Canberra Knights: Difference between revisions
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===2008=== |
===2008=== |
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With the loss of [[Brad Hunt]] and [[Mike Harrow]], the 2008 season will open the doors to new imports and junior players moving up to the [[AIHL]]. With goal tender Nick Eckhardt will getting more ice time with the team, and the likely return of [[Finnish imports [[Ari |
With the loss of [[Brad Hunt]] and [[Mike Harrow]], the 2008 season will open the doors to new imports and junior players moving up to the [[AIHL]]. With goal tender Nick Eckhardt will getting more ice time with the team, and the likely return of [[Finnish imports]] [[Ari-Pekka Hakala|Hakala]] and [[Antti Teisala|Teisala]], the Canberra Knights are set to be a strong team in the [[2008]] [[AIHL]] season. |
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==Team Colours== |
==Team Colours== |
Revision as of 02:27, 20 September 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, and have not made the finals since the formation of the AIHL.
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 premiership for the first time ever. The East Coast Super League has since been rereformed as a junior (under 23) competition which serves as a bridge between local league hockey and the national level. [1]
2000-2007
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, the Newcastle Northstars 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, ending the season with 12 points and a fourth placed goaltender, Brad Hunt. In 2003 David Lewis, and import Saku Martakainen were both top scorers, but the Knights did not perform very ewll, ending the season 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 have not made the postseason.
In 2005, with new imports, such as Canadian 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 stronger and 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.
In 2006 the Knights acquired Finnish player/coach Tommi Suutari, and they began the season relatively strong, winning a few games, but failed to continue this streak and ended up losing 25 out of 28 regular season games, one of the wins being a miraculous triumph over the Sydney Bears later in the season, finishing them off in a shoot-out at their home venue in Phillip. Despite this the Knights still finished in last place. 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.
The Knights lost head coach Tommi Suutari prior to the commencement of the 2007 season. Mike Harrow, who also played 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. This season also saw the addition of Finnish imports Ari-Pekka Hakala, who went on to become the second highest scorer for the season, and Antti Teisala. During previous seasons the Knights were notorious for having very outdated and old away jerseys, but half way through the season there was a redesign, with the introduction of their current away jerseys.
The team won their opening game of the 2007 season against the Brisbane Bluetongues, but did not follow up their performance, losing the next 3 games. 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 only won four more games, including the 9th of June against the Central Coast Rhinos, defeating them 7-0. 2007 saw the Knights only winning two away games, including their last match of the season, against the Brisbane Bluetongues, which eliminated them from the playoffs. The season also saw the exit of two veteran Knights players, long time goalie Brad Hunt, and Mike Harrow who served the team for many years in various roles, as coach and captain. The Canberra Knights finished the 2007 season on 20 points, in 7th place.
2008
With the loss of Brad Hunt and Mike Harrow, the 2008 season will open the doors to new imports and junior players moving up to the AIHL. With goal tender Nick Eckhardt will getting more ice time with the team, and the likely return of Finnish imports Hakala and Teisala, the Canberra Knights are set to be a strong team in the 2008 AIHL season.
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 | 28 | 6 | 20 | - | 0 | 2 | 84 | 124 | 20 |
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 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
37 | Luke Fiveash | L | 1987 | Brisbane, Queensland | |
38 | Nickolas "Bones" Eckhardt | R | 10 Dec 1989 | Canberra, ACT |
# | 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".