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2023 AIHL season
League Australian Ice Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration15 April 2023 – 13 August 2023
Regular season
H Newman Reid Trophy CBR Brave
(4th title)
Top scorerScott Timmins (82 points)
( Melbourne Mustangs)
Goodall Cup
ChampionsMelbourne Mustangs
(2nd title)
  Runners-upCBR Brave
Finals MVPLiam Hughes ( Mustangs)
AIHL seasons
←  2022
2024 →

The 2023 AIHL season was the 22nd season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The season consisted of 130 regular season games from 15 April to 13 August 2023, with the Goodall Cup finals consisting of two play-in matches, two semi-finals, and a grand final, following the regular season on 26–27 August 2023. The CBR Brave and Sydney Bears claimed the Rurak and Hellyer conference trophies for finishing top of their respective conference standings. The CBR Brave also won the Premiership and claimed the H Newman Reid Trophy for a record fourth consecutive time by finishing top of the regular season standings. The Melbourne Mustangs won the Championship and claimed the Goodall Cup for the second time in their history, defeating the Brave in the grand final. The returning Central Coast Rhinos claimed the wooden spoon.

Teams

In 2023 the AIHL had 10 teams split into two conferences competing in the league. [1]

2023 AIHL teams
Hellyer Conference
Team City Arena Head Coach Captain
Melbourne Ice Victoria (state) Melbourne O'Brien Icehouse Canada Kerry Goulet Australia Mackenzie Caruana
Melbourne Mustangs Victoria (state) Melbourne O'Brien Icehouse United States Pat McMahon Australia Brendan McDowell
Perth Thunder Western Australia Perth Perth Ice Arena Canada Benjamin Breault Australia James Woodman
Sydney Bears New South Wales Sydney Macquarie Ice Rink Australia Ron Kuprowsky Canada Ryan Annesley
Sydney Ice Dogs New South Wales Sydney Macquarie Ice Rink Australia Jason Kvisle Australia Daniel Pataky
Rurak Conference
Team City Arena Head Coach Captain
Adelaide Adrenaline South Australia Adelaide IceArenA Australia Stu Henly Canada Joey MacDougall
Brisbane Lightning Queensland Brisbane Boondall Iceworld Australia Terry Kiliwnik Australia Damian Bright
CBR Brave Australian Capital Territory Canberra Phillip Ice Skating Centre Australia Stuart Philps Australia Kai Miettinen
Central Coast Rhinos New South Wales Central Coast Erina Ice Arena South Africa Ashley Marsh Australia Robert Malloy
Newcastle Northstars New South Wales Newcastle Hunter Ice Skating Stadium Canada Kevin Noble Australia Liam Manwarring

League Business

The 2023 regular season fixture list was released publicly by the AIHL on 2 November 2022. [2] The AIHL Finals would be altered from 2022, moving to a two weekend format for the first time in league history. [1] League trophies would continue to be consistent with previous seasons, with the league champion awarded the historic Goodall Cup and league premier awarded the H Newman Reid Trophy. The League confirmed that the Adelaide Adrenaline and Perth Thunder would be returning to the league for 2023, after both teams pulled out of competing in 2022. The Adrenaline had secured a new venue agreement with the IceArenA, paving the way for their return. [3] While Western Australia no longer had any border restrictions, paving the way for the Thunder's return. [4] A new paid subscription streaming service named AIHL.TV was introduced by the AIHL for season 2023. [5] This marked the first time the league had ever brought in a paid streaming service for the regular season. All 130 regular season games and finals would be available live and on demand with yearly, monthly and weekly payment options. [6]

Expansion

Following a successful 2022 exhibition schedule, the AIHL announced the Brisbane Lightning and Central Coast Rhinos had both been successful in obtaining full AIHL licences and would be officially joining the league and regular season for 2023. [7] [8] The two team expansion increased the league membership to ten teams for the first time, previously the highest membership number was nine teams in 2012. [9]

