Australian Ice Hockey League: Difference between revisions
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===Wilson Cup=== |
===Wilson Cup=== |
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{{mainarticle|Wilson Cup}} |
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The Wilson Cup is awarded to the winner of the AIHL pre-season competition, which began in 2008. |
The Wilson Cup is awarded to the winner of the AIHL pre-season competition, which began in 2008. |
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Revision as of 11:52, 15 February 2008
Current season, competition or edition: 2007 AIHL season | |
| File:AIHL.jpg | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |  Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) | Bears |
| Official website | theAIHL.com.au |
The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. It is sanctioned and governed by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation).
AIHL players are semi-professional. Steve McKenna, former NHL player with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota Wild, spent the northern hemisphere summer of 2005 playing for the Adelaide Avalanche. He has since elected to return to Australia to coach the Mighty Roos in 2007.
Another former NHL player, Rob Zamuner who played for the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, spent the second half of the 2006 season playing for the Brisbane Blue Tongues.
Teams
| Team | City | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Avalanche | Thebarton, South Australia | Ice Arena |
| Gold Coast Blue Tongues | Bundall, Queensland | Iceland |
| Canberra Knights | Phillip, Australian Capital Territory | Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre |
| Central Coast Rhinos | Erina, New South Wales | Erina Ice World |
| Melbourne Ice | Oakleigh South, Victoria | Olympic Ice Skating Centre |
| Newcastle North Stars | Warners Bay, New South Wales | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium |
| Penrith Bears | Penrith, New South Wales | Penrith Ice Palace |
| Western Sydney Ice Dogs | Baulkham Hills, New South Wales | Sydney Ice Arena |
Season Structure
Regular season
The AIHL season commences at the beginning of April and runs through to the first weekend of September, the Goodall Cup Final always coinciding with Australian Fathers Day. Games are almost always played on Saturday or Sunday, usually in the afternoon although evening games occur at some arenas.
Teams play each of their seven opponents in the league four times for a total of 28 regular season games.
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 as of 2007.
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
League champions
- 2000: Adelaide (first in standings)
- 2001: Adelaide (def. Sydney in final)
- 2002: Sydney (def. Adelaide in final)
- 2003: Newcastle (def. Western Sydney in final) 4-1
- 2004: Western Sydney (def. Newcastle in final) 3-1
- 2005: Newcastle (def. Adelaide in final) 3-1
- 2006: Newcastle (def. Adelaide in final) 4-0
- 2007: Penrith (formerly Sydney) (def. Newcastle in final during Overtime) 4-3
Trophies and awards
Goodall Cup
The champions of the AIHL are awarded the Goodall Cup, a perpetual trophy third in age only to the Stanley Cup and the Allan Cup amongst world ice hockey trophies. The Goodall Cup was incorporated into the AIHL in 2002 due to the league's expansion to 6 teams.
V.I.P. Cup
The V.I.P. Cup is 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.
Wilson Cup
The Wilson Cup is awarded to the winner of the AIHL pre-season competition, which began in 2008.
See also
External links
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| Seasons | |
| Teams | |
| Former teams | |
| Current arenas | |
| Former arenas | |
| Other | |
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