2017 AIHL season
| 2017 AIHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Australian Ice Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 22 April 2017 – 27 August 2017 |
| Regular season | |
| H Newman Reid Trophy | Melbourne Ice |
| Season MVP | Cameron Critchlow (Adrenaline) |
| Top scorer | Benjamin Breault (Thunder) |
| Goodall Cup | |
| Champions | Melbourne Ice |
| Runners-up | CBR Brave |
| Finals MVP | Sebastian Ottosson (Ice) |
The 2017 AIHL season was the 18th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 22 April 2017 until 27 August 2017, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 2 and 3 September. The Melbourne Ice won both the H Newman Reid Trophy for finishing first in the regular season, and the Goodall Cup after defeating the CBR Brave in the final.
League business
In December 2016 the Adelaide Adrenaline revealed their new logo designs. The new primary logo features two peaks in the shape of the letter "A".[1] The club also introduced a secondary logo featuring a piping shrike.[1] In January 2017 the Melbourne Mustangs announced that the James Hotel would be their naming rights sponsor for the 2017 season, replacing MOAT: Mental Health Services which had held it since 2014.[2] The James Hotel will also continue as the clubs pre- and post-game and function venue.[2] The Mustangs also added Quest Docklands as a major sponsor in May.[3] On 17 January 2017 the league announced that the Sydney Bears and Sydney Ice Dogs would relocate to the Macquarie Ice Rink.[4] The Bears move from the Penrith Ice Palace where they have played since 2015 and the Ice Dogs move from the Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink.[5] In March 2017 the Ice Dogs revealed their new jersey designs which saw the club remove their logo in favour of the words "ICE DOGS" written out diagonally across the front.[6] In addition to the changes from the Adrenaline and Ice Dogs the CBR Brave, Melbourne Ice, Melbourne Mustangs, Newcastle Northstars and Sydney Bears also released new jersey designs.[7][8][9][10][11] In March and April the Perth Thunder signed Richard's Tyrepower, MacTrack, MyLeadPod and Bendigo Bank as new sponsors for the 2017 season.[12][13][14] The Thunder also announced that CD Dodd had increased their level of sponsorship for 2017, becoming the clubs naming rights sponsor.[15] In April the Brave announced that the Tuggeranong Hyperdome had signed on as a major sponsor and Anytime Fitness had increased their sponsorship to be a major sponsor of the club.[16] The following month the Brave announced that ONTHEGO had signed on as their official apparel partner.[17] In April 2017 Newcastle changed their name from the Newcastle North Stars to the Newcastle Northstars.[18] The re-brand was done to align the club with the New South Wales registered club, the Newcastle Northstars Ice Hockey Club.[18] At the end of April the Adrenaline announced that radio station 1079 Life had signed on as their official media partner with the deal including at least one game being live broadcast and regular interviews.[19] Also at the end of April both the Bears and Ice Dogs announced their official venue sponsors. The Bears signed The Ranch Hotel as their home venue sponsor while the Ice Dogs signed with T.G.I. Friday's Macquarie Centre restaurant.[20][21] In May the Ice Dogs announced that they would be radio streaming the remainder of their home games via Mixlr.[15] Also in May the Ice Dogs released a new logo as part of their 15th anniversary celebrations. The new logo featured a redesigned bulldog holding a broken ice hockey stick.[22] In June the Brave signed The Woden Tradies & Quality Hotel as their official post-game venue for the remainder of the season.[23] In June the Melbourne Ice announced that 'Life. Be in It' had signed on as their naming rights sponsor and Kidney Health Australia as their charity partner and volunteer sponsor.[24] In August the Ice Dogs announced the signing of Crankt Protein as a new sponsor for the club.[25]
Exhibition games
In February 2015 the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs announced that they would host the New Zealand men's national ice hockey team in a four game exhibition series at the O'Brien Group Arena, competing in two games each.[26][27] The series was held as part of a warm up for New Zealand ahead of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group B tournament.[27] The Mustangs won both of their games 5–4 with the first being won in a shootout.[28] The Ice defeated New Zealand 3–1 in the first game, however lost their second 0–9.[28] The 2017 edition of the Wilson Cup was not held due to a high workload in relation to the move of the Bears to the Macquarie Ice Rink.[29] It is the first time since 2013 that the tournament has not been held.[29] The Wilson Cup was later re-purposed to be awarded to the winner of the regular season series between the Bears and Ice Dogs. The Bears retained the Cup after the series was tied both on wins and goal difference.[30] On 13 April the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs competed in an exhibition match at the O'Brien Group Arena with the Ice winning 8–1.[31] On 15 April the Adelaide Adrenaline held an exhibition match against an Ice Hockey South Australia All Star team as part of the Hockey Day in Adelaide event at the Adelaide Ice Arena.[32] The Adrenaline won the match 9–1.[32] On 22 June the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs joined the Ice Hockey Classic series for an exhibition game at the O'Brien Group Arena. The Ice joined Team Canada and the Mustangs joined Team USA for the 4 on 4 match. Team USA and the Mustangs defeated Team Canada and the Ice 8–5.[33] On 22 July the Perth Thunder played an exhibition game at Cockburn Ice Arena against a team of Western Australian All-Stars to help raise funds for junior ice hockey. The Thunder won the match 9–1.[34] On 7 September 2017 the Mustangs held their players v sponsors match at the O'Brien Group Arena with the game finishing in an eight all draw.[35]
Personnel changes
