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Gary Clarke Leaves MK Lightning |
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After playing a significant part in ice hockey within Milton Keynes over more than a decade, MK Lightning can confirm that Gary Clarke will contest the 2011-12 season with a new club.
Gary, 32, signed for MK Kings in 1999 after four seasons with his hometown club Telford Tigers, and made an immediate impact - scoring 15 goals in 17 league games to become the team’s third highest goalscorer of the season. In 2001 he signed for Basingstoke Bison but a year later returned to Milton Keynes and the newly-formed Lightning, quickly cementing his place in supporters’ affections with 110 goals from 60 games in all competitions. The following season he was again top scorer for the club, a title he retained for seven consecutive seasons.
At the end of the 2008 season Gary took up the offer of a contract at Guildford Flames – but the lure of the Lightning was too much to resist and he returned to put on the black and gold once again for the 2010-11 season.
MK Lightning head coach Nick Poole acknowledged the part the Telford native has played at Lightning and wished him well for the future. “Gary’s scoring record during his time at Lightning speaks for itself. In what has been a difficult and frustrating season just ended, he has been an offensive threat and has scored some valuable points for us.
“Clarkey moving on will leave us with a huge gap in our roster - but just as he is moving on to new challenges, Lightning will also move on as a team and we’re hopeful of appointing another equally effective forward to fill his shoes.
“We wish him and his family a happy and successful future, and it goes without saying that Gary will always be considered a friend of Milton Keynes Lightning.” |
