My Week in Review:

Disclaimer: in no way is this post trying to make light of such a serious concern like concussions. In all my years of playing ice hockey, lacrosse, et cetera, or basically any place I could potentially get hurt, I don’t ever recall experiencing a week quite like this: where I felt so minuscule, so restless, and so lonely. Although, through being sat about basically avoiding the world so to not aggravate my condition it has made me realise and/or take note of a few things. If this comes across as tasteless… well, minimal apologies. Being an exceptionally active person like myself, I found it truly difficult to entertain myself from bed for 5 days—or if you look at it from a writer's perspective, I write about everything. :D

Thus,

The following are the top 10 things I’ve learnt the past week whilst slumbering and whinging away inside my dark bedroom, which has finally stopped spinning(!). My motor skills on the other hand, typing especially, may have taken a small hit:

1) I highly advise against slamming the back of your head on the ice—but if you’re going to do it at least make it worthwhile, like I should have scored. But to be fair, its all almost avoidable, like: don’t trip over the person who has just fallen in front of you. Common sense things, he says. In hindsight, I probably should've gone glove side instead of blocker, but I'm flashy, evident by my love of going to the backhand on breakaways.

2) Having a professor of athletic training (a “physio” for all you Brits as I was told 'don't tell her I'm lazy'; it took me two days to understand why they said that) as a mother is the best thing ever… would be even better if she weren’t 4000+ miles away.

3) It just means you have to show her that you can do a number of squats without getting light-headed through FaceTime. A genius invention these webcams. Keep the door closed so you don't look foolish. She'll ask things like, what did the hospital tell you?, what medicine are you taking?, how is your appetite?, and then use a gigantic word to describe it all. No room for "how many fingers?" here.

4) Living near a hospital is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing: didn’t have to go far to get checked out (although A&E weren’t too pleased when I mentioned the head injury occurred last Friday night sometime after 11pm, not that [Thursday] morning at 11am); the curse: constant sirens throughout the night are not the one because…

5) I’m apparently noise sensitive. Not so much light sensitive, except first thing in the morning when I make myself stumble into the door. Good thing I didn't pick the sunniest week in Manchester to have a concussion or anything. Places to avoid: public transportation, the kitchen, my room when the guy next door decides it’s time to finally clean his garden, my room when the guy next door decides to run his machine saw, my room when a giant fly is buzzing about (see no. 9). Sorry I couldn't make the Liverpool night out Ste.

6) A meal is best served half-prepared for you already. For example: buy the Morrison's pepperoni pizza, then just cook your chicken, slice the peppers, throw it all on top, then place it in the oven. Cut out the middle man as it were (see no. 5, places to avoid). Or just order takeaway.

7) This has been the first week since injuring my knee way back when in April 2013 where I have been off it pretty much completely… that is if you overlook the 14 mile round trip walk I did to see Le Tour this past Sunday. So this is a, "two birds with one stone" sort of thing, I guess. MY KNEE FEELS GREAT(ish). Meaning, injuries are good at resting other injuries?

8) Chris Froome has now made my boring days far more so since abandoning due to injury on stage 5, and daytime television is taking a hit because the latest season of MTV’s Ex onthe Beach has concluded so what is there to watch now? PS: I forgave Chris Froome and when did Vicky Pattison lose all that weight?

9) My mother gave me a “DAMMIT DOLL” as a present this past Christmas, as a joke I think. Though, I believe it is her favourite word. That or ffff—“we now return you to your regularly scheduled programme”. Well, dammit, that thing has come in handy. I have been on a moth and fly killing spree due to being “noise sensitive” (see no. 5, places to avoid).

10) Saturday = sturdy and Sunday = surnsday (ß … or something close to that). I think my texts have been pretty coherent, but sometimes I just forget about the spacebar altogether, or what might look right to me may actually be gibberish. This is the motor skill of which I eluded to earlier. Made a blunder typing "integrate" instead of "interrogate" the other night... big difference really.

Honourable mention: sternocleidomastoid, my glasses make me feel ill, I wouldn’t have made it through this ordeal without Mr Bear and/or waking up to his ear in my mouth, no matter how many times you watch the final play in Friday Night Lights, Mike Winchell is always going to be about a foot short, “I-right, wiggle 34 switchblade, for the state championship”, there are some who don’t believe that Arthur is an aardvark.

I'm sure there are ten better things, I just can't remember them.

