and blue to red, black and white. The new sponsorship could not change the form of the team and the seasons, though. The 1990/91 through 1994/1995 seasons were no better than what had preceded them, with the Lions firmly rooted near the foot of the league table. Relegation once again loomed at the end of the 1994/95 season. However, financial difficulties meant that the Lee Valley Lions stopped playing at the season's end.

In 2005, at the request of the Rink Operators, the Lee Valley Lions were reformed under former player and then Junior Head Coach Eddie Joseph. It was to compete in the English National Ice Hockey League with the team mainly comprising players from the junior system and a smattering of former players from the first incarnation. The team also returned to its traditional white, green, and blue colors. In their return season, the Lions struggled, suffered several heavy defeats, and failed to register any points. The team finished bottom of the league with a record of playing 20, and lost 20. The following season (2006/07) saw wholesale changes made to the team with new coach Sergei Smolenko being brought in alongside former Chelmsford Chieftains Captain James Hatfull to bolster the team's experience. Whilst there were significant improvements on the ice, the league positions during this period were frustratingly unchanged with the Lions never finishing higher than seventh (2007/08) under the Russian. With the reorganisation of the league structure for the beginning of the 2008/09 season, the Lee Valley Lions found themselves competing in the English National Ice Hockey League South Two (which itself was renamed the National Ice Hockey League South Two in time for the 2012/13 season).

There was some small non-league-related success achieved at the end of the 2007/08 season when the Lions travelled to the Isle of Wight for the first Vectis Tigers "Ice Cube Tournament" which involved several English National Ice Hockey League and senior recreational teams. After remaining unbeaten and winning their group on goal difference ahead of the hosts, the Lions beat the former English Premier Ice Hockey League side the Solihull Barons in the semi-final 4–1, followed by a 7–0 win in the final over the London University Dragons.

The 2009/10 season brought a period of stagnation and under performance for the Lee Valley Lions, unaltered by two changes in Head Coach (Ian Prince and then David Richards). Between 2009/10 and 2014/15 the best final league position achieved was seventh in the 2011/12 season.

First, under the coaching of Garry Dodds & then former Netminder George Alley, there appeared to be an upturn in the fortunes of the Lee Valley Lions. The 2014/15 season saw them finish in fifth place, the best league position since the 1985/86 season when they had been runners-up in the old British league Division One. The following year the team improved again to finish fourth, and the 2016/17 season brought another creditable fifth in the league. Unfortunately, this was only a hiatus to the usual indifferent form, which returned to haunt the team the following season.

The last season of George Alley's tenure as Head Coach (2017/18) coincided with a league restructure which pitted powerful former National Ice Hockey League South 1 teams such as Bracknell Hornets, Chelmsford Chieftains, Oxford City Stars and Solent Devils against the traditionally weaker South 2 sides. This saw the return of the Lions struggling at the wrong end of the league. Only one league win was registered via the forfeiture of a game by the Swindon Wildcats NIHL2 team. The season's end saw the coach and most of the team leave. The 2018/19 season started with James Joseph leading the team in his first coaching position whilst retaining his role as the club's longest-serving Defenceman. With a short-benched team, mainly consisting of veteran, former recreational and junior players experiencing their first taste of senior league hockey, the Lions struggled for any consistency. They were the recipients of some very one-sided scores. However, the team managed a single win during the season, 5–0 away to Swindon Wildcats NIHL2. The 2019/20 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst arguably playing better hockey than the year before, the team failed to register a win. The Lions did not ice during the 2020/21 season due to the league cancelling all games due to the ongoing pandemic. In June 2021 it was announced that the team's home, the Lee Valley Ice Centre would be closing for 16 months for major renovation work, with the team playing out of the Cambridge Ice Arena.

Heineken League British Division One League Runners Up: 1985/86

Heineken League British Division One Trophy Winners: 1985/86

• Lee Valley Lions official website