Dionissiou, Con

BORN FEBRUARY 14TH 1971 in Canberra, the son of Zoe and George who ran Capital Pies in the Capital from 1989. He started ice hockey with brother Paul in the early-1980s, a defenseman representing his state at 13 in the 1984 Tange Trophy (U18), which the ACT won only once in 1989. Still eligible for the under-18 tournament 4 years later in Australia’s Bicentennial year, he made the Australian under-17 All-Stars team, and represented his country that same year at the Asian Oceanic Championships (U18) hosted in regional Bendigo in Victoria.

A player with the Under-21 Canberra Chieftains, he also played with the Canberra Knights in the President's Bicentennial Ice Hockey Championship at the Phillip Ice Rink against teams from Canada, the United States of America and Australia. Still just 17, he competed with players such as Jerry Maatouk, the Harrow brothers, Dean Pollock and Chuck Naish against the Australian National Senior Team and the Iowa State Cyclones. One of the local youngsters influenced by Canadian Coach Chuck Naish in both the ACT Tange teams and the Knights, it was the beginning of a long association with the Canberra Club’s new wave of homegrown Juniors.

He continued with the Knights in the New South Wales Super League under Canadian coach Darrin Vetteri with players such as Canadian import Dave Ruck and Phil Ross. They won the minor premiership in 1993. In 1996, he joined state teammate, David Batho, to represent Australia in the National Senior Team at the IIHF D-Pool World Championships in Lithuania, coached by Marc Bowles and John Botterill. There he competed with such players as Rad Benicky, Alan Becken, Chris Rurak, Anthony Wilson, Shaun Muller and Captain, Howie Jones. He returned with the National Senior Team the next year at the 1997 D-Pool Worlds in Andorra, where Australia improved on the previous 5 losses with a win and a draw.

A foundation player with the Knights in the AIHL, his last season with the Club was in 2004 when he was in his early-thirties. He later moved to Brisbane in the Sunshine State where he ran hockey skills clinics and coached the State’s Brown Trophy team (2012, ’13, ’16) at tournaments not won by Queensland since 1976. In 2016, he was the Head Coach of the Brisbane Blitz in its debut season of Tier 2 of the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League. Under his leadership, Queensland won the tournament and promotion to AJIHL Tier 1. Elected president of the Queensland ice hockey association, he took on the role at a time when the state was without an AJIHL or AIHL team, and in search of a new headquarters.

In 2017, he worked as a Service Level Manager at Queensland Health. His service to the sport in Queensland is ongoing, and his involvement in the sport in Australia is now approaching its fortieth year.