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Edit note: Proofread this sucker as best as possible... Things have come in sort of stages, though the headaches have been a bit constant. Today (Saturday) was the first day where I had a bit of a "memory glitch" when I tried to remember something about yesterday. Life and anxiously awaiting my return to physical activity.

Le Tour de France 2014

Marcel Kittel in the Yellow Jersey.

I have been to many pivotal games in the NHL playoffs -- most notably in 2002 during the Carolina Hurricanes run to the finals, I have been to two NCAA Final Fours (San Antonio '08, Detroit '09), I have been to multiple men's and women's ACC Tournaments, I have been to venues like Madison Square Garden, Old Trafford, the Dean Dome, Kelley Rink, The Carrier Dome, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, and TD Garden, I have played at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid where the 1980 Miracle on Ice happened, as well as the 1932 rink where the U.S. finished second, and at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, and at Zimni stadion Lud'ka Cajky in Zlin, but none of what I have seen or done compares to the spectacle that is the Tour de France. Do not get me wrong, all of the above in their own right represent great importance to a culture dominated by sports, but the precision in orchestrating such a grand public party has such a small margin of error and year-to-year it is done.

The "venue" is literally picked up and moved daily for a shade over three weeks for 21 stages and not every mile a particular stage is the same either. Spectators show up and line the streets, hills, or farms for free arriving by bike, skateboard, foot, motorcycle, or car, and wait for hours on end for a single moment that may last for 10 minutes, sometimes even less, and then promptly disperse as if nothing had ever occurred. There is a distinct buzz after, but even that, too, dissipates quickly.

De'Ath munching on ROTC preparation.

Like the cyclist, its the journey from Point A to Point B that is of interest: how the spectator arrives to view that single moment.

Today, myself, Andrew Mackinnon, and the man with arguably the best surname in the business, Kieren De'Ath made that journey to a makeshift car park in a farmer's field at the start of the Peak District in Yorkshire and simply began walking. Yes, walking, along with many others the painful 6 to 7 miles to a random corner so that we may be witness to the sounds we hear on our televisions: the odd high-pitched shrill of car horns as the convoy bustles along, the warning sirens to clear the road, the sound of helicopters hovering above the riders (plural because there had to be at least six), the crowds rising to their feet for riders "whooping", ringing cow bells, ect., the churning sound of tyres on asphalt as the riders flew by, the mix of French, English, and other languages, and the sound of engines as team cars chased their riders.

It was a work of poetry, and of pageantry -- the recognisable LCL sponsored cars, the Gendarmerie, the carriage of team cars with extra bikes on top. It was both visual and audible, yet it all moulded into something that vanished just as quickly as it was created -- where at times, sound even lost itself in the moment.

I only began watching the Tour around 2003. At the time, I had little cycling experience and even littler cycling knowledge. I would just get on the bike and pedal -- to a friend's, to school, to the shop to buy candy. But a colleague of my mother's, a Mr Randy Schmitz, followed the Tour regularly and cycled himself in races across North Carolina. That year, on his family's July visit to our beach house in South Carolina he flipped Le Tour on one morning to check the Stage's progress. I, sat on the couch, was captivated not only by the great distances or grueling climbs, but by the commentary of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, the sight of grown men dressed as the devil or a bunny rabbit chasing after the riders, the tradition of ending on the Champs-Elysses. As many of you know the type of person I am, I flooded Randy with questions. Since then, my experiences of personal cycling have grown little, much like my knowledge of cycling tactics in general, but each July I tune in everyday, for every stage as if I were now an expert.

Now it was here. Six inches in front of my face. My knees feeling the cool wisp of wind as the sole stage leader and chasing peloton whizzed by -- my feet almost getting in the way of several motorcycles.

It was the two-hour trudge up and down the winding roads and footpaths of the Peak District ; it was the last 1/4 mile run as the crowds behind us prematurely erupted ; it was the chicken sandwich clenched in my right hand in anticipation, crumbling as I took photos ; it was seeing Sesame Street cast members Ernie and Big Bird stood on a roadside at the foot of a hill ; it was seeing Marcel Kittel in the famed Maillot Jaune; it was knowing that somewhere in the pack were the likes of Chris Froome, Peter Sagan, Alberto Contador, Thomas Voeckler ; it was saying to Mack and Kieren that if we missed the Tour it might possibly go down as one of best blunders for a blog post, maybe even more so memorable than if we had made it ;  it was for that moment back in 2003 sitting in the little house at the beach watching men on bikes race across France and having little idear what was going on ; it was all for the 6 minutes, from the sight of the lead car till the final ambulance ;

it was all to see, in person, one of the greatest spectacles in sports.



