The Milton Keynes Thunder are an ice hockey team from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, they are known stylistically as Thunder. The team currently competes in the Wilkinson Conference, of the National Ice Hockey League Division 2 South (the forth tier of English National Ice Hockey). The team was founded in 2001 predominantly to provide competitive hockey and further development opportunities for players leaving the Milton Keynes Junior Ice Hockey system. Their home rink is the refurbished and renamed Planet Ice Arena, known locally as the Thunderdome. It has a capacity of circa 2,500.
Club history
Foundation
Founded in 2001, MK Thunder originally shared their home rink with the Milton Keynes Kings. However, the MK Kings were involved in a dispute with rink operators Planet Ice, which led to their relocation to Solihull in May 2002. The space left by the MK Kings was eventually taken by the Milton Keynes Lightning which was formed in 2002.
Position in the Milton Keynes Ice Hockey structure
As the second most senior ice hockey club in Milton Keynes, the MK Thunder have always played in the National Ice Hockey League South or its former incarnations (English National League South, English National League South A and English National League South 1). It has been used as a vehicle to further develop Milton Keynes based players and has been a 'feeder' club for the senior hockey club Milton Keynes Lightning. The teams iced by the club have been dominated by local players, supplemented by the occasional import (league rules restrict the use of import players to just two, compared to five in the defunct old second tier EPIHL and eleven in the first tier EIHL). The club also has links with the junior system and provides development opportunities for junior players at the Milton Keynes Storm Club.
Arena redevelopment In March 2013, Milton Keynes Council approved plans to redevelop the Leisure Plaza after failed attempts in 2006 and 2011. The development of the arena was funded by Morrisons Supermarkets and took 17 months to complete. This forced Thunder to play their home games at a temporary rink sited within the Milton Keynes City Centre in a building vacated by the Supermarket Waitrose. The rink and the MK ICE charity established to operate it was organised by the team's owner and the then general manager, David Fairhurst. The team returned to the redeveloped rink which had been renamed the "MK Arena" in October 2014.
Club honours NIHL League: 0 NIHL Playoffs: 0 NIHL BBO Cup: 1 2016–17 The Milton Keynes Thunder lifted their first silverware when they secured the NIHL South BBO Cup in the 2016–17 season.
Club roster 2025–26 NetmindersNo.Nat.PlayerCatchesPlace of birthAcquired 29 Aaron BurtonLEngland 2024 from Bristol Pitbulls36 Joseph Nolan LEngland 2025 from Nottingham Lions37Alfie DuguidLEnglandProspect 2-Way with MK Storm
DefencemenNo.Nat.PlayerShootsPlace of birthAcquired5 Robert Oxley REngland 2025 from Telford Tigers 210 Madison Wright REngland 2-Way with Solihull Vixens16 Corey Taylor REngland 2025 from Haringey Huskies23 James BryanREngland Basingstoke33 Joshua Furnell REngland Prospect 2-Way with MK Storm38 Mikel Gomez-Ortega R England Prospect 2-Way with MK Storm40 Josh HickmanREngland55 Jaggar BillinghamREngland 2024 MK Storm74Dom WealthallREngland77Ryan WonforLCanada2025 from Dunedin Thunder81James MoellerREngland2025 from Solihull Barons94Harry FosterLEnglandProspect 2-Way with MK Storm