During pre-season, there had been discussions about the possibility for the Brisbane Rampage to join the league following the collapse of the Pacific Hockey League, [10] however the AIHL season schedule had already been organised and released publicly and season preparation had already advanced past the stage to accommodate a late addition. There was no public mention of exhibition games involving the Rampage and/or a pathway to obtaining a licence for the 2024 season. [11]

Exhibition games

In the lead up to Season 2023, eight exhibition games were organised between different AIHL teams. The Mustangs and Ice organised a two game series for February and March 2023. The second of these games doubled as a charity event for The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. [12] The Mustangs, Ice, O'Brien Icehouse and The District Docklands raised $30,109 for the hospital's Good Friday Appeal. The Brave and Lightning arranged a three game series to replace the missed series in August 2022 when the Brave pulled out due to prepartions for the AIHL Finals. Two games would be played in Brisbane and one in Canberra. [13] The Central Coast Rhinos lined up three pre-season games. One against the Sydney Bears at Erina Ice Arena [14] and two against the Newcastle Northstars, one at Erina and one in Newcastle. [15] [16] In additional to the eight games, on 4 March 2023, the Melbourne Mustangs organised a delayed 10 year team anniversary reunion tournament invlolving current and former players, staff and supporters. The event saw 3 teams play in a round-robun tournament at O'Brien Icehouse. [17]

2023 AIHL exhibition games
Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
25 Feb 2023 17:00 Melbourne Ice 3–1 Melbourne Mustangs O'Brien Icehouse Ref
4 Mar 2023 17:30 CBR Brave 5–4 Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld Ref
5 Mar 2023 16:30 CBR Brave 6–0 Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld Ref
25 Mar 2023 15:30 Sydney Bears 12–0 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena Ref
31 Mar 2023 19:30 Melbourne Mustangs 6–2 Melbourne Ice O'Brien Icehouse Ref
1 Apr 2023 17:15 Brisbane Lightning 5–6 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre Ref
1 Apr 2023 15:30 Newcastle Northstars 6–4 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena Ref
2 Apr 2023 16:00 Central Coast Rhinos 3–10 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium Ref

Personnel changes

2023 team staff and coaching changes included: Sydney Ice Dogs appointing a new head coach, Jason Kvisle, and associate coach, Jimmy Dufour, after letting Czech coach, Ondrej Cervenka, leave the team. [18] [19] Melbourne Ice had a number of ins, outs and role changes at the team. Canadian Kerry Goulet was appointed head coach. [20] Sandy Gardner moved from head coach to assistant coach and is joined by Michael Flaherty and the rejoining Brent Laver. [21] Keira Dunwoody joins the Ice from the Melbourne Ducks and rounds out the coaching department. [21] In other team position changes at the Ice, Marie-Bernadette La Rose left her role as marketing manager after four years with the team, [22] while Erin Tempest and Trevor Dickson were appointed to the roles of Director Secretariate and Director of Hockey Operations respectively. [23] [24] Melbourne Mustangs confirmed last season's head coach, Canadian Chris Lawrence would be returning to the team in 2023, but on the playing roster, so the Mustangs replaced Lawrence with American Pat McMahon, who had previous experience with Victorian junior teams and the Melbourne Ducks in the PHL in 2022. [25] Brisbane Lightning's admission into the AIHL brought with it early pre-season changes at the team. Peter Holmes joined the Lightning as general manager and governor, replacing the outgoing Josh Labrie (GM) and Matthew Meyer (governor). [26] Ash Jackson was then brought into the team in December 2022 as the new Director of Marketing, Media and Publicity. Ash has previous marketing campaign experience with the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and overseen projects with the AFL, FIFA and the ICC. [27] Melbourne Mustangs and head coach Patrick McMahon parted ways in July 2023 due to unforeseen circumstances that required him to travel home to America. [28]

Player transfers

All player transfers by the ten AIHL teams for season 2023. [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]

Regular season

Fixtures and results

The 2023 regular season consists of 130 games that are scheduled to run from 15 April 2023 to 13 August 2023. For the first time since 2012, the AIHL regular season sees teams split into two conferences. Teams will play a total of 26 regular season games, playing each team in their conference four times (two at home and two away) and playing teams outside their conference twice. [39] In May 2023, the game between Brisbane Lightning and Newcastle Northstars, scheduled for Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, had to be postponed due to luggage issues with the airline. [40] In June 2023, the Sydney Bears were found to have accidentally breached the AIHL player cap regulations and penalised three competition points. [41] The postponed Northstars vs Lightning game from May was rescheduled for 30 July 2023. [42]