In October 2016 it was announced that the Adelaide Adrenaline had signed Sami Mantere to the position of heach coach, replacing interim head coach Eric Lien who had been in the role since June.[36] The following month Perth Thunder head coach Dave Kenway stepped down from his position due to family and work commitments.[37] Following his resignation Kenway took on the role of Director of Hockey at the club.[37] Kenway was replaced in the position of head coach by former player Dave Ruck.[38] In January 2017 the CBR Brave announced the signing of former Northstars' player Rob Starke as head coach.[39] Starke comes into the position which was left empty after the departure of Josh Unice in August 2016.[40] In March 2017 it was announced that the Ice Dogs had signed former Australian national team player Christopher Blagg to the position of head coach.[41] The signing follows the resignation of Vladimir Rubes along with his assistant Christopher Sekura who both stepped down due to family commitments.[41] The club also announced the signing of Christopher Foster and Andrew Waite as assistant coaches.[41]
Player transfers
Interclub transfers
|
Retirements
|
Regular season
The regular season began on 22 April 2017 and will run through to 27 August 2017 before the top four teams advance to compete in the Goodall Cup playoff series. On 7 May the game between the Melbourne Ice and Sydney Bears had to be cancelled after the first period due to a fire in the Macquarie Ice Rink's speaker system.[83] It was later rescheduled to 16 July at the Macquarie Ice Rink.[84] Due to the 2017 Ice Hockey Classic which was held on 17 June in Sydney and 24 June in Melbourne the league made two changes to the June fixture.[85] The match between the Sydney Ice Dogs and Newcastle North Stars was moved from 17 to 16 June.[85] The other match moved was between the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs which was changed from 24 to 25 June.[85]
10 June game between the CBR Brave and Adelaide Adrenaline served as the third annual beyondblue Cup, setup to held raise awareness for the charity.[86] The Brave won the Cup for the third year in a row, defeating the Adrenaline 8–3.[86] 1 July match between the Melbourne Ice and Sydney Bears served as the fourth annual Canada Day Classic.[87] The Ice won the match 6–4, claiming the title for the first time.[87] The 2017 Matt Clark Shield match was also held on 1 July and was contested between the Sydney Ice Dogs and Perth Thunder.[87] The Ice Dogs won the match 5–3 to claim their second Matt Clark Shield having defeated the Adrenaline last year.[87] 8 July match between the Perth Thunder and CBR Brave served the Thunder's charity match.[88] The match, known as "Pink on the Rink", was held as a fundraiser for the McGrath Foundation and saw the Thunder wearing an all-pinked jersey.[88] Round 13, which ran on 22 and 23 July, was the league's pride round. The round was held to raise awareness for the LGBTIQ community and saw the Mustangs wear a pride themed rainbow jersey.[89] On 30 July the Melbourne Ice held a Swedish themed day. As part of the day the club wore a blue and gold coloured variant of their jersey in the match against the Sydney Ice Dogs.[90] During Round 15, which ran on 4 and 5 August, the Adelaide Adrenaline held a heritage round. The round saw the Adrenaline wearing an Adelaide Avalanche themed jersey in their two games against the Perth Thunder.[91]
The Melbourne Ice won the H Newman Reid Trophy after finishing first in the regular season with 71 points.[92][93] The Adelaide Adrenaline's Cameron Critchlow won the Most Valuable Player and Rob Haselhurst of the Perth Thunder was named Defenceman of the Year.[94] The CBR Brave's Bayley Kubara was named Rookie of the Year, Damien Ketlo of the Sydney Ice Dogs won the Goaltender of the Year and the Melbourne Ice's Joey Hughes was named the Skaters Network Local Player of the Year.[94][95] Perth Thunder's Dave Ruck was named Coach of the Year.[94]
April
| Date | Time | Away | Score | Home | Location | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 April | 16:30 | Newcastle Northstars | 3–4 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 22 April | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 4–2 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 22 April | 17:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 1–0 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 23 April | 16:00 | CBR Brave | 4 – 3 (SO) | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 23 April | 16:30 | Newcastle Northstars | 2–3 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 29 April | 17:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 2–5 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 29 April | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 4–1 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 29 April | 17:00 | Sydney Bears | 2–5 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 30 April | 16:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 5–8 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 30 April | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 1 – 2 (SO) | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 30 April | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 5 – 4 (SO) | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium |
May