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Edit note: Sir Rodney Walker estimates that 2.5m spectators lined the route over the last two days (via BBC).

Thanks for YouTube...

...and for the gentleman filming the 4v4 for catching the horrific moment where I caught an edge whilst making a simple pivot, thus, the result is me tumbling to the ice as if I meant to perform an awkward barrel roll (see link above around the 2:47 mark). Afterward, I promptly go down the other end and stuff the puck in the goalie's pads.

Mack said that folks got a bit of enjoyment watching me take a digger and, to be fair, I found myself letting out a bit of a laugh. Later in the day, when my legs were beyond tired, I would catch another edge and go back first into the boards. Life as Allen.

MMU's Success Magazine

Early in May I was asked by ManMet's Success magazine if I would do an interview for their Summer 2014 issue about studying internationally and how the access to scholarships makes it possible to do so. Success focuses on stories about alumni and soon-to-alumni. Where do I factor in? In Summer 2013, I was awarded, along with a handful of others, The Vice-Chancellor Scholarship, which helped to fund my final year as an undergraduate.

The Summer issue of Success magazine can be found in print across the various MMU campuses and also online at www.mmu.ac.uk/success. My interview is located on page 13.

Go easy on me, this was the first bit of "modeling" I have ever had to do. Don't expect any GQ covers to follow, I'll leave that to Tom Brady and Colin Kaepernick... although, my housemate Tom Steedman was impressed with the size of my shoulders, said I was looking "pretty big".

Dear ALLEN...

Interview Game Face Selfie, crooked glasses.

It was around the age of 16/17 that I discovered the desire to pursue a career in journalism, but the path to my current place in time as a soon-to-be holder of a BA (Hons) English degree did not come without its hiccups or snafus.

As a junior at Westfield High School, Journalism I was the first time I was exposed to the media and news writing style in an academic setting. As a whole, it was one of the more popular classes available as an English elective and I had always heard many good things about it so I felt lucky to have been given it on my schedule—even if not for all the right reasons at the start: mainly the ability to leave school for interviews and food. But I quickly found myself excited by the subject possibilities I could soon write about. Throughout the next two years I would go on to write a glowing review of The Devil Wears Prada’s album With Roots Above and Branches Below, a community feature on area band and friends Within the Ruins, who at the time were weeks away from releasing Creature on Victory Records, an in-school article about the growth of technology available in WHS classrooms where I interviewed former-WHS principal Mr Broderick, a collaborative article about Tori Hunter’s at-the-wall grab on Mother’s Day, and about the Texas Longhorns’ run through the SuperRegionals, among several other topics.

The class was taught by a familiar teacher, one, who with just two years prior, I had had an in-school disciplinary mix-up with [details withheld; sorry for all those who wish to pry]. So, naturally I found myself both excited and hesitant at the prospect of being in the same environment with this teacher again. But over the next two years, Mrs Lyn Roberts and I would go on to repair a fractured teacher-student relationship that had clearly gotten off on the wrong foot. Mrs Roberts would later write in my senior yearbook, "What a journey we have had". Her kind words and support would become highly influential in determining my future career.

In my senior year, I was recommended by Mrs Roberts to be an editor in the Journalism II section that oversaw newcomers to Journalism I. My final piece of writing that year was about Lebron James and his flee from Cleveland whilst determining his potential suitors.

In the end, I was wrong. He went to Miami, not Chicago.

Earlier in my senior year of high school when I was applying to various universities, I threw my guidance counsellor a curve ball, along with everyone else in the room. The conversation went something like this:

PULEO: When deciding whom to ask for recommendation letters you want to consider what degree path you have selected. [looks around the four or five students] For example, Allen would be best off asking Mr Kennedy, as he wants to pursue a degree in music.

ME: Um… I’m not going to school for music. I’m going to be a journalist.

PULEO & REST: Oh! Wow. I just assumed…

And so it began.

Why does this all matter?

I am on the verge of accepting a place at Salford Uni on their MA Journalism programme. Salford will prepare me for work in the UK news industry, as well give me the ability to sit the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) exam since they are an accredited university. I was offered my place this past Friday (27/06). After much deliberation and consideration over the last few months about which universities to apply for, Salford, in the end, was the only programme that I applied for because of the fantastic opportunities it offered—so as Bryce Vine says, “no chips, but I’m all in”.

