A Cool Tradition. A Dream of Champions. Legends of Australian Ice.

Organised ice hockey has been played in Australia for over a CENTURY.

In fact, the ice hockey tradition here is so richly steeped in EMINENCE,

The booming years of MARVELLOUS MELBOURNE,

And the earliest EMERGENCE of the sport internationally,

One wonders how on earth its STORY

Was ever able to be LOST for one whole century,

Like DUST between the cracks of history.

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2000

Birth of the AIHL

Ice Hockey Australia national league collapses
Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) born with 3 teams - Adelaide Avalanche, Canberra Knights, Sydney Bears
Round-robin weekends, two top teams play a single final
Adelaide Avalanche finish first in standings

'01

Second Season

Adelaide Avalanche finish first in regular season and defeat Sydney Bears 10-7 in single-game final at Thebarton Snowdome (now Adelaide Ice ArenA)
2001 AIHL season

'02

Goodall Cup is the Prize

6 teams with addition of Melbourne Ice, Newcastle North Stars, West Sydney Ice Dogs
Goodall Cup (1909) incorporated, world's third oldest national ice hockey trophy.
Sydney Bears minor premiers, defeat Avalanche at Sydney's Blacktown Ice Arena to become first AIHL team to win Goodall Cup
2002 AIHL season

'03

Top-4 Playoffs

Finals expand to include top-4 teams
Newcastle North Stars win first regular season, defeat Ice Dogs 4-1 at Sydney's Glaciarium (now Sydney Ice Arena) to win first Goodall Cup
2003 AIHL season

'04

Dogs' First Cup

West Sydney Ice Dogs defeat Newcastle North Stars 3-1 at Erina Ice World to win first Goodall Cup
2004 AIHL season

'05

Rhinos and Tongues

8 teams with addition of Central Coast Rhinos and Brisbane Blue Tongues
Avalanche sign Steve McKenna who played over 350 NHL games
North Stars defeat Avalanche 3-1 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay, to win second Goodall Cup
2005 AIHL season

'06

North Stars Go Back-to-back

Brisbane Blue Tongues sign Canadian Rob Zamuner who had played almost 800 NHL games
Melbourne Ice win their first VIP Cup (minor premiers)
North Stars defeat Adelaide for the second year in a row at Adelaide Ice Arena, Thebarton, to win back-to-back Cups
2006 AIHL season

'07

More NHLers

Avalanche and Blue Tongues sign former NHL players, Mel Angelstad and Tyrone Garner respectively (5 games combined)
Bears, Western Sydney Ice Dogs and Brisbane Blue Tongues each penalised 3 competition points icing players without clearance
Avalanche set record on July 1 against West Sydney, scoring four even strength goals in 34 seconds
Avalanche win their first VIP Cup (minor premiers)
Bears defeat North Stars in overtime at Penrith Ice Palace to win Goodall Cup
2007 AIHL season

'08

Tongues Move to Gold Coast, Adelaide Reborn

Blue Tongues relocate to Gold Coast, sign former Tampa Bay Lightning player, Gaetan Royer (3 games)
Adelaide Avalanche fold on June 17 due to financial problems
Adelaide As granted license, inherit Avalanche results
Bears win VIP Cup (minor premiers)
Adelaide Adrenaline forms
Newcastle North Stars defeat West Sydney Ice Dogs 4-1 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay, to win Goodall Cup
2008 AIHL season

'09

Goodbye Goodall Cup

Central Coast Rhinos reject new AIHL license model, join new Australian International Ice Hockey Cup
Goodall Cup withdrawn by Ice Hockey Australia, awarded to winner of traditional interstate tournament for centenary of ice hockey in Australia
Design and manufacture of AIHL Champions Trophy
North Stars win VIP Cup (minor premiers)
Adrenaline defeat Newcastle North Stars 3-2 in overtime at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay, to win AIHL Champions Trophy
2009 AIHL season

