The opening day of October proved to be a busy day at Cannock Hockey Club, not only was it the beginning of the MRHA campaign but it was also our first fundraiser of the season led by our young Badgers side and their manager Andy Hoare.

We cannot forget to thank Karl Owen who on Saturday morning came to fix and sort the steps leading to the video tower by pitch 2 (pictured). Work like this often goes unnoticed but we thank Karl for his time and efforts.

The opening league game brought rather mixed success on the pitch, our 2nd Team started the day with a 3-3 draw at home against Nottingham University with goals coming from the returning Richard Parker, newcomer Hamish McKittrick and bad-boy Lewis Round. Surprisingly, it was Parker who balanced out his day with a green card for a rather uncompromising shoulder barge that sent the student flying halfway across the turf, much to the delight of usual suspect Round!! Our 3rd Team faced a tough journey to the same opponents with a bare XI players and lost 4-1 despite an equaliser from Eddie Martin half-way through the first half.

It proved a very tough start to the season for our 4th Team who had their game delayed in the pouring rain due to issues with umpires and when they finally started they were condemned to an 8-1 defeat to complete a miserable triple header against the students of Nottingham. A goal for George Collins on his debut proved a highlight but Club Captain Alex Hill was taken off minutes into the second half after a nasty clash with his own player to sum up a miserable day for the Midlands Premier side.

There was more positive news for our lower teams as our new 5th Team (formerly our 7s) started their new campaign with a great 3-2 win away at Old Wolves 4s despite going behind twice a Paul Martin double and a Jonny Machin reverse stick gave Cannock the points, the game did include 1st Team Coach Gary Stacey missing a penalty stroke earning him DoD nominations.

Our 6th Team also made a strong start to the season with a 4-0 win over Stafford thanks to a brace from Evan Alcock and strikes for Dom Hoare and Harry Michael, the game also included a debut for keeper Tony Blower (pictured).

The headline story of Saturday must go to the badgers.

The Badgers Squad had a very wet Saturday this week, but the weather did not dampen their spirits.

The young Badgers players (and their parents) showed fantastic commitment to Cannock Hockey Club by washing over 35 cars and making £175 for the club. It rained for the majority of the 4 hours the Car Wash was open but this did not deter the youngsters or stop their fun.

Following the Car Wash the squad was ready to play Coalville for their weekly Badger match. Unfortunately Coalville were unable to make it to Cannock so an interclub match was hastily arranged in the pouring rain. The young Badger players played three sessions of hockey with their parents becoming the coaches and providing invaluable advice and support. The session finished with an exciting 20 minutes of attackers versus defenders where the defenders made an amazing comeback to level the match.

The day finished in the club house, getting warm and dry, enjoying some well deserved hotdogs and having a laugh and joke about the day's activities."

Sunday was a quieter day but also an important one as our 1st team travelled to Oxton for their first away game of the season. Cannock’s hard work and determination was rewarded for the first time in the league this season as a battling performance brought them their first point of the new campaign thanks to a late Matt Plunkett equaliser. The game ended as a 3-3 draw to open Cannock’s account for the season, Chris Beck scoring the other two goals for the maroon men.  Next weekend Cannock travel to 4th placed Doncaster hoping to climb the early league table.