Canberra Knights: Difference between revisions
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The team won their opening game of the 2007 season against the [[Brisbane Blue Tongues]] by a score of 5-2. |
The team won their opening game of the 2007 season against the [[Brisbane Blue Tongues]] by a score of 5-2. |
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The Canberra Knights lost in over-time shoot-out to the [[Newcastle North Stars]] 4-3 the following week. In a double header away the Knights lost both games against the [[Melbourne Ice]] and the [[Adelaide Avalanche]]. On Saturday the 5th of May the Knights had a compelling 5-3 win against a strong West Sydney side. Since this win, the Knights have only won one more game, on the 9th of June against the [[Central Coast Rhinos]], defeating them 7-0. On the 23rd the team had a close match against the [[Sydney Bears]] at home, losing in a shootout. The Canberra Knights won two more games in the season, the second of which being their only away win for the entire season, against a strong [[Brisbane Bluetongues]], causing Brisbane to lose their opportunity to enter the play-offs. |
The Canberra Knights lost in over-time shoot-out to the [[Newcastle North Stars]] 4-3 the following week. In a double header away the Knights lost both games against the [[Melbourne Ice]] and the [[Adelaide Avalanche]]. On Saturday the 5th of May the Knights had a compelling 5-3 win against a strong West Sydney side. Since this win, the Knights have only won one more game, on the 9th of June against the [[Central Coast Rhinos]], defeating them 7-0. On the 23rd the team had a close match against the [[Sydney Bears]] at home, losing in a shootout. The Canberra Knights won two more games in the season, the second of which being their only away win for the entire season, against a strong [[Brisbane Bluetongues]], causing Brisbane to lose their opportunity to enter the play-offs. The Canberra Knights finished the [[2007]] season on 20 points, in 7th place. |
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The Canberra Knights finished the season on 20 points, in 7th place. |
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==Team Colours== |
==Team Colours== |
Revision as of 11:48, 26 August 2007
Canberra Knights | |
File:Canberra Knights team logo.jpg | |
League | AIHL |
Founded | 1981 |
Based in | Phillip, ACT |
Home ice | Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre |
Colors | Teal, black, silver and white |
Championships | 1998 (ECSL) |
Minor Premiers | None |
Owner | John Raut |
Head coach | Mike Harrow |
General manager | Harry Moon |
Assistant Manager | Andrew Deans |
Captain | Mark Persick |
The Canberra Knights are a semi-professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre in Phillip, a suburb of Australia's capital city, Canberra.
The Knights have only been premiers once, in 1998, in the now defunct ECSL.
History
1980-1993
The Phillip Ice Skating and Swimming centre opened in 1980, and in 1981 the Canberra Knights were formed by a group of former hockey players, many who had not played in years, and they played in various exhibition matches against international and Australian teams. In 1982 the Knights were a founding member of the New South Wales Superleague, which was a Sydney based competition, taking on some of the best teams in Australia. In this first year the Knights were coached by Stuart Wright, and although it was unsuccessful for the Canberra Knights, they gained invaluable experience.
In 1983, the Canberra Knights were again entered into the NSW Superleague. Chuck Naish and Jim Fuyarchuk, formerly of the Macquarie Bears and the now defunct Warringah Bombers respectively, had been brought in as player/coaches. This was a big year and the combined talents soon became evident as the Canberra Knights proved they were a winning team. Ably assisted by some promising young players and the proven skills of the imported players, the Canberra Knights finished a close second to the Warringah Bombers in the playoffs.
1984 continued with the same team with the addition of Dean Pollock (from the Macquarie Bears), and Canadian import Bill Rose.
1994-1999
While lasting for thirteen seasons, the NSW Superleague struggled to gain stability and could not continue. The league was reborn in 1994, as the East Coast Super League. It continued with the same number of teams but was still largely based in the NSW area. Canberra's maiden ECSL championship came in 1998 when they won the Goodall Cup, for the first time ever. The East Coast Super League continues today but is a junior (under 23) competition which serves as a bridge between local league hockey and the national level. [1]
2000-2006
The Canberra Knights, along with the Sydney Bears and Adelaide Avalanche, founded the AIHL as a three-team competition following the disbanding of the ECSL in 2000. 2002 saw the introduction of the Melbourne Ice and the West Sydney Ice Dogs, increasing the number of teams in the league to 6. The team finished just above the Melbourne Ice in 5th place, finishing the season with 12 points and Knights goaltender Brad Hunt finished 4th overall. In 2003 David Lewis, and import Saku Martakainen were the top scorers, but the Knights finished in last place, not winning a single game. Since a playoff format was introduced to the AIHL in 2003 (prior to this, minor premiers were champions), the Knights are yet to make the postseason.
In 2005, with new imports, such as goaltender Dylan Smart, the Knights were able to enter the 5th AIHL season stronger than ever, and nearly made the play-offs. With two new teams joining the league, the Brisbane Bluetongues and Central Coast Rhinos, the Knights were one of the more stable teams of the league, winning 11 of 24 games and finishing in 5th place with 35 points[2]. Coached by former player Laing Harrow, 2005 has been the strongest Canberra Knights AIHL season ever.
2006 was the year the Knights acquired Finnish player/coach Tommi Suutari, and they began the season relatively strong, winning a few games, but failed to continue this and ended up losing 25 out of 28 regular season games, finishing in last place. They had one miraculous win against the Sydney Bears later in the season, beating them in a shoot-out at their home venue in Phillip. This was also the season where an Australian ice hockey record was set, when Canberra lost 21-2 in a game against the Newcastle Northstars.
Current Season
The Knights lost head coach Tommi Suutari prior to the commencement of the 2007 season. Mike Harrow, who also plays forward for the club, was appointed as head coach. Goaltenders were also changed, as Luke Fiveash became the Canberra Knights primary goalie, with Brad Hunt as a secondary. As well as this the Knights changed their away jerseys, which are now more similar to their current home jerseys.
The team won their opening game of the 2007 season against the Brisbane Blue Tongues by a score of 5-2. The Canberra Knights lost in over-time shoot-out to the Newcastle North Stars 4-3 the following week. In a double header away the Knights lost both games against the Melbourne Ice and the Adelaide Avalanche. On Saturday the 5th of May the Knights had a compelling 5-3 win against a strong West Sydney side. Since this win, the Knights have only won one more game, on the 9th of June against the Central Coast Rhinos, defeating them 7-0. On the 23rd the team had a close match against the Sydney Bears at home, losing in a shootout. The Canberra Knights won two more games in the season, the second of which being their only away win for the entire season, against a strong Brisbane Bluetongues, causing Brisbane to lose their opportunity to enter the play-offs. The Canberra Knights finished the 2007 season on 20 points, in 7th place.
Team Colours
Logo
The Canberra Knights logo shows a teal coloured Knight wielding a hockey stick. Behind him is a silver shield, with the words Canberra Knights below him. The entire logo is outlined in white. Prior to the 2005 season, the Knights had a logo which is now used on the away jerseys, It simply has the words Canberra Knights, with a picture of a puck.
Jerseys
The teams colours are teal, silver, black and white. The home jerseys for the Canberra Knights are black, and have the logo on the front, with the old logo on the shoulder, with white numbers and names. They are based on the San Jose Sharks alternate jerseys. The away jerseys are white and have the old logo on the front, with the new logo on the shoulder, and have black numbers and names. Prior to the 2005 season the Knights wore Teal coloured jerseys, with the old logo on the front, and white numbers and names.
Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTW = Overtime Wins, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points
Season | Position | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | GF | GA | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 [3] | 5th (Of 6) | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 63 | 12 |
2003 [3] | 6th (Of 6) | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 64 | 0 |
2004 [3] | 6th (Of 6) | 20 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 109 | 14 |
2005 [3] | 5th | 24 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 102 | 35 |
2006 [2] | 8th | 27 | 3 | 24 | - | 1 | 0 | 75 | 185 | 11 |
2007 [2] | 7th | 18 | 4 | 12 | - | 0 | 2 | 48 | 68 | 14 |
Records
Players
- Most goals in a season: Shaun Fairweather, 24 (2005)
- Most assists in a season: Mike Harrow, 31 (2005)
- Most points in a season: Shaun Fairweather, 46 (2005)
- Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Trevor Ross, 189 (2005)
Team
- Most points in a season: 35 (2005)
- Most wins in a season: 11 (2005)
Current Squad
# | Player | Catches | Date of Birth | Place of Birth | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 | Dylan Smart | L | 22 May 1979 | Martinsville, Saskatchewan | |
20 | Brad Hunt | R | - | Hamilton, Ontario | |
37 | Luke Fiveash | L | 1987 | Brisbane, Queensland | |
38 | Nickolas "Bones" Eckhardt | R | 10 Dec 1989 | Canberra, ACT | |
39 | Justin Mendham | R | - - | -, Canberra |
# | Player | Shoots | Date of Birth | Place of Birth | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | Aaron Clayworth | R | - | Perth, Western Australia | |
8 | Mark Persick - C | L | 26 Apr 1980 | Yorkton, Saskatchewan | |
15 | Antti Teisala | R | 4 Sep 1982 | Lappeenranta, Finland | |
' | Matt Higgins | R | 1 Jun 1980 | Gundagai, NSW | |
28 | Tim Cox | R | 16 Sep 1987 | Brisbane, Queensland | |
91 | Peter Taylor | R | 1988 | Canberra, ACT |
# | Player | Shoots | Date of Birth | Place of Birth | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Andrew Brunt - A | R | 22 Mar 1977 | Canberra, ACT | ||
3 | Ari-Pekka Hakala | L | 15 May 1985 | Urjala, Finland | ||
4 | Steve Farrer | L | 7 May 1983 | Sarnia, Ontario | ||
5 | Brendan Taylor | R | - | Canberra, ACT | ||
9 | Mike Johnston | L | 1990 | Canada | ||
11 | David Lewis | R | 17 Jul 1978 | Sydney, New South Wales | ||
12 | Dayne Habbib | R | 1984 | Toronto, Ontario | ||
13 | Luke Philps | R | 1983 | Sydney, New South Wales | ||
16 | Mike Daugulis | R | 1986 | Vancouver, Canada | ||
17 | Mike Harrow | R | - | Australia | ||
19 | Jordan Gavin - A | R | 1983 | Canberra, ACT | ||
33 | Steven Deans | R | 18 Jun 1982 | Sydney, New South Wales | ||
41 | Stuart Philps | R | 6 Dec 1978 | Sydney, New South Wales | ||
44 | Matt Tattersall | R | 5 Aug 1977 | Canberra, ACT | ||
53 | Ollie Rozdarz | R | 29 Aug 1984 | Canberra, ACT | ||
66 | Richard Moon | R | - | - | ||
77 | Tom Letki | R | - | Canberra, ACT | ||
88 | Jeremy Sheppard | R | - | Canberra, ACT |
Honored Members
So far there have been three Knights players awarded the Hudson Trophy, player and former coach from 1983, Chuck Naish in 1990, A. McLean in 1992 and former coach and player Laing Harrow in 2000.[5]
Leaders
Team Captains
- Mike Harrow (2004-2006)
- Mark Persick (2007)
Head Coaches
- Stuart Wright (1982)
- Chuck Naish, Jim Fuyarchuk (1983-1985)
- Laing Harrow (2004-2005)
- Tommi Suutari (2006)
- Mike Harrow (2007)
Tickets
Tickets for home games in Phillip are currently AUD$15 for adults, and AUD$8 for children under 12, cash only.
References
- ^ "ECSL Website". 2007. Retrieved 21/06/2007.
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(help) - ^ a b c "Official AIHL Website Statistics". 2007. Retrieved 20/06/2007.
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(help) Cite error: The named reference "AIHLstats" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c d "Official IHA AIHL Statistics". 2007. Retrieved 20/06/2007.
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(help) Cite error: The named reference "IHAstats" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ http://www.canberraknights.com.au/team.htm
- ^ "Ice Hockey Australia History".