April

April
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
1 15 Apr 2023 15:30 Brisbane Lightning 17–0 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [1]
2 15 Apr 2023 16:30 Adelaide Adrenaline 2–6 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [2]
3 15 Apr 2023 17:00 Newcastle Northstars 0–11 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [3]
4 15 Apr 2023 17:00 Sydney Bears 6–3 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [4]
5 16 Apr 2023 14:00 Newcastle Northstars 4–8 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [5]
6 16 Apr 2023 15:30 CBR Brave 5–3 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [6]
7 16 Apr 2023 17:00 Brisbane Lightning 5–8 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [7]
8 22 Apr 2023 16:30 Central Coast Rhinos 0–15 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [8]
9 22 Apr 2023 16:30 Sydney Bears 6–3 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [9]
10 22 Apr 2023 17:00 Perth Thunder 4–2 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [10]
11 22 Apr 2023 17:30 Sydney Ice Dogs 2–3 (OT) CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [11]
12 23 Apr 2023 14:00 Perth Thunder 4–5 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [12]
13 23 Apr 2023 16:30 Central Coast Rhinos 0–6 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [13]
14 23 Apr 2023 17:00 CBR Brave 2–8 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [14]
15 28 Apr 2023 19:30 Melbourne Ice 1–7 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [15]
16 29 Apr 2023 15:30 Adelaide Adrenaline 9–3 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [16]
17 29 Apr 2023 16:30 Brisbane Lightning 2–5 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [17]
18 29 Apr 2023 17:00 Newcastle Northstars 3–2 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [18]
19 29 Apr 2023 17:00 CBR Brave 7–1 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [19]
20 30 Apr 2023 14:00 CBR Brave 2–3 (SO) Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [20]
21 30 Apr 2023 15:30 Adelaide Adrenaline 7–2 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [21]

May

May
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
22 5 May 2023 19:30 Sydney Ice Dogs 2–6 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [22]
23 6 May 2023 16:30 Melbourne Mustangs 2–1 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [23]
24 6 May 2023 16:30 Adelaide Adrenaline 3–8 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [24]
25 6 May 2023 17:00 Melbourne Ice 4–7 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [25]
26 6 May 2023 17:30 Newcastle Northstars 3–4 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [26]
27 7 May 2023 16:00 Central Coast Rhinos 3–13 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [27]
28 7 May 2023 16:30 Melbourne Mustangs 4–5 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [28]
29 7 May 2023 16:30 Adelaide Adrenaline 2–5 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [29]
30 7 May 2023 17:00 Melbourne Ice 5–3 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [30]
31 13 May 2023 15:30 CBR Brave 9–1 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [31]
32 13 May 2023 16:30 Newcastle Northstars 4–2 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [32]
33 13 May 2023 16:30 Sydney Ice Dogs 5–4 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [33]
34 13 May 2023 17:00 Brisbane Lightning 3–8 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [34]
35 14 May 2023 14:00 Brisbane Lightning 6–2 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [35]
36 14 May 2023 17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 2–5 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [36]
37 20 May 2023 16:30 Perth Thunder 6–7 (SO) Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [37]
38 20 May 2023 17:00 Sydney Bears 7–3 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [38]
39 20 May 2023 17:00 CBR Brave 4–1 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [39]
40 20 May 2023 17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 4–8 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [40]
41 21 May 2023 14:00 Sydney Bears 3–1 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [41]
42 26 May 2023 19:30 Melbourne Mustangs 9–2 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [42]
43 27 May 2023 16:30 Melbourne Ice 11–3 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [43]
44 27 May 2023 17:00 Perth Thunder 4–9 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [44]
45 27 May 2023 17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 4–6 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [45]
– 27 May 2023 17:00 Brisbane Lightning Postponed Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [46]
47 27 May 2023 17:30 Sydney Bears 3–2 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [47]
48 28 May 2023 14:00 Perth Thunder 6–2 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [48]
49 28 May 2023 15:00 Brisbane Lightning 5–8 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [49]