The campus is located at the MediaCityUK facilities at Salford Quays and has placement access with various news outlets including the BBC, ITV, and Granada. I will be focusing solely on sports journalism in the second half of the year, but will also have the opportunity to delve into both television and radio. Many of my favourite journalists work across all three mediums, including Dan Le Batard, Pablo S. Torre, and Colin Cowherd.

This past Tuesday (24/06) I had my interview with the programme director and felt it went considerably well… considering I didn’t have to take the aptitude test due to printer problems. I had to answer two simple questions: 1) why do you want to come to Salford, and 2) who is your favourite journalist. Both were easy answers. I believe Salford’s MA offers me the best chance to be successful as a journalist because of its close proximity to the UK news industry at MediaCity. Its course design, as illustrated by Paul the director, will give me not only sports specific writing skills, but also a broad range of skills that can give me an advantage on my CV. I also have become too attached to Manchester to want to leave.

Pablo S. Torre was the answer to question two for his youthful writing nature, although I was a half second away from saying Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman who contributes to SI’s MMQ. Recently for ESPNFC’s blog, Torre wrote a 500+ word long run-on sentence. Qualities like this to go beyond the box are things I admire. Also, his exceptional knowledge of both sport and sociology are characteristics to envy and aspire to. Torre’s position as a panellist on Around the Horn is also something I enjoy, which bridges that gap of both sports writing and television.

“Great moments are born from great opportunity.”

Its days like Friday that make me realise just how far I have come. Where, Dear ALLEN, Thank you for your application to the University of Salford, I am very pleased to inform you that we will be offering you a Conditional place… triggers every emotion and memory. Where, “I am nothing but proud of you”, releases 23 years of hard work trying to earn it, trying to repay a sacrifice of a chance at a better life. I know full well that I have been granted one of the most unique of opportunities. As an adopted individual from Guatemala, I cannot possibly thank my adoptive parents enough for everything they’ve done to help get me to where I am. Had they not, my circumstances would be drastically different, polar-extremes. Both words of encouragement and of scorn directed me down the right path. They’ve always gone above and beyond. Whether it was early morning trips to the ice rink, long flights to Texas or Colorado, or taking me to various live athletic events, they’ve allowed sport to hold a special place in my life and my hopeful career path reflects that. I remember growing up and listening to stories of the late Kay Yow and Jim Valvano and recalling all the various lessons I learnt from them: “When life kicks you, let it kick you forward” and “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up”, hearing what Pete Carroll was like before USC and the NFL and the Super Bowl victory, or how Phil Ford’s impressive VO₂ test almost kept my mom and her colleagues from getting to the bar one afternoon.

Although my lack of knowledge of anatomy and biology kept me away from sports medicine, it opened up the avenue leading towards sports writing, where I had already always had interest in creative writing.

I was able to gain first hand experience as an Editorial Assistant in Sports at the Greensboro News & Record and it only furthered my need to be a part of the sports news industry. I thank Charlie Atkinson for his recommendation, for having the confidence that I was the guy for the job, and that I could handle the busiest of nights in high school sports on my own. Here, I can also say thank you to Rosemary Roberts, my ENG-219 Journalism professor at UNCG for taking us to the News & Record as a class, which led to that position. An extension can also be made to Dr Babb and ENG-230 where I learnt about profiles like those in The New Yorker and about op-eds. Kudos to Randy Schmitz for being a star interviewee, twice. His excitement and enthusiasm for his profession is something I want to see in my career.

My third year tutor, Nikolai Duffy, wrote my other recommendation letter and he was always positive about my application and about the things I had accomplished at ManMetUni—both on my dissertation and my poetry portfolio. I thank him for pushing me to be more specific in my subject matters so my arguments are evermore critical of the material.

I will take a quick moment to recognise my brother Tommy Gunn who has always pushed me as to get the best out of me whether in the classroom, in the gym, or on the ice because he has the belief there is a level I have yet to reach. I cannot have asked for a better older brother, even if I'm now about a 1/4 inch taller than he. He knows when to be firm, when to hold back, and where to give praise when due. Title it for me: time to get SWOL.

