However, the Bristol Junior Ice Hockey Club had remained in place and was still producing players who would go on to play for senior teams elsewhere in the country.

One of those players was Richie Hargreaves, who had spent his career playing for teams in Cardiff, Swindon, Isle of Wight, Basingstoke, Slough and London.

In the summer of 2008, Hargreaves initially decided to take some time away from playing with a view to setting up a senior team in Bristol the following season.

[3] The evening was regarded as a success, and so a decision was taken to apply to put a team into the senior leagues for the 2009-10 season.

Initially, the English Ice Hockey Association offered the opportunity for the team to go straight into ENL South Division 1.

While Bristol failed to win that game, and the return leg in Oxford the following night, the experience helped make sure the team were more ready for the start of the season.

A 9-3 win for Bristol set the tone for the season,[5] as Pitbulls went on to lose only six times in their 32 games across both league and cup competitions.

It was the league which saw the team win their first title, after coming out top in a season-long battle against local rivals, the Swindon ENL Wildcats.

Having qualified for the playoffs, the Division 1 side faced the previous season's league champions, the Wightlink Raiders, in the first round.

However, a compromise was accepted where the team would only play in the re-branded National Ice Hockey League South Division 2.

In the end, there would be no reprieve for the rink, and so Bristol were forced to find ice time elsewhere in order to stay in operation.

[7] In one of the tightest races in the league's history with five teams still in with a chance of winning with two weeks left, Bristol eventually finished in third place.

Bristol strengthened over the Christmas break, bringing in Steve Osman and Jamie Newton back to the club after both had been playing for Division 1 teams earlier in the season.