June

June
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
50 3 Jun 2023 16:30 Central Coast Rhinos 2–7 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [50]
51 3 Jun 2023 17:00 Sydney ice Dogs 5–9 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [51]
52 3 Jun 2023 17:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 2–6 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [52]
53 3 Jun 2023 17:30 Brisbane Lightning 5–9 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [53]
54 4 Jun 2023 14:00 Sydney Ice Dogs 8–9 (OT) Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [54]
55 4 Jun 2023 15:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 5–6 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [55]
56 4 Jun 2023 16:00 Brisbane Lightning 2–7 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [56]
57 10 Jun 2023 16:30 Melbourne Ice 11–9 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [57]
58 10 Jun 2023 16:30 Central Coast Rhinos 6–3 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [58]
59 10 Jun 2023 17:00 Perth Thunder 3–1 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [59]
60 10 Jun 2023 17:00 Melbourne Mustangs 2–5 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [60]
61 11 Jun 2023 12:30 Central Coast Rhinos 6–5 (OT) Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [61]
62 11 Jun 2023 15:00 Perth Thunder 5–6 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [62]
63 11 Jun 2023 16:00 Melbourne Mustangs 2–8 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [63]
64 11 Jun 2023 17:00 Melbourne Ice 4–8 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [64]
65 17 Jun 2023 15:30 Melbourne Ice 14–8 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [65]
66 17 Jun 2023 16:30 Brisbane Lightning 0–4 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [66]
67 17 Jun 2023 17:00 Perth Thunder 6–1 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [67]
68 17 Jun 2023 17:30 Newcastle Northstars 4–5 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [68]
69 18 Jun 2023 12:30 Brisbane Lightning 7–4 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [69]
70 18 Jun 2023 15:30 Newcastle Northstars 6–2 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [70]
71 18 Jun 2023 16:00 Melbourne Ice 7–9 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [71]
72 18 Jun 2023 17:00 Perth Thunder 6–5 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [72]
73 23 Jun 2023 19:30 Melbourne Ice 3–6 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [73]
74 24 Jun 2023 16:30 CBR Brave 7–4 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [74]
75 24 Jun 2023 16:30 Sydney Bears 4–2 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [75]
76 24 Jun 2023 17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 4–11 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [76]
77 24 Jun 2023 17:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 2–5 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [77]
78 25 Jun 2023 14:00 Central Coast Rhinos 3–4 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [78]
79 25 Jun 2023 15:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 2–11 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [79]

