The Billingham Stars are an ice hockey team from the town of

Billingham Billingham is a List of towns in England, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed as part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees unitary authority ...

in the borough of

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

Teesside Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton ...

. They are currently members of the

National Ice Hockey League The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of semi-professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly calle ...

playing in its Division 1 North (Moralee Conference). The Stars play their home games at the Billingham Forum. The Stars are currently coached by ex-Durham Wasps player Stephen Foster and former Billingham player Richie Thornton. Notable ex-Billingham players include current GB International and

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The club's main (tit ...

Robert Dowd and

Patrice Lefebvre Patrice Lefebvre (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian-born Italian former ice hockey player. Lefebvre played three games in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals during the 1998–99 NHL season. Biography Lefebvre was born in Mont ...

who went on to play 3 games in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

History

The Billingham Bombers were founded in 1971 as members of the Northern League. In 1982 they became a founder member of the

British Hockey League The British League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1982 until 1996, when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League. Note that the league never had 'hockey' in its title. The le ...

and changed their name to the Cleveland Bombers. Between 1991 and 1995 the team played under the name of the Teesside Bombers before reverting to their original name. Between 1982 and 1986 and again between 1990 and 1994, the Bombers played in the Premier League, the top flight division of British ice hockey at the time. In more recent times the Bombers won the English League Northern section regular season championship and Northern section play off championship during the 2005–06 season. The Billingham Bombers did not compete in any league due to a refurbishment of their home venue TFM Radio Ice Arena in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons Ice Hockey returned to the forum in the 2011/12 seasons after merging with the

Northern Stars Northern Stars are a New Zealand netball team based in South Auckland. Since 2017 they have competed in the ANZ Premiership. The team was named after the Matariki star cluster which is also featured on the team's logo. They were grand finalist ...

who were facing problems with their home rink, the

Metro Radio Arena The Newcastle Arena (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Utilita Arena) is an indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global, the naming rights are currently held by Utilita Energy. Ha ...

. The new club was renamed Billingham Stars. In 2011/12, the club's first season back following two seasons away from Ice Hockey, Billingham Stars were successful in their attempt to become champions of the English National League, Northern Division. The Championship was finally won with the penultimate league match, at home to

Trafford Metros The Manchester Minotaurs were an ice hockey team currently playing in the English National Ice Hockey League North, Division 1. They were previously known as the Manchester Phoenix ENL (2007–2009), and the Trafford Metros (2009–2013). Hist ...

in a 2–2 draw, giving Billingham the final point required to ensure the title. In 2012/13 Billingham Stars finished as runners up to

Solway Sharks The Solway Sharks are the only senior ice hockey club in South West Scotland or Cumbria and play out of Dumfries Ice Bowl, King Street, Dumfries, Scotland. In the 2015–16 season the Sharks played in the English National Ice Hockey League N ...

for both the League and Cup as well as runners up to the Blackburn Hawks in the end of season playoffs. In 2013/14 season Billingham finished the season in 3rd position and were knocked out of the end of season Playoffs by 2nd placed Blackburn Hawks. In the 2014/15 season Billingham finished 2nd to Blackburn Hawks, whilst also making the end of season playoff finals at Dumfries, Scotland. Billingham Stars lost the playoff final game vs Blackburn Hawks. In 2015/16 season Billingham failed to make the Playoffs finishing in 5th position. However, as a consolation they did win the Northern Cup Competition. Billingham Stars won the 2023/24 English National League, Northern Division championship, confirming the title with a 3-0 away win against Hull Jets. They collected the trophy at their next home game, the following day, against

Solihull Barons The Solihull Barons are an English ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. ...

. They also reached the playoff final, but lost to Blackburn Hawks on a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

. In the 2024/25 season, Billingham won the Moralee Cip (formerly the Northern Cup), with a 9-8 win on aggregate against

Blackburn Hawks The Blackburn Hawks (formerly known as the Blackhawks and the Lancashire Hawks) are a British ice hockey team situated in Blackburn, Lancashire. They are presently affiliated with the EIHA Moralee Conference (NIHL N1) and have previously compete ...

. They went on to win the English National League, Northern Division championship, doing so with a 8-4 away win at Solihull Barons. Then Billingham won a third trophy, winning the Playoff final against Blackburn Hawks 6-3. This led to them entering the first national playoff championship final against the Division One South play-off winners

Slough Jets The Slough Jets are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, England playing in the NIHL South Division 1. The team was founded in 1986 after the construction of the Slough Ice Arena in Montem Lane in Slough and joined the first division of t ...

. Billingham won the match 5-4 in overtime, resulting in a fourth trophy for the season. They then played against Slough again in the Division One Championship final, but lost 6-1.

Club roster 2022-23

(*) Denotes a Non-British Trained player (Import)

2021/22 Outgoing

Retired Numbers

Club Records

League titles

*ED1: 2 (1998/99, 1999/00) *ENL: 5 (2000/01, 2005/06, 2011/12, 2023/24, 2024/25)

Play-Off Titles

*ED1 Playoffs: 1 (1998/99) *ENL Playoffs: 3 (2000/01, 2011/12, 2024/25) *National Playoffs: 1 (2024/25)

Cup Titles

*NIHL Northern Cup / Moralee Cup: 2 (2015/16, 2024/25)

Individual Records

*Most Games Played: Paul Windridge (569) *Most Goals Scored (All Time): Paul Windridge (367) *Most Assists (All Time): Paul Windridge (712) *Most Points Scored (All Time): Paul Windridge (1,079) *Most Penalty Minutes (All Time): Scott Ward (644) *Most Goals Scored in a Season: John Hutchings (120) (1987/88) *Most Assists in a Season: Pat Mangold (136) (1987/88) *Most Points Scored in a Season: Pat Mangold (252) (1987/88) *Most Penalty Minutes in a Season: Ricky Box (187) (2006/07)

References

A to Z Encyclopedia of Ice HockeyElite Prospects - Billingham Stars Roster & Stats
*''Nottingham Panthers Statistical History 1946–2000'' by Mick A. Chambers

External links

Official Website of the Billingham Stars
{{stockton Ice hockey teams in England Billingham Sport in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees