Australian Ice Hockey League
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Current season, competition or edition: 2011 AIHL season | |
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |  Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) | Melbourne Ice |
| Official website | theAIHL.com |
The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. It is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation) and is run by its own Board of Directors.
AIHL players are semi-professional. Typically this means that players are not paid to play in the AIHL, but receive other benefits such as the use of a car, accommodation, flights/travel within Australia, and other benefits. Often these benefits are supplied or funded by sponsors and vary from team to team.
The AIHL has attracted players up to and including NHL players.
Teams
| Team | City | Arena | Joined AIHL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Adrenaline | Thebarton, South Australia | Ice ArenA | 2008 as Adelaide A's |
| Sydney Bears | Penrith, New South Wales | Penrith Ice Palace | 2000, from 2007–2009 known as the AIHL Bears |
| Canberra Knights | Phillip, Australian Capital Territory | Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre | 2000 |
| Gold Coast Blue Tongues | Bundall, Queensland | Iceland | 2005 as Brisbane Blue Tongues |
| Melbourne Ice | Docklands, Victoria | Icehouse | 2002 |
| Newcastle North Stars | Warners Bay, New South Wales | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | 2002 |
| Sydney Ice Dogs | Liverpool, New South Wales | Liverpool Catholic Club’s ice rink | 2002 as Western Sydney Ice Dogs |
| Mustangs IHC | Docklands, Victoria | Icehouse | 2011 |
Former teams
| Team | City | Arena | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Avalanche | Thebarton, South Australia | Ice ArenA | 2000-2008: Suspended operations June 2008 |
| Central Coast Rhinos | Erina, New South Wales | Erina Ice World | 2005-2008: Declined to sign licence for 2009 |
Notable players
| Season | Name | Team | AIHL Games | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Steve McKenna | Adelaide Avalanche | x AIHL GP, 2 Playoff GP | NHL for 4 teams, 373 GP |
| 2006 | Rob Zamuner | Brisbane Blue Tongues | x AIHL GP | NHL for 4 teams, 798 GP |
| 2007 | Mel Angelstad | Adelaide Avalanche | x AIHL GP | NHL for 1 team, 2 GP |
| 2007 | Tyrone Garner | Brisbane Blue Tongues | x AIHL GP | NHL for 1 team, 3 GP |
| 2008 | Gaetan Royer | Gold Coast Blue Tongues | 19 AIHL GP | NHL for 1 team, 3 GP |
| 2010 | Chris Belanger | Newcastle North Stars | 16 AIHL GP | < 100 GP for Team Canada |
Season Structure
Regular season
The AIHL season commences mid April and runs through to the last weekend of August or the first weekend of September. Games are usually played on Saturday or Sunday, typically between 3.30pm and 5.45pm depending on the venue.
Teams nominally play each of their seven opponents in the league four times for a total of 24 regular season games. In previous seasons, some games were played for double-points (and count as two games) to keep travel costs down. There are no double-point games in 2011.
Overtime and points system
The AIHL's points system, introduced in its present form in 2006, is similar to ice hockey leagues in Europe. 3 points are awarded for a win, and 0 points for a loss. Games that end in a tie go to a shootout, with the standings table displaying both shootout wins (SOW) and shootout losses (SOL). Shootout wins are worth 2 points, while shootout losses are worth 1 point. The shootout replaced an NHL-style five-minute overtime period which was used up to 2005.
Playoffs
For the 2000 season, the AIHL champion was the team that finished first in the standings at the end of the regular season. The AIHL introduced a championship game in 2001. In 2002 the Goodall Cup was awarded to the winner of the championship game for the first time; in previous seasons, the Goodall Cup had been held as a separate tournament. In 2003, the playoffs expanded to four teams (1 v 4, 2 v 3). The semi-finals and final remain single-game series, with all three games played at the same venue in one weekend; the 2006 AIHL playoffs were held in Adelaide. The AIHL has not announced any plans to expand the playoffs to multiple-game series.
Playoff finals have been held in the following locations:
- 2001: Adelaide - Thebarton Snowdome (now the Adelaide Ice ArenA)
- 2002: Sydney - Blacktown Ice Arena
- 2003: Sydney - Glaciarium (now the Sydney Ice Arena)
- 2004: Central Coast, NSW - Erina Ice World (now Erina Ice Arena)
- 2005: Newcastle - Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay
- 2006: Adelaide - Adelaide Ice ArenA, Thebarton
- 2007: Sydney - Penrith Ice Palace, Penrith
- 2008: Newcastle - Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay
- 2009: Newcastle - Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay
- 2010: Melbourne - Icehouse, Docklands
Finals weekends will follow the format of semi finals on Saturday, 1v4 and 2v3 placed teams, followed by the two semi final winning teams playing for the Goodall Cup and the AIHL Championship on Sunday evening.
League champions
- 2000: Adelaide Avalanche (first in standings)
- 2001: Adelaide Avalanche (def. Sydney Bears in final)
- 2002: Sydney Bears (def. Adelaide Avalanche in final)
- 2003: Newcastle North Stars (def. Western Sydney Ice Dogs in final) 4-1
- 2004: Western Sydney Ice Dogs (def. Newcastle North Stars in final) 3-1
- 2005: Newcastle North Stars (def. Adelaide Avalanche in final) 3-1
- 2006: Newcastle North Stars (def. Adelaide Avalanche in final) 4-0
- 2007: Bears (formerly Sydney Bears) (def. Newcastle North Stars in final during Overtime) 4-3
- 2008: Newcastle North Stars (def. Western Sydney Ice Dogs in final) 4-1
- 2009: Adelaide Adrenaline (def. Newcastle North Stars in final during Overtime) 3-2
- 2010: Melbourne Ice (def. Adelaide Adrenaline in final) 6-4
Trophies and awards
- Goodall Cup
The champions of the AIHL are awarded the Goodall Cup, a perpetual national trophy third in age only to the Stanley Cup (1892) and the Allan Cup (1908).The Goodall Cup was incorporated into the AIHL in 2002 after the league expanded to 6 teams. The Goodall Cup is awarded to the team that wins the Finals series/playoffs weekend at the end of each season. The team that holds the Goodall Cup is considered to be the Australian champion.
The Goodall Cup was withdrawn from the AIHL in 2009 by the cup's custodians, Ice Hockey Australia. The Goodall Cup was instead awarded to South Australia in a traditional state vs state tournament held in Adelaide, South Australia in October 2009 as a 100 year celebration of the Goodall Cup.
In 2010 the Goodall Cup was offered back to the AIHL, and the cup accepted by a vote of the members and board. The Goodall Cup has been re-instated by the AIHL as its finals tournament trophy and as the prize signifying Australian champions of ice hockey.
Like in the case of the Stanley Cup, the original Goodall Cup is considered too delicate to travel and a replica is now awarded to the league champion team. Currently the replica cup is kept at Melbourne's Icehouse, in Docklands and on display.
- AIHL Champions Trophy
In 2009 Ice Hockey Australia withdrew the Goodall Cup from the AIHL, claiming it was instead to presented to the winning team from IHA's own tournament to be run in South Australia, celebrating the Cup's 100th anniversary since it was first awarded in a game between NSW and Victoria in 1909. Without a major trophy to present to its finals winning team, the AIHL designed and had manufactured its own unique trophy.
The new AIHL Champions Trophy was awarded to the 2009 AIHL Champions, the Adelaide Adrenaline following their victory in the 2009 final.
In 2010 the AIHL Champions Trophy was re-launched as the H Newman Reid Trophy, honouring the minor premiers from each season back to 2007.
- H Newman Reid Trophy
The H Newman Reid Trophy is awarded to the regular season's minor premiers; that is, the team that finishes first overall in the standings. Reid is considered the father of ice hockey in Australia, opening Australia's first two ice rinks and employing key people who introduced Australians, including his own children, to winter sports.
The H Newman Reid Trophy was first awarded in 2010 to the Newcastle North Stars after they finished first in the regular season with 54 points.[1]
The Reid Trophy is backdated to 2007 including minor premiers the Adelaide Avalanche (2007), Sydney Bears (2008), and the Newcastle North Stars (2009 & 2010).
- V.I.P. Cup
The V.I.P. Cup was awarded to the minor premiers of each season; that is, the team that finishes first overall in the standings at the end of the regular season. The VIP cup was last awarded to the Adelaide Avalanche in 2007. The VIP Cup was not returned to the league and has been replaced by the H Newman Reid Trophy.
- Wilson Cup
The Wilson Cup is awarded to the winner of the AIHL pre-season competition, which began in 2007 and ran again in 2008 and 2009. No Wilson Cup was run in 2010 or 2011.
See also
References
- ^ "NS Minor Premiers". Australian Ice Hockey League. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
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External links
- AIHL official site
- Ice Hockey Australia
- 2008 AIHL Rosters
- NHL.com article on Australian hockey
- Toronto Star article about AIHL player experiences
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