| Date | Time | Away | Score | Home | Location | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 May | 16:30 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 4–2 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 6 May | 17:00 | Melbourne Ice | 4 – 3 (SO) | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 6 May | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 1–3 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 7 May | 16:30 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 2–5 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 7 May | 17:00 | Newcastle Northstars | 6 – 5 (SO) | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 13 May | 16:30 | Sydney Bears | 5 – 4 (SO) | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 13 May | 17:00 | Melbourne Ice | 2–1 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 13 May | 17:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 1–5 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 13 May | 17:30 | Newcastle Northstars | 3–4 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 14 May | 16:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 5–9 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 14 May | 16:30 | Sydney Bears | 2 – 3 (SO) | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 14 May | 17:00 | Newcastle Northstars | 4–3 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 20 May | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 0–9 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 20 May | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 4–1 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 20 May | 17:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 3 – 2 (SO) | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 21 May | 16:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 7–3 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 21 May | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 4–8 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 21 May | 17:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 4–2 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 27 May | 16:30 | Newcastle Northstars | 3 – 2 (SO) | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 27 May | 17:00 | Sydney Bears | 6–7 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 27 May | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 4–1 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 28 May | 16:00 | Sydney Bears | 5 – 6 (SO) | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 28 May | 16:30 | Newcastle Northstars | 1–5 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 28 May | 17:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 2–4 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
June
| Date | Time | Away | Score | Home | Location | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June | 16:30 | Melbourne Ice | 5–1 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 10 June | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 3–6 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 10 June | 17:00 | Sydney Bears | 0–3 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 10 June | 17:30 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 3–8 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 11 June | 16:30 | Melbourne Ice | 3 – 2 (SO) | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 11 June | 17:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 8–5 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 11 June | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 6–4 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 16 June | 20:15 | Newcastle Northstars | 2–7 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 17 June | 16:30 | Melbourne Mustangs | 5–1 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 17 June | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 3–6 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 17 June | 17:30 | Sydney Bears | 3–13 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 18 June | 16:00 | Perth Thunder | 5–3 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 18 June | 16:30 | Melbourne Mustangs | 5–2 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 18 June | 17:00 | Newcastle Northstars | 4–8 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 24 June | 16:30 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 1–2 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 24 June | 17:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 4 – 5 (SO) | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 24 June | 17:30 | Sydney Bears | 1–7 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 25 June | 16:00 | Melbourne Ice | 6–2 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 25 June | 16:30 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 0–2 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 25 June | 17:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 4–5 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink |
July
| Date | Time | Away | Score | Home | Location | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July | 17:00 | Sydney Bears | 4–6 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 1 July | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 3–5 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 1 July | 17:30 | Melbourne Mustangs | 5–3 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 2 July | 16:00 | Sydney Bears | 5–6 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 2 July | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 5 – 6 (SO) | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 2 July | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 5 – 4 (SO) | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 8 July | 16:30 | CBR Brave | 2–4 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 8 July | 16:30 | Melbourne Ice | 6–3 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 8 July | 17:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 3–5 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 8 July | 17:00 | Newcastle Northstars | 5–3 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 9 July | 16:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 5–1 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 9 July | 16:30 | Melbourne Ice | 2–0 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 9 July | 16:30 | CBR Brave | 0–5 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 13 July | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 3 – 2 (SO) | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 15 July | 17:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 4–7 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 15 July | 17:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 2–4 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 15 July | 17:30 | Perth Thunder | 3–2 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 16 July | 14:30 | Melbourne Ice | 2–1 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 16 July | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 