Warrior Spike

Whitley Warriors last night confirmed their second new signing of the close season when coach Simon Leach announced that Billingham Bombers skipper Paul Windridge would be joining the side for the 2009/10 campaign.

Windridge, who had a testimonial on Teesside at the end of last season, has previously played 17 times for the Warriors during the 1994/95 campaign (scoring 4+8) at a time when there was no ice hockey at Billingham; and now with the Bombers put on hold for a couple of season’s while their Forum ice rink is re-developed, the 37-year-old forward is back at Hillheads.

“Obviously it’s sad that there is no hockey in Billingham for now, but I need to be playing for a few more seasons yet, so coming back to Whitley was the best option for me” he said.

“I’m looking forward to playing for Whitley again,” he added, “and very hopeful of winning trophies with a bunch of players I know very well.”

Following the recent acquisition of Peterborough Phantoms forward Adam Reynolds, Warriors coach Simon Leach was delighted to add Windridge to his squad as well.

“Paul is a player of high quality and vast experience, “ said the Hillheads boss, “he has been around a long time and knows exactly what is required to be succesful.

“There were times when I felt we maybe lacked  a bit of that cutting edge in some of the big games last season, so I will be looking to his experience to help us in that department.

“While it’s disappointing we won’t have those big derby games against the Bombers for a couple of years,” Leach added, “I’m delighted to welcome Paul back to the WigWam.

“His signing, along with that of Adam Reynolds, shows how much we are trying to improve the quality of the Whitley squad; and I’m hopeful of bringing in a couple more new players in the next few weeks,” he confirmed.

Meanwhile, Leach has also announced that his side will be in action on August 23rd (face-off 5.30pm) when they take on a team of former Warriors players; with the highlight of the night being the presentation to Hilton Ruggles of his British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame certificate.