July

July
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
80 1 Jul 2023 15:30 Melbourne Mustangs 9–7 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [80]
81 1 Jul 2023 16:30 CBR Brave 7–3 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [81]
82 1 Jul 2023 16:30 Perth Thunder 6–2 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [82]
83 1 Jul 2023 17:00 Melbourne Ice 2–6 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [83]
84 1 Jul 2023 17:00 Sydney Ice Dogs 2–8 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [84]
85 2 Jul 2023 15:00 Melbourne Ice 3–4 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [85]
86 2 Jul 2023 15:30 Sydney Ice Dogs 9–5 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [86]
87 2 Jul 2023 16:30 CBR Brave 9–2 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [87]
88 2 Jul 2023 17:00 Melbourne Mustangs 3–8 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [88]
89 8 Jul 2023 16:30 Melbourne Ice 4–5 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [89]
90 8 Jul 2023 16:30 Melbourne Mustangs 6–1 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [90]
91 8 Jul 2023 17:00 Newcastle Northstars 5–1 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [91]
92 8 Jul 2023 17:30 Adelaide Adrenaline 3–8 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [92]
93 9 Jul 2023 16:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 1–8 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [93]
94 9 Jul 2023 16:30 Melbourne Ice 7–5 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [94]
95 9 Jul 2023 17:00 Melbourne Mustangs 9–2 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [95]
96 14 Jul 2023 19:30 Sydney Bears 7–1 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [96]
97 15 Jul 2023 16:30 Newcastle Northstars 9–5 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [97]
98 15 Jul 2023 17:00 Melbourne Mustangs 6–4 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [98]
99 15 Jul 2023 17:30 Perth Thunder 4–3 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [99]
100 16 Jul 2023 12:30 Newcastle Northstars 5–2 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [100]
101 16 Jul 2023 17:00 Melbourne Mustangs 5–2 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [101]
102 21 Jul 2023 19:30 Melbourne Mustangs 11–4 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [102]
103 22 Jul 2023 16:30 Sydney Ice Dogs 2–11 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [103]
104 22 Jul 2023 16:30 Newcastle Northstars 5–8 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [104]
105 22 Jul 2023 17:00 Sydney Bears 4–2 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [105]
106 23 Jul 2023 14:00 Sydney Bears 9–7 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [106]
107 23 Jul 2023 16:00 Central Coast Rhinos 0–10 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [107]
108 23 Jul 2023 16:30 Sydney Ice Dogs 2–7 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [108]
109 23 Jul 2023 16:30 Newcastle Northstars 6–5 (SO) Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [109]
110 29 Jul 2023 15:30 Perth Thunder 13–1 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [110]
111 29 Jul 2023 17:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 2–5 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [111]
112 29 Jul 2023 17:00 Sydney Ice Dogs 3–5 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [112]
113 29 Jul 2023 17:00 CBR Brave 6–2 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [113]
114 30 Jul 2023 14:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 5–7 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [114]
46 30 Jul 2023 15:00 Brisbane Lightning 4–7 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [115]
115 30 Jul 2023 15:30 Sydney Bears 4–2 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [116]
116 30 Jul 2023 17:00 Perth Thunder 8–4 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [117]

August

August
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
117 5 Aug 2023 15:30 Brisbane Lightning 20–1 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [118]
118 5 Aug 2023 16:30 CBR Brave 13–3 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [119]
119 5 Aug 2023 17:00 Sydney Ice Dogs 8–10 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [120]
120 5 Aug 2023 17:00 Sydney Bears 6–5 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [121]
121 6 Aug 2023 12:30 CBR Brave 6–2 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [122]
122 6 Aug 2023 14:00 Sydney Ice Dogs 3–7 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [123]
123 6 Aug 2023 15:30 Newcastle Northstars 18–5 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [124]
124 6 Aug 2023 17:00 Brisbane Lightning 4–6 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [125]
125 12 Aug 2023 16:30 Sydney Bears 3–2 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [126]
126 12 Aug 2023 16:30 Sydney Ice Dogs 8–5 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [127]
127 12 Aug 2023 16:30 Melbourne Mustangs 2–5 Adelaide Adrenaline IceArenA [128]
128 12 Aug 2023 17:30 Central Coast Rhinos 1–12 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [129]
129 13 Aug 2023 16:00 CBR Brave 5–7 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [130]
130 13 Aug 2023 16:30 Sydney Bears 1–6 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [131]

Key:

Winner

Standings

Overall

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 CBR Brave (P) 26 20 1 1 4 170 77 +93 63 2023 Goodall Cup Finals
2 Sydney Bears 26 21 0 0 5 132 81 +51 60
3 Newcastle Northstars 26 18 1 0 7 162 112 +50 56
4 Melbourne Mustangs 26 17 2 0 7 147 94 +53 55
5 Perth Thunder 26 17 0 1 8 141 90 +51 52
6 Melbourne Ice 26 10 0 0 16 144 165 −21 30
7 Brisbane Lightning 26 9 1 1 15 156 136 +20 30 2023 Goodall Cup Finals
8 Sydney Ice Dogs 26 7 0 2 17 104 159 −55 23
9 Adelaide Adrenaline 26 4 0 1 21 90 162 −72 13
10 Central Coast Rhinos 26 1 1 0 24 75 245 −170 5
Source: AIHL Elite Prospects
Rules for classification:
Tie-break: 1) points; 2) points percentage; 3) head to head; 4) goal difference; 5) goals scored; 6) coin toss
Points: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss; 0 points for regulation loss
Note: Sydney Bears deducted 3 points by the league for accidentally breaching player cap regulations in June 2023. [41]
(P) Premiers

Hellyer Conference

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sydney Bears 26 21 0 0 5 132 81 +51 60 2023 Goodall Cup Finals
2 Melbourne Mustangs 26 17 2 0 7 147 94 +53 55
3 Perth Thunder 26 17 0 1 8 141 90 +51 52
4 Melbourne Ice 26 10 0 0 16 144 165 −21 30
5 Sydney Ice Dogs 26 7 0 2 17 104 159 −55 23
Updated to match(es) played on 6 August 2023. Source: AIHL Elite Prospects
Rules for classification:
Tie-break: 1) points; 2) points percentage; 3) head to head; 4) goal difference; 5) goals scored; 6) coin toss
Points: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss; 0 points for regulation loss
Note: Sydney Bears deducted 3 points by the league for accidentally breaching player cap regulations in June 2023. [41]

Rurak Conference

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 CBR Brave 26 20 1 1 4 170 77 +93 63 2023 Goodall Cup Finals
2 Newcastle Northstars 26 18 1 0 7 162 112 +50 56
3 Brisbane Lightning 26 9 1 1 15 156 136 +20 30
4 Adelaide Adrenaline 26 4 0 1 21 90 162 −72 13
5 Central Coast Rhinos 26 1 1 0 24 75 245 −170 5
Updated to match(es) played on 6 August 2023. Source: AIHL Elite Prospects
Rules for classification:
Tie-break: 1) points; 2) points percentage; 3) head to head; 4) goal difference; 5) goals scored; 6) coin toss
Points: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss; 0 points for regulation loss

Statistics

Skater statistics

2023 AIHL season top-ten skater statistics for points, goals, assists and penalty minutes. [43]

Points
# Name Team Pos Pts
1 Canada Scott Timmins MM F 82
2 United States Austin Albrecht CB F 76
3 Canada Felix Plouffe CB F 64
4 Canada Ty Wishart MM D 60
5 Canada Daniel Berno NN F 58
6 Australia Casey Kubara CB F 57
7 Australia Chris Schutz MI F 53
8 Canada Francis Drolet NN F 53
9 Sweden Joakim Erdugan CR F 49
10 Canada Chris Lawrence MM F 49
Goals
# Name Team Pos G
1 United States Austin Albrecht CB F 39
2 Canada Scott Timmins MM F 33
3 Australia Chris Schutz MI F 28
4 Australia Tomas Landa SB F 26
5 Canada Daniel Berno NN F 25
6 Australia Zane Jones NN F 25
7 Sweden Joakim Erdugan CR F 24
8 Australia Riley Klugerman NN F 22
9 Australia Julian Fodor BL F 22
10 Australia Tommy Steven SB F 22
Assists
# Name Team Pos A
1 Canada Scott Timmins MM F 49
2 Canada Felix Plouffe CB F 44
3 Canada Ty Wishart MM D 44
4 Australia Casey Kubara CB F 41
5 United States Austin Albrecht CB F 37
6 Canada Josh Adkins NN F 37
7 Canada Grant Toulmin SD F 34
8 Canada Daniel Berno NN F 33
9 Canada Francis Drolet NN F 33
10 United States Carson Vance CB D 33
Penalty minutes
# Name Team Pos PIM
1 Australia Hamish Powell NN F 131
2 Australia Darcy Flanagan MI D 102
3 Canada Kasey Kulczycki BL F 86
4 Australia Jamie Bourke MI F 83
5 Australia Sacha Rapchuk BL F 79
6 Australia Alec Stephenson SD F 74
7 Sweden Joakim Erdugan CR F 71
8 Australia Daniel O'Handley AA F 71
9 Australia Nicholas Doornbos SD D 66
10 Australia Patrick Nadin NN F 59