ForwardsNo.Nat.PlayerShootsPlace of birthAcquired9 Sam Peters RSwitzerland 2024 from Nottingham Mavericks11 Elliott Davies REngland 202414 Xander Robinson REngland 2024 from Basingstoke Buffalo17 William Rees REngland Prospect 2-Way with MK Storm21 Mark Austen REngland 2023 from Basingtoke22 Harry MacGarveyLEngland MK Storm24 Charlie Conroy REngland MK Storm45 Hayden Hagger REngland 201963 Lewis Conroy REngland 2-Way MK Lightning/MK Storm64 Sam Purcell REngland Prospect 2-Way MK Storm86 Ivo Gaytanski RBulgaria Prospect 2-Way MK Storm97 Marks Kanins LLatvia 2025 from Nottingham Mavericks
Statistical records
Top ten appearances League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsApp 1 Harrison Goode2007–2018 & 2020–2022 346 2 Paul Gore2002–2009 & 2011–2017 335 3 Sam Fairhurst2002–2015 inclusive 325 4 Matthew Roberts2002–2003, 2004–2014 & 2015–2016 2945 Alex Whyte2013–2022 inclusive 280 6 Nidal Phillips2009–2018 inclusive 279 7 Jamie Randall2008–2009 & 2010–2017 267 8 Tom Mboya2010–2019 inclusive 245 9 Lewis Clifford2002–2011 inclusive 240 9 Connor Goode2009–2013, 2014–2018 & 2021–2022 240
Top ten points scorers League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsPts 1 Harrison Goode2007–2018 & 2020–2022 231 2 Jamie Line2010–2011 & 2014–2019 214 3 Ross Bowers2010–2011 & 2015–2019 213 4 Alex Whyte2013–2022 inclusive 170 5 Connor Goode2009–2013, 2014–2018 & 2021–2022 163 6 Tom Mboya2010–2019 inclusive 145 7 Jamie Randall2008–2009 & 2010–2017 141 8 Michael Knights2003–2006 & 2007–2011 121 9 Kieron Goody2002–2011 inclusive 113 9 Aram Todd2002–2007 & 2010–2011 113
Top ten goal scorers League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsGls 1 Harrison Goode2007–2018 & 2020–2022 110 2 Ross Bowers2010–2011 & 2015–2019 107 3 Jamie Line2010–2011 & 2014–2019 96 4 Connor Goode2009–2013, 2014–2018 & 2021–2022 78 5 Paul Jamieson2002–2011 inclusive 72 6 Tom Mboya2010–2019 inclusive 68 7 Alex Whyte2013–2022 inclusive 62 8 Maros Stefanco2010–2012 inclusive 51 9 Michael Knights2003–2006 & 2007–2011 48 10 Aram Todd2002–2007 & 2010–2011 46 10 Kieron Goody2002–2011 inclusive 46
Top ten goal assists League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsAst 1 Harrison Goode2007–2018 & 2020–2022 121 2 Jamie Line2010–2011 & 2014–2019 119 3 Ross Bowers2010–2011 & 2015–2019 108 3 Alex Whyte2013–2022 inclusive 106 5 Jamie Randall2008–2009 & 2010–2017 97 6 Connor Goode2009–2013, 2014–2018 & 2021–2022 85 7 Tom Mboya2010–2019 inclusive 77 8 Michael Knights2003–2006 & 2007–2011 71 9 Kieron Goody2002–2011 inclusive 67 9 Aram Todd2002–2007 & 2010–2011 67
Top ten penalty minutes League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsPIM 1 Matthew Roberts2002–2003, 2004–2014 & 2015–2016 1520 2 Paul Gore2002–2009 & 2011–2017 932 3 Lee Featherstone2003–2008 & 2009–2012 746 4 Paul Jamieson2002–2011 inclusive 684 5 Michael Knights2003–2006 & 2007–2011 592 6 James Roberts2002–2009 inclusive 555 7 Lewis Clifford2002–2011 inclusive 464 8 Harrison Goode2007–2018 & 2020–2022 370 9 Kieron Goody2002–2011 inclusive 320 10 Ivan Turan2006–2008 inclusive 269
Top ten points to game ratio League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season (Players with under 20 appearances not included) PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsPts 1 Maros Stefanco2010–2012 inclusive 1.65 2 Jakub Klima2016–2017 1.34 3 Michal Lauko2008–2009 1.32 4 Ross Bowers2010–2011 & 2015–2019 1.31 5 Piotr Poziomkowski2013–2015 inclusive 1.18 6 Jamie Line2010–2011 & 2014–2019 1.17 7 Mark Krater2002–2004 & 2005–2008 1.07 8 Michael Knights2003–2006 & 2007–2011 1.04 9 Tom Hurley2004–2008 inclusive 1.02 10 Tom Rubes2018–2019 1.00 10 Maksims Petruks2012–2014 inclusive 1.00