And finally a dual thank you to both the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and at Chapel Hill. UNCG gave me the platform necessary to find out about studying internationally and about ManMetUni. Without UNCG accepting me to their institution and for housing sticking me in the International House in my first year, who knows where I could have ended up. And to Chapel Hill… I’m not bitter, but there is now an added drive to want to be even better to show what they passed on because I have always been taught I can achieve anything I set my mind to.

Oh, and this means I get at minimum another year with the Manchester Metros Ice Hockey Club. We are looking for redemption in 2014/15 in Div1 North. And it also means many more naps to be had in the MacKinnon car on the way to Southampton matches.

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Edit note: This post would’ve been up on Friday night, but the internet in our neighbourhood has been down since the 24th, thanks Virgin Media, and is still currently down with no one available to come sort out the problem until Thursday. I feel I have been Stone Age living without WiFi and my data plan has been paying the price. Thank you Costa for letting me borrow you WiFi.

"Great moments..." -- Herb Brooks addressing his team before their 1980 Olympic Game against the Soviets.

Edit note: Misspelling of Kay Yow's name fixed from "Kate"; factual typo, Lebron went to Miami after The Decision. He left Cleveland.

Widnes Wild 4v4: Day 3

Widnes Wild's 4v4 Summer Cup tournament concluded Sunday night with five teams competing for the inaugural championship trophy. The five teams to make it through the Day 1 and Day 2 group stages were Furnival Flyers, Darwen Devils, HUGE Fries, Lumberjack Leprechauns, and Bracegirdle's Bombers. All were still comprised of ENL, EPL, and rec players.

Sunday's face-off was around quarter-past-five with Furnival Flyers v. Darwen Devils getting the event underway. A steady crowd of between 40-50 people watched on as the tournament progressed through another round robin stage, which followed the same format as the previous days -- one 10-minute period. The final would be two 8-minute periods, all run clock.

The team I played for, HUGE Fries, eased through the group stages with 1-0, 2-0, and 3-1 wins. The last round robin game was a precursor to the finals, which ended in a 1-1 draw against Bracegirdle's Bombers.

In the semifinals we were matched up against Furnival Flyers and the game was evenly matched with both teams having solid chances with no breakthrough. As it entered the closing stages the Huge Fries caught the opposition on the break and for all the horribleness I had played up until then I finished on a perfectly placed pass across goal from Kieran Strangeway that proved to be the difference.

Mack & I before the first game.

There was little time between our semifinal and the finals against Bracegirdle's Bombers who beat a four man team of Darwen Devils in convincing fashion. The first half (as it were) finished 1-0 in favour of Bracegirdle's Bombers with several chances for both sides.

The final period saw most of the action as tired legs made way for more chances. B's Bombers added to their lead early and quickly went into defensive mode to protect it. HUGE Fries chased the game back to a one goal difference through Max Drakeley's backhand flick over the goalie's shoulder. Conceding didn't change the B's Bombers protect plan.

As the game dwindled to its closing stages, HUGE Fries controlled much of the puck as they searched for an equaliser. It was left late as I notched through a scrambler in front with just under 10 seconds left. But in the format the clock does not stop and there is no face off. It is get the puck and go. And that is what Bracegirdle's Bombers did as Shaun Dippnall undressed Tom McDonald on a shifty deke with 1.8 on the clock.

Heartbroken.

HUGE Fries: Ben Brown, Joe Charlton, Max Drakeley, Allen Gunn, Tom McDonald, Kieran Strangeway, Tom Wilson.

Full videos across all three days of the tournament may be found on Phobeninc's YouTube channel.

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Edit note: After arriving at home I saw that my mother had asked how the hockey went and she offered little comfort for my woes.

Uni Survival Guide (Entry IV)

Dinner for one selfie.

The other day I was asked what I missed most about America -- a totally loaded question that caught me off guard as I've always just accepted the handful of things I miss. I always knew I was going to tell them my family, but like a nutter I said the food. Don't worry mama, I changed my answer. Though the question kept me thinking days later what exactly I missed and then I thought of all the places I'd go eat with my family where we'd laugh, talk sports, create awkward situations for everyone else in the restaurant. Places like Tenders, Panera, Steak N Shake, and Mac's crossed my mind -- maybe its that I was hungry at the time (I'd only had a hot chocolate that day) ; maybe its that as a family we select restaurant destinations to bring friends to more than any other type of place (just ask Mackinnon and Revesz about that six egg, chicken, pepper, onion, omelet) ; maybe, just maybe.