3–1 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 16 July | 17:00 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 2–0 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 22 July | 16:30 | CBR Brave | 10–5 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 22 July | 17:00 | Newcastle Northstars | 3–6 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 22 July | 17:00 | Melbourne Ice | 4–3 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 23 July | 16:00 | Newcastle Northstars | 4–1 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 23 July | 16:30 | CBR Brave | 4–1 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 23 July | 17:00 | Melbourne Ice | 3–4 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 29 July | 16:30 | Melbourne Mustangs | 2 – 3 (SO) | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 29 July | 17:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 1–4 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 29 July | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 7–4 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 30 July | 16:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 2–4 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 30 July | 16:30 | Melbourne Mustangs | 4–1 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 30 July | 17:00 | Sydney Bears | 4–7 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium |
August
| Date | Time | Away | Score | Home | Location | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 August | 20:00 | Sydney Bears | 5–3 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 5 August | 16:30 | Perth Thunder | 3–4 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 5 August | 17:00 | Newcastle Northstars | 4–7 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 5 August | 17:30 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 4–2 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 6 August | 16:00 | Newcastle Northstars | 1–4 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 6 August | 16:30 | Perth Thunder | 4–2 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 12 August | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 2–1 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 12 August | 17:00 | Melbourne Ice | 5–8 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 13 August | 16:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 6–1 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 13 August | 17:00 | Melbourne Ice | 6–3 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | ||
| 19 August | 16:30 | Sydney Bears | 3 – 2 (SO) | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 19 August | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 8–1 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 19 August | 17:00 | Melbourne Ice | 4–1 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 19 August | 17:00 | Perth Thunder | 5–4 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 20 August | 16:00 | Perth Thunder | 5–1 | Melbourne Mustangs | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 20 August | 16:00 | Melbourne Ice | 6–4 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 20 August | 16:30 | Sydney Bears | 3–0 | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide Ice Arena | ||
| 20 August | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 6–1 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 26 August | 16:30 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 3–11 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 26 August | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 2–5 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 26 August | 17:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 3–2 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | ||
| 26 August | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 5–6 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink | ||
| 27 August | 16:00 | CBR Brave | 2–5 | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena | ||
| 27 August | 16:30 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 1–12 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena | ||
| 27 August | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 2–4 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink |
Standings
| Team | GP | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | GDF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Ice | 28 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 132 | 75 | +57 | 71 |
| Perth Thunder | 28 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 110 | 75 | +35 | 57 |
| CBR Brave | 28 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 130 | 101 | +29 | 46 |
| Melbourne Mustangs | 28 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 104 | 113 | −9 | 40 |
| Sydney Ice Dogs | 28 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 73 | 81 | −8 | 36 |
| Sydney Bears | 28 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 101 | 121 | −20 | 33 |
| Newcastle Northstars | 28 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 97 | 124 | −27 | 30 |
| Adelaide Adrenaline | 28 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 85 | 142 | −57 | 23 |
| Qualified for the Goodall Cup playoffs |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
List shows the ten top skaters sorted by points, then goals. Updated 27 August 2017.[96]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | POS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Breault | Perth Thunder | 27 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 41 | F |
| Geordie Wudrick | CBR Brave | 25 | 20 | 34 | 54 | 28 | F |
| Dominic Jalbert | CBR Brave | 28 | 16 | 37 | 53 | 72 | D |
| Christian Ouellet | Perth Thunder | 23 | 14 | 34 | 48 | 14 | F |
| Jamie Bourke | Melbourne Mustangs | 28 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 40 | F |
| Stephen Blunden | CBR Brave | 16 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 16 | F |
| Jackson Brewer | Sydney Bears | 27 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 24 | F |
| Joseph Harcharik | Newcastle Northstars | 26 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 12 | F |
