The Bradford Sabres served as the ice hockey team for the University of Bradford and were administered and funded by the University of Bradford Union. The club was founded in 2005 after a group of students decided that there should be an ice hockey club at the university. The early sessions consisted of only a handful of players, almost all of whom had no previous experience playing hockey.
The club disbanded in 2020, and a significant number of players moved to the Leeds Gryphons.
Although the team was gaining more experience, numbers were still very low until the in-take of freshers at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season. Amongst these were not only a large number of beginners, but also several players with previous experience, most notably Jan Kucera and Tim Kelly. The team's very first game was away against the Sheffield Bears. They suffered a 7-0 defeat; however, there were several outstanding performances. Netminder Kaz Matsumoto was awarded man of the match having faced over 70 shots and there was also a superb performance by defender Tim Kelly who was on the ice for 56 of the 60 minutes played.
The Sabres first home game showed a marked improvement from their loss at Sheffield. Even though they were defeated 6-9 by the Birmingham Eagles proving that the team could score goals was a major boost. Making his debut in this match was Czech Republic born Jan Kucera who introduced himself to university hockey by scoring all six of the Sabres goals and deservedly winning his first Man of the Match award.
The Sabres secured their first victory in their following game against Newcastle Wildcats. This was the first of many very close and enjoyable games between the two teams. The Sabres secured a 6-5 victory. Once again Jan Kucera scored all six for the Sabres, and after only two matches for the club, he was already being recognised as the best player in the division. Man of the Match in this game was rookie netminder Stephen Wilson, playing the second thirty minutes and helping the team to hold on for their first victory.
However, that was the only victory the team had in their debut season, and they finished bottom of the division of seven teams. Another moment of note that season was away at Newcastle. The team were down 3-0 at the end of the first period, and looked out of the game. In the second period Jan Kucera scored a hat-trick in under one minute, scoring the first from open play, and the next two by winning the face-off and scoring un-assisted. The team lost the match 4-3, but the game still is still much talked about because of the hat-trick. The team were due to compete in their first ever national championships in April, where teams from both the north and south divisions competed over a weekend in a cup competition. However, due to administration complications not only were the team not allowed to compete, but they were also disqualified from the league, and their final position of seventh did not count. Although the games that were played didn't officially count, the experience the team gained was valuable for next season and for the continued growth of the club.