Goaltender statistics

2023 AIHL season top-ten1 goaltender statistics for goals against average and save percentage. [44]

1 only goaltenders who have played 10 or more games qualify for these lists
Goals against average
# Name Team Pos GAA
1 Australia Anthony Kimlin SB G 2.60
2 Canada Kristian Stead PT G 2.77
3 Canada Liam Hughes MM G 2.86
4 Australia Aleksi Toivonen CB G 2.86
5 Australia Alex Tetreault CB G 3.00
6 Australia Charles Smart NN G 3.61
7 Australia Nicholas Novysedlak BL G 4.61
8 Australia Matus Trnka AA G 5.19
9 Australia Steve Harris BL G 5.42
10 Australia Michael James MI G 5.45
Save percentage
# Name Team Pos SV%
1 Australia Anthony Kimlin SB G .921
2 Canada Liam Hughes MM G .916
3 Canada Kristian Stead PT G .908
4 Australia Alex Tetreault CB G .894
5 Australia Aleksi Toivonen CB G .892
6 Australia Charles Smart NN G .889
7 Australia Jakob Doornbos SD G .870
8 Australia Nicholas Novysedlak BL G .867
9 Canada Andrew Masters CR G .866
10 Australia Michael James MI G .857

Awards

Skaters Network player of the week

Each week the AIHL, through sponsorship, names a player of the week. [45]
The award is based on the following criteria:

  • individual performance, including significant game statistics;
  • contribution to the team's success through individual leadership abilities; and
  • performance off the ice, including community engagement.
Round Awarded to Pos Ref
1 Canada Jordan McTaggart F Ref
2 Australia Michael Schlamp F Ref
3 Australia Charlie Smart G Ref
4 Australia Alexandre Tetreault G Ref
5 Australia Strat Allen F Ref
6 Australia Thomas Steven F Ref
7 Australia Vadim Virjassov F Ref
8 Australia Casey Kubara F Ref
9 Australia Robert Malloy D Ref
10 Australia Chris Schutz F Ref
11 Australia Sebastian Woodlands G Ref
12 Australia Wehebe Darge F Ref
13 Australia Thomas Flack F Ref
14 Australia Riley Klugerman F Ref
15 Australia Jordan Kyros F Ref
16 Australia Benjamin Breault F Ref

Season awards

Below lists the 2023 AIHL regular season award winners. [46]

Award Name Team
MVP Canada Scott Timmins Melbourne Mustangs
Goaltender Canada Andrew Masters Central Coast Rhinos
Defenceman Canada Ty Wishart Melbourne Mustangs
Local Not awarded
Rookie Australia Riley Klugerman Newcastle Northstars
Coach Australia Benjamin Breault Perth Thunder

Goodall Cup playoffs

For season 2023, the AIHL adopted a new two weekend Finals format. [39] The new format involved two play-in finals games during the first weekend and then two semi-finals and grand final in the second weekend. The new format involved single elimination games, with the losing team eliminated and winning team advancing to the next round. Participating teams in the AIHL Finals increased from four to six for the first time in league history. Qualification for Finals involved the highest three ranking teams from each AIHL regular season conference (Hellyer and Rurak). The top ranked teams from each conference would automatically qualify for the semi-finals, with the second and third ranked teams entering Finals at the play-in stage with a conference cross-over. The winner of Finals would continue to be named AIHL Champions and lift the historic Goodall Cup, just as it has been in previous seasons. [47]

Melbourne's O'Brien Icehouse and Newcastle's Hunter Ice Skating Stadium were selected as host venues for the 2023 AIHL Finals. Newcastle hosting one of the play-in games and Melbourne hosting the other play-in as well as the second weekend. Following the conclusion of the 2023 AIHL regular season, the CBR Brave and Sydney Bears finished top of their respective conferences to directly qualify for the semi-finals in Melbourne in week two. The Melbourne Mustangs, Newcastle Northstars, Perth Thunder and Brisbane Lightning qualified for the play-ins in week one. The Northstars would play the Thunder in Newcastle and the Mustangs would play the Lightning in Melbourne. [47] In week one, the Mustangs and Thunder won their respective play-in finals to advance to the semi-finals in week two. In week two, on Saturday, the Mustangs shutout the Bears in semi-final one to cause an upset, the Brave then eventually defeated the Thunder in semi-final two, after a lengthy player injury delay in the second period. On Sunday, the Brave faced-off with the hometown team the Mustangs in the grand final for the Goodall Cup. In a tightly contested game, the Mustangs prevailed and won 1–0, their second Finals shutout in a row. It was the Mustangs second ever Championship title and their first in nine years, since 2014 when they last won. [48] The Brave missed out on going back-to-back. Following the grand final, Melbourne Mustangs' Canadian gaoltender, Liam Hughes, was named Finals MVP for his heroic two shutouts. [49]