Top ten goals to game ratio League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season (Players with under 20 appearances not included) PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsGls 1 Maros Stefanco2010–2012 inclusive 0.93 2 Jakub Klima2016–2017 0.79 3 Jamie Holland2009–2010 0.74 4 Ross Bowers2010–2011 & 2015–2019 0.66 5 Michel Lauko2008–2009 0.64 6 Maksims Petruks2012–2014 inclusive 0.57 7 Tom Rubes2018–2019 0.55 7 Piotr Poziomkowski2013–2015 inclusive 0.55 9 Josh Nicklin2008–2010 & 2014–2016 0.53 10 Tom Hurley2004–2008 inclusive 0.52 10 Jamie Line2010–2011 & 2014–2019 0.52
Top ten assists to game ratio League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season (Players with under 20 appearances not included) PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsAst 1 Cameron Wynn2016–2017 0.80 2 Maros Stefanco2010–2012 inclusive 0.73 3 Michel Lauko2008–2009 0.68 4 Ross Bowers2010–2011 & 2015–2019 0.65 4 Jamie Line2010–2011 & 2014–2019 0.65 6 Piotr Poziomkowski2013–2015 inclusive 0.63 7 Michael Knights2003–2006 & 2007–2011 0.62 8 Jakub Klima2016–2017 0.56 8 Mark Krater2002–2004 & 2005–2008 0.56 10 Mark Conway2002–2004 0.55 10 Tom Carlon2017–2019 & 2021–2022 0.55
Top ten penalty minutes to games ratio League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season (Players with under 20 appearances not included) PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsPIM 1 Ivan Turan2006–2008 inclusive 7.08 2 Richard Munnelly2002–2004 inclusive 5.78 3 Michael Knights2003–2006 & 2007–2011 5.19 4 Matthew Roberts2002–2003, 2004–2014 & 2015–2016 5.17 5 Lee Featherstone2002–2008 & 2009–2012 4.49 6 James Roberts2002–2009 inclusive 4.08 7 Antti Kohvakka2019–2022 inclusive 4.07 8 Zac Chamberlain2019–2021 inclusive 3.17 9 Jacob Corson-Heron2008–2011 inclusive 3.16 10 Paul Jamieson2002–2011 inclusive 3.14
Top ten save percentages League, Cup & Play Offs; as at end of 2021/22 Season (Players with under 20 appearances not included) PlayerNo.Nat.PlayerActive SeasonsSv% 1 Damien King2014–2016 inclusive 92.24 2 Jordan Lawday2018–2019 90.19 3 Tom Annetts 2017–2019 inclusive 89.91 4 Denis Bell2013–2014 88.96 5 David Wride2016–2017 88.94 6 Mark Woolf2002–2014 & 2015–2018 88.91 7 Jordan Hedley2012–2013 88.17 8 Graham Laverick2019–2021 inclusive 87.91 9 David Cassidy2010–2014 inclusive 85.61 10 Kim Taylor2003–2008 inclusive 81.81
Retired Numbers PlayerNumberNat.PlayerActive SeasonsAcquired 1 Mark Woolf2002–2014 & 2015–20182002 from Milton Keynes Kings
Season-by-season record Milton Keynes Thunder season-by-season record Season League GP W OTW T OTL L PTS GF GA League Position 2001–02 ENIHL South 18 8 N/A 1 N/A 9 17 77 102 6th 2002–03 ENIHL South 20 8 N/A 2 N/A 10 18 77 76 4th 2003–04 ENIHL South 16 9 N/A 2 N/A 5 20 62 42 3rd 2004–05 ENIHL South 18 7 N/A 4 N/A 7 18 51 66 5th 2005–06 ENIHL South 20 8 N/A 4 N/A 8 20 84 74 6th 2006–07 ENIHL South 22 5 N/A 4 N/A 15 14 79 99 9th 2007–08 ENIHL South A 16 9 N/A 2 N/A 5 20 67 50 4th 2008–09 ENIHL South 1 28 7 N/A 5 N/A 16 19 73 114 7th 2009–10 ENIHL South 1 36 6 N/A 3 N/A 27 15 107 228 8th 2010–11 ENIHL South 1 40 14 N/A 4 N/A 22 32 147 192 7th 2011–12 ENIHL South 1 36 7 N/A 4 N/A 25 18 105 216 8th 2012–13 NIHL South 1 32 6 N/A 1 N/A 25 13 130 179 8th 2013–14 NIHL South 1 32 3 N/A 1 N/A 28 7 78 233 9th 2014–15 NIHL South 1 36 16 N/A 5 N/A 15 37 127 118 6th 2015–16 NIHL South 1 36 14 N/A 2 N/A 20 30 127 149 7th 2016–17 NIHL South 1 28 9 N/A 2 N/A 17 20 91 125 7th 2017–18 NIHL South 1 31 6 3 N/A 6 16 25 74 120 7th 2018–19 NIHL South 1 42 2 2 N/A 1 31 21 102 179 7th 2019–20 NIHL South 1 36 3 2 N/A 1 27 11 64 216 10th 2021–22 NIHL South 1 32 2 2 N/A 1 27 9 101 236 9th 2024–25 NIHL South 1 36 1 0 N/A 0 34 3 53 291 10th Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; OTW = Overtime Wins; OTL = Overtime Losses; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
Associated teams Milton Keynes Lightning Milton Keynes Storm Milton Keynes Hurricanes
References
External links Milton Keynes Thunder MKIH Forums Planet Ice