BRADFORD Bulldogs' ice hockey teams finished the season on a high, with the under-11s winning the Kingston tournament at Hull and the under-15s and under-18s the prestigious Sheffield tournament.

The under-15s were facing other A League teams from Basingstoke, Sutton, Slough, Swindon, Cardiff and Sheffield.

Over the weekend, the Bulldogs beat five teams, including the hosts, to earn the right to face Basingstoke in the final.

In a nail-biting clash, the game went to three players on three to try and break the stalemate, and Bradford scored the golden goal.

The under-11s won six games in the round-robin stage to set up a semi-final against Northern rivals Whitley Bay, who they beat 5-1.

In the final, they faced unbeaten Nottingham and, with the scores level at 2-2, it took a golden-goal overtime winner from Daragh Spawforth to crown Bradford as champions.

The under-18s played five other A League teams (Sheffield, Cardiff, Swindon, Peterborough and Sutton), won four times and went on to beat hosts Sheffield 4-2 in the final.

Bulldogs coach Andy Brown said: “I am so pleased that so many of our teams have won their tournaments and have succeeded in bringing back three more trophies for our cabinet.

"More importantly, the players have learned that teamwork and playing and training hard brings you success.

"It is a great end to the season for our club.”

Brown added: "We’re so lucky to have an ice rink in Bradford, and it’s a great sport to be involved in as it improves fitness and develops discipline and teamwork.

"I would encourage any young person who is interested to give ice hockey a go."

Meanwhile, the Great Britain under-18 team, which included two Bradford players in Jordan Griffin and Kieran Brown, recently won a gold Medal at the IIHF World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Bulldogs hope that the success of their teams, and of ice hockey in general, will attract more children to play the game.

Bradford Ice Arena has a beginners' stick-and-puck session every Wednesday (5.30pm-6.15pm).

Any child who is aged six upwards with reasonable skating ability can join the training sessions.

For further information, e-mail Andy Brown at andy@icetime.org or look at web-sites www.bradfordbulldogs.co.uk or www.bradfordicearena.co.uk for information on skating lessons.