ICE hockey starts Oleg Sinkov and John Haig have joined the exodus from Blackburn Arena...by signing for Super League outfit Humberside.

It's as double blow for Hawks fans who have already seen top striker Steve Chartrand quit in favour of Solihull. With player-coach Ryan Kummu also unlikely to return for a second season there is also speculation that defenceman Malcolm Bell could also be ready to link up with Sinkov and Haig at Humberside.

That amounts to practically Hawks' main star line-up from last season, the most successful in the ice hockey club's history, when they finished runners-up in British League Division One and made the end-of-season play-offs. Scotsman Haig, returning to Humberside for a second spell, said: "I'm very sorry to be leaving Blackburn, where I've been very settled, but things are a little uncertain at the club and Humberside weren't prepared to wait forever for a decision.

"I want to play at the highest level possible and Humberside are assembling what should be a formidable and exciting team."

Bell is also expected to return to Humberside pending a medical. The big Geordie struggled with a shoulder injury in the latter half of the season just finished.

One bright note for Hawks is the likely return of former Blackhawks-era favourite Mark Johnson.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.