Following the departure of Barry Hollyhead after six consecutive seasons, Milton Keynes Lightning are delighted to announce the signing of a new netminder to challenge Alex Mettam's dominance between the pipes - with the arrival of Stephen Wall.

Perhaps best known as a stalwart of the Peterborough Phantoms, Stephen left the Cambridgeshire side last November to seek a new challenge - ending an eight-year association with the club. His services were quickly secured by the Basingstoke Bison where he put in another 22 appearances in the second half of the season.

"Wally", 30, began his career playing for Newcastle Vipers in his native north-east, before moving to Peterborough in 2003. The 2005 and 2006 seasons saw him play for both Bracknell Bees and Slough Jets, but in the summer of 2007 he returned to Bretton, where he stayed until last winter.

Stephen said he's already excited about playing for the Lightning: "After talking to Nick, I jumped at the chance to sign for MKL. It's such a big club with great support, and it's fantastic to be a part of it.  The management have already made me feel so welcome, so I want to thank them for that.  I just can't wait to get started - I'm really looking forward to working with Alex Mettam as we're friends, and he's a fantastic goalie - I'm looking forward to giving him a bit of competition!"

Nick Poole said, "We're very pleased to bring in a netminder with the qualities of Stephen Wall and we were surprised he was still available when we spoke with him.  Stephen has single-handedly beaten us on several occasions when he played for Peterborough, and he always gave them the ability to steal a hockey game. He is a big goalie who moves well and is very capable at distributing the puck.

"Living in Bedford he is very local to us and I know that he is very excited about the challenge ahead.  Stephen will come in and challenge Mettsy which can only be a good thing for our hockey club.  I know they will work well together and I believe the competitive situation will benefit both goalies and the team.   With such a strong netminding duo I know we will be confident regardless of who is in the nets for us."

Sponsorship of Stephen Wall's home, away and warm-up shirts is now available - get your name seen not just on the player's shirt but also in our matchnight programme and on the Planet Ice digital message board for every home league game during the 2012-13 season - or sponsor a shirt to promote your business!  At the end of the season the shirt is yours to keep. For more details email  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Shirt sponsorship is dealt with on a 'first come, first served' basis.

(photo courtesy of www.5holephotography.co.uk)