'10

The Cup Returns

Goodall Cup accepted back by a vote of members and board
Melbourne Mustangs granted Provisional License
Melbourne Ice relocate to new Melbourne Icehouse
AIHL Champions Trophy relaunched as H Newman Reid Trophy for minor premiers (winner of regular season)
Reid Trophy backdated to 2007 including minor premiers Adelaide Avalanche (2007), Sydney Bears (2008), Newcastle North Stars (2009)
North Stars win H Newman Reid Trophy (minor premiers)
Melbourne Ice defeat Adelaide Adrenaline 6-4 at Medibank Icehouse to win first Cup
2010 AIHL season

'11

Second Melbourne Team

League back to 8 teams with Melbourne Mustangs
Perth Thunder granted provisional license
Melbourne Ice win H Newman Reid Trophy (minor premiers)
Melbourne Ice defeat Newcastle North Stars 3-2 at Medibank Icehouse to win back-to-back Cups
2011 AIHL season

'12

Record Nine Teams

League expands to 9 teams with Perth Thunder
3-year sponsorship with Skaters Network, distributor of Bauer and Easton hockey gear
1-year partnership with Virgin Australia as preferred supplier
New conference system, Bauer (NSW and Canberra) and Easton (all other states)
Ice Dogs restricted to 3 imports due to breaches of code of conduct
Inaugural Trans-Tasman Champions League hosted in Melbourne
North Stars win H Newman Reid Trophy (minor premiers)
Melbourne Ice defeat North Stars 4-3 at Medibank Icehouse to win third Goodall Cup in a row
2012 AIHL season

'13

Tongue's Suspended, Trans-Tasman Cancelled

Conference divisions abandoned after first year
Gold Coast Blue Tongues unable to secure home venue, license suspended
Trans-Tasman Champions League suspended
Ice Dogs suspension lifted
Fox Sports broadcast Game of the Week
Community Partners Soldier On and Special Olympics NSW
Air Canada sponsor finals
Perth Thunder make playoffs in second season
Sydney Ice Dogs win H Newman Reid Trophy (minor premiers)
Sydney Ice Dogs defeat Newcastle 6-3 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium Warners Bay to win Goodall Cup
2013 AIHL season

'14

CBR Brave

Canberra Knights fold citing costs, lack of local players and poor performance. Bears now last of original 3 teams.
Player-led CBR Brave granted provisional license
Air Canada full season sponsor with APA Group and Borealis
Newcastle miss finals for the first time
Melbourne Mustangs win H Newman Reid Trophy (minor premiers),
Melbourne Mustangs defeat Melbourne Ice 6-1 at Medibank Icehouse to win first Goodall Cup
2014 AIHL season

'15

Newcastle Win First Cup in 7 Seasons






Newcastle North Stars win H Newman Reid Trophy (minor premiers)
Newcastle defeat Melbourne Ice 3-2 in overtime at O'Brien Group Arena in Melbourne to win fifth Goodall Cup
2015 AIHL season

'16

Newcastle Go Back-to-back






Melbourne Ice win H Newman Reid Trophy (minor premiers)
Newcastle defeat CBR Brave 2-1 at O'Brien Group Arena in Melbourne to win sixth Goodall Cup
2016 AIHL season

'17

New League Records



Greg Oddy's 600th career point
Melbourne Ice win H Newman Reid Trophy (minor premiers)
After back-to-back Cups, Newcastle miss finals for the second time
Melbourne Ice break multiple season records, eg: premiership points, wins by goaltender, lowest shots on goal (below league av)
Perth makes AIHL finals third time in a row
Melbourne Ice defeat CBR Brave 4-1 at O'Brien Group Arena in Melbourne to win fourth Goodall Cup
2017 AIHL season

Who Are We?

The Legends web site tells part of the story of Australian ice you just won't find in official records. Scholarly research is applied to the historical record to produce biographical studies of many of the sport's greats, along with previously unpublished images.

This first authenticated story of the Australian game will change forever the idea that Australian hockey was a forgotten backwater for a century.

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