| Steven Kuhn | Newcastle Northstars | 26 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 6 | F |
| Cameron Critchlow | Adelaide Adrenaline | 26 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 18 | F |
| Joseph Hughes | Melbourne Ice | 25 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 69 | F |
| Anton Kokkonen | Melbourne Mustangs | 23 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 10 | F |
Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage with a minimum 40% of the team's ice time. Updated 27 August 2017.[96]
| Player | Team | MIP | SOG | GA | GAA | SVS% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Di Salvo | Perth Thunder | 1380 | 924 | 70 | 2.54 | 0.924 | 2 |
| Damien Ketlo | Sydney Ice Dogs | 1391 | 1001 | 77 | 2.77 | 0.923 | 2 |
| Matt Murphy | Adelaide Adrenaline | 746 | 630 | 56 | 3.75 | 0.911 | 1 |
| Dayne Davis | Melbourne Ice | 1073 | 537 | 50 | 2.33 | 0.907 | 2 |
| James Kruger | Melbourne Mustangs | 896 | 582 | 57 | 3.18 | 0.902 | 0 |
Goodall Cup playoffs
The 2017 playoffs started on 2 September with the Goodall Cup final held on 3 September.[97] Following the end of the regular season the top four teams advanced to the playoff series. All three games were held at the O'Brien Group Arena in Docklands, Victoria, the home of the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs.[97] The series was a single game elimination with the two winning semi-finalists advancing to the Goodall Cup final. The finals were sponsored by Air Canada, the fifth year in a row.[97] The Goodall Cup was won by the Melbourne Ice who defeated the CBR Brave 4–1.[98] The Ice's Sebastian Ottosson was named the finals most valuable player.[98]
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne Ice | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Melbourne Mustangs | 2 | |||||||
| Melbourne Ice | 4 | ||||||||
| CBR Brave | 1 | ||||||||
| 3 | CBR Brave | 6 | |||||||
| 2 | Perth Thunder | 2 | |||||||
All times are UTC+10:00
Semi-finals
| 2 September 2017 15:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 2–4 (0–1, 0–1, 2–2) | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Kruger | Goalies | Dayne Davis | Referees: Glen Foll Dave Gal Linesmen: Steve Setka Fraser Ohlson | |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 min | Penalties | 4 min | ||||||||||||||||||
| 29 | Shots | 38 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 September 2017 18:00 | CBR Brave | 6–2 (0–0, 2–1, 4–1) | Perth Thunder | O'Brien Group Arena |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleksi Toivonen | Goalies | Peter Di Salvo | Referees: Kent Unwin Jeff Scott Linesmen: Casper Russelhuber Stephen De Witt | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 min | Penalties | 30 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 34 | Shots | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Final
| 3 September 2017 15:00 | CBR Brave | 1–4 (0–1, 1–1, 0–2) | Melbourne Ice | O'Brien Group Arena Attendance: 1500 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleksi Toivonen | Goalies | Dayne Davis | Referees: Jeff Scott Kent Unwin Linesmen: Steve Setka Casper Russelhuber | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| 8 min | Penalties | 8 min | |||||||||||||||
| 21 | Shots | 28 | |||||||||||||||
All-Star weekend
The 2017 AIHL All-Star Weekend was held at the O'Brien Group Arena, Melbourne on 3 and 4 June 2017.[99][100] The format of the weekend remained unchanged from 2016 with a skills competition on 3 June and an all-stars game on 4 June.[100] Melbourne Mustangs' Jamie Bourke and Lliam Webster of the Melbourne Ice were announced as the captains of the two teams replacing Michael Schlamp and Matt Armstrong from 2016.[100][101] APA Group re-signed as sponsor of the weekend after sponsoring the previous two events.[101] The weekend is also included on the Fox Sports broadcast schedule.[102]
The Skills competition saw Melbourne Mustangs players take out three of the seven events, the Melbourne Ice took two, and the Adelaide Adrenaline and Sydney Ice Dogs both picked up one each.[103][104] On 4 June Team Webster defeated Team Bourke 14–7 at the O'Brien Group Arena to win the 2017 All-Star Game.[105] Dominic Jalbert of the CBR Brave was named the most valuable player of the match.[105]
Skills competition
- Breakaway Challenge: Joseph Hughes (Melbourne Ice)[103]
- Elimination Shootout: Josef Rezek (Adelaide Adrenaline)[103]
- Fastest Skater: Patrick O’Kane (Melbourne Mustangs) – 11 seconds[103]
- Goaltender Race: Damien Ketlo (Sydney Ice Dogs)[103]
- Hardest Shot: Matt Beattie (Melbourne Mustangs) – 146km/h[103]
- Shooting Accuracy: Jamie Bourke (Melbourne Mustangs) – 9.3 seconds[103]
- Stickhandling: Joseph Hughes (Melbourne Ice)[103]
All-star game
| 4 June 2017 14:00 | Team Bourke | 7–14 | Team Webster | O'Brien Group Arena |
| Game reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
References
- 1 2 "Adrenaline unveil new logo". Ice Hockey News Australia. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- 1 2 "The James Hotel become the Mustangs new naming rights sponsor". Ice Hockey News Australia. 18 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- ↑ "Quest Docklands, Our New Partner". Melbourne Mustangs. 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ McNamara, Bernard (17 January 2017). "AIHL poised for growth in Sydney with move to Macquarie". Australian Ice Hockey League. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- ↑ "Bears and Ice Dogs move to the Macquarie Ice Rink". Ice Hockey News Australia. 18 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- ↑ "Ice Dogs turn back clock". Sydney Ice Dogs. 17 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ "North Stars reveal new jerseys". Ice Hockey News Australia. 3 March 2017. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- ↑ "AIHL news: 30 April 2017". Ice Hockey News Australia. 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ↑ "Mustangs reveal new jerseys". Ice Hockey News Australia. 5 March 2017. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
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