Play-insSemi-finalsGrand final
26 August – Melbourne
20 August – Melbourne1Sydney Bears0
3Melbourne Mustangs8Melbourne Mustangs427 August – Melbourne
6Brisbane Lightning3Melbourne Mustangs1
26 August – MelbourneCBR Brave0
19 August – Newcastle2CBR Brave4
4Newcastle Northstars1Perth Thunder1
5Perth Thunder4

All times are UTC+10:00

Play-in finals

19 August 2023
17:00		Newcastle Northstars1–4
(0–1, 1–0, 0–3)		Perth Thunder Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
Game reference
Australia Charles SmartGoalies Canada Kristian SteadReferees:
Kent Unwin
Mark Peruzzo
Linesmen:
Hayden Rogers
Luke Power
0 – 1Breault (Jean, Langille)
(Klugerman, Darge) Adkins1 – 1
1 – 2Kudla (Kyros)
1 – 3Jean (Unassisted)
1 – 4Webster (Unassisted)
8 minPenalties4 min
47Shots39
20 August 2023
14:00		Melbourne Mustangs8–3
(3–1, 2–2, 3–0)		Brisbane Lightning O’Brien Icehouse
Game reference
Canada Liam HughesGoalies Australia Steve HarrisReferees:
Rob Love
David Gal
Linesmen:
Russell Dow
David Rehak
0 – 1Fodor (McTaggart, Fuschini)
(Lawrence) Wishart1 – 1
(Cutter) Humphries2 – 1
(Humphries, Hughes) Turner3 – 1
3 – 2Anderson (Roth)
(Wishart) Virjassov4 – 2
4 – 3Kulczycki (Roth, Harris)
(Lawrence) Wishart5 – 3
(Virjassov, Wishart) Apps6 – 3
(McDowell) Timmins7 – 3
(Khroustalev, Jones) Humphries8 – 3
10 minPenalties20 min
33Shots27

Semi-finals

26 August 2023
14:00		Sydney Bears0–4
(0–0, 0–1, 0–3)		Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse
Game reference
Australia Anthony KimlinGoalies Canada Liam HughesReferees:
David Gal
Kent Unwin
Linesmen:
David Rehak
Luke Power
0 – 1Timmins (Wishart, McDowell)
0 – 2Virjassov (Wishart)
0 – 3Virjassov (Unassisted)
0 – 4Lawrence (Timmins)
4 minPenalties10 min
41Shots39
26 August 2023
18:30		CBR Brave4–1
(2–1, 0–0, 2–0)		Perth Thunder O’Brien Icehouse
Game reference
Australia Aleksi ToivonenGoalies Canada Kristian SteadReferees:
Rob Love
Mark Peruzzo
Linesmen:
Russell Dow
Hayden Rogers
(Plouffe) Albrecht1 – 0
(Camenzind) T Kubara2 – 0
2 – 1Breault (Jean)
(Hughes, Harvey) B Kubara3 – 1
(Albrecht, Vance) Plouffe4 – 1
6 minPenalties4 min
50Shots39

Final

27 August 2023
14:00		Melbourne Mustangs1–0
(0–0, 1–0, 0–0)		CBR Brave O’Brien Icehouse
Game reference
Canada Liam HughesGoalies Australia Aleksi ToivonenReferees:
Kent Unwin
David Gal
Linesmen:
Russell Dow
Hayden Rogers
(Lawrence, Timmins) McDowell1 – 0
2 minPenalties2 min
22Shots33

References

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External links

Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=2023_AIHL_season&oldid=1194089958"