At that moment, I was swept away most by the adventures to Joel's where I would order a chicken fried rice (large) with vegetable sushi and soup. To me, it was always worth the gamble traveling up I-77 to Exit 33 at 4pm where the motorway sits rife with bad drivers trying to delay your Asian grill experience...

Uni now is but a spec in my review mirror -- well, the undergraduate portion of it at least. A potential place on a postgrad journalism is clear as day out the front window with an interview at Uni of Salford lined up for 24th June. Fingers crossed.

But I conclude my undergraduate degree eating my way through a memory of home: my tossed-together-because-I-ran-out-of-Worcester-sauce-and-only-have-soy-sauce version of chicken fried rice. Its main contribution to my ever-widening "energised for school diet"? None whatsoever. Its summer and my brother is a brick house recognised by Under Armour. I'm fitna get on that level.

Jokes.
I just miss my other Guatemalan half.
He and I will trek London on his first visit to the UK in July.
Hope he's gotten his cardio up.

UNI CHICKEN FRIED RICE:
(DUNNO IF IT IS REALLY FRIED)

Frozen mixed veggies
1 cup brown rice
1 or 2 chicken breast(s); diced -- Quorn for certain individuals ;D
1 diced courgette
Soy sauce
1 egg to be fried and diced

Assemble. But don't trust me to make the rice correctly.

What they said:
"I like how its under 'Uni Survival Guide'; eat as much as you can." <-- before it goes off.
"One cup of a rice? That's like two meals" <-- good sir, you are wrong!
"Gotta get it in early before ice hockey!" <-- I guess two hours is long enough?

What I said:
"I'm so full."

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Edit note: For the copious amounts of Latin rock and reggaeton I have been listening to the last handful of days I am unsure as to why I have craved Asian food...

Jamming recently to Guatemala's finest export (aside from me of course), Malacates Trebol Shop. I'd trade an arm to be Francisco Paez and a leg to be Nick Wheeler:

Manchester Metros Awards Night

Henry Denny: Best Dressed Award

Monday night's award ceremony marked the end of the club's season as exams are wrapping up across the area's universities with many folks heading home for the summer. The Oxford on Oxford Road played host to the event that saw around twenty smartly dressed folks in attendance.

The event kicked off with opening remarks from Chairman Matthew Rohani who spoke about the trying seasons all three teams experienced, the positives for the future, and the club's financial standing -- which at some points had been in flux due to abnormal attendances at trainings throughout the second term.

Manchester will continue to play regular mixed-level friendlies throughout the summer.

The following is the list of award winners in bold as selected by the committee members and/or bench coaching staff -- nominees are listed alphabetically in italics. Fixed awards include Top Point & Top Goal Scorer. These will be named first and pucks were awarded to a player from each team (A, B, C):

Top Point Scorer A - Allen Gunn
Top Point Scorer B - Jamie Bower
Top Point Scorer C - Will Hapgood

Top Goal Scorer A - Allen Gunn
Top Goal Scorer B - Jamie Bower
Top Goal Scorer C - Will Hapgood

Most Valuable Player (MVP)
A - Allen Gunn, Matt Lowry, Tom Wilson.
B - Rob Herrick, Jamie Bower, Jack Walker.
C - Jeremy Stormes, Will Hapgood, Devin Louttit.

My linemates: Matt Lowry & Tom Wilson

Most Improved Player - Jason Westall, Henry Denny, Rob Herrick, Parker Ingham, Devin Loutitt.

Best Two-Way Forward - Matt Lowry, Allen Gunn, Devin Louttit, Andrew Mackinnon, Jack Walker, Tom Wilson.

Best Two-Way Defenceman - Matt Crouch, Chris Astley, Kieren De'Ath, Ste Harvey, Mike De Paoli, Cal Robinson, Dean Smith.

Katy "Goon" Holliday Award for Outstanding Physical Play - Parker Ingham, Henry Denny, Allen Gunn, Rob Herrick, Matt Lowry, Callum Notman.

MetroStar - Rachael Reynolds, Andrew Mackinnon, Dean Smith, Jeremy Stormes.

No team across any division won any accolades this season. The 2014/15 teams will look to rectify Manchester's mark amongst the BUIHA elite. The importance of staying healthy will be at the forefront to that success.

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Edit note: Pictures from this event will be added later and will be credited to Rachael Reynolds.
Edit note: The photos added were taken by Rachael Reynolds with full credit to her.