Adelaide Adrenaline

Original logo used for the 2008 season

The team was formed at the start of July 2008 to replace the Adelaide Avalanche after they folded in June. In a deal with the AIHL the A's picked up the Avalanche's team list and fulfilled the existing game schedule for the remainder of the 2008 season.[1] After the 2008 season the A's were renamed the Adelaide Adrenaline for the upcoming 2009 season. The Adrenaline's best result in the regular season came in the 2012 season when they finished second in their conference and second overall. The team have qualified for the playoffs on four occasions, winning the Goodall Cup in 2009 and finishing runners-up in 2010.

The 2009 season saw the newly named Adrenaline perform strongly in the regular season. Adelaide won 16 of 24 matches and finished third in the league table, qualifying for the finals weekend in Newcastle.[2] 29 August 2009, the Adrenaline played the Melbourne Ice in the semi-final at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium. Adelaide took an early lead in the first period thanks to a Sami Mantere goal and never looked back from that point. The Adrenaline ended up winning the match 6–1 with Sami Mantere, Jeremy Beirnes and Mike Werner all scoring braces.[3] 30 August 2009, the Adrenaline came up against the Newcastle North Stars in the AIHL Championship final in front of 950 people. It was a match where power plays provided the opportunities to break down stubborn defences with three of the four goals scored during regulation time coming with a man advantage. After a scoreless third period the two teams could not be separated on 2-2 and the match advanced to overtime. Cassian Delsar stepped up and scored the winner in overtime to claim the Adrenaline's first ever title and the finals MVP.[4] Adelaide was presented with the brand new H Newman Reid Trophy for winning the AIHL Championship. The trophy replaced the Goodall Cup, which had been withdrawn from the competition before the start of the season. The Goodall Cup returned the following season and the Adrenaline championship title win was backdated and Adelaide was awarded the Cup. The H Newman Reid Trophy became the premiership title prize instead.[5]

In the 2010 season, the Adrenaline again reached the AIHL finals weekend by finishing fourth in the league standings.[6] Adelaide drew the North Stars in the semi-finals in a reply of the previous season's final. In a vastly different kind of match compared to the final in 2009, the Adrenaline outshot the North Stars to beat Newcastle 7-6 to reach their second Goodall Cup final in a row. In the final Adelaide come up against home team, the Melbourne Ice. In front of a packed Melbourne Icehouse, Adelaide put up a good performance but ultimately fell short and lost the final 4–6.[7]

Ahead of the 2017 season, the Adrenaline announced a club re-brand with a new logo, uniform and digital design and assets. The re-brand was released with a new team hashtag ‘#OneBeat’.[8] The new logo was a stylised ‘A’ shaped by a heartbeat line presentation. In addition to the new primary logo, the Adrenaline revealed a new secondary logo to be used as shoulder patches on jerseys. The circular badge features the South Australian piping shrike emblematic bird at its heart on a white background. Surrounding piping shrike is the team name in full ‘Adelaide Adrenaline Ice Hockey Club’ on a navy background. The emblem is boarded by a red and yellow border to complete the team’s entire colour palette.[9] The new kits kept the traditional primary blue home colour and white away.[10]

On 13 May 2018, Adelaide, AIHL and Australian ice hockey legend, Greg Oddy announced his retirement. Over the course of 19 years Oddy became a superstar of the local game. Upon his retirement, Oddy held four AIHL all-time records for appearances (615), goals (268), assists (347) and points (615). Greg held the points record for the Australian national team (118). Oddy was a leader for the Adrenaline and Adelaide Avalanche. He captained both teams for 11 seasons combined (2005-2016). He won 3 Goodall Cups (2 with the Avalanche and 1 with the Adrenaline) and 3 gold medals with the national team. Oddy was Adelaide's last remaining foundation player still playing in 2018. Oddy's family built the Adrenaline and Avalanche teams and his contribution to South Australian hockey, the AIHL, the national team and the Adrenaline will not be forgotten.[11][12]

On 11 January 2020, The Adrenaline announced former player and head coach Sami Mantere had been re-appointed as head coach for the 2020 season. Sami replaced outgoing head coach, Jim Fuyarchuk, who held the position for the last two seasons.[13]

Adelaide Adrenaline all-time record

Season	Regular season											Finals weekend								Top points scorer
	P	W	T	L	SW	SL	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Finish	P	W	L	GF	GA	Result	Semi-final	Goodall Cup final	Name	Points
2008	28*	6	–	14	6	2	90	107	−17	32	6th	–								Peter Lindgren	29
2009	24	15	–	8	1	–	117	75	+42	47	3rd	2	2	–	12	5	Champion	Won 6–1 (Ice)	Won 3–2 (North Stars)	Sami Mantere	33
2010	24	8	–	6	5	5	107	92	+15	39	4th	2	1	1	11	12	Runner-up	Won 7–6 (North Stars)	Lost 4–6 (Ice)	Greg Oddy	41
2011	28	12	–	9	5	2	117	94	+23	48	4th	1	–	1	3	8	Semi-finalist	Lost 3–8 (Ice)	–	Josef Rezek	36
2012	24	13	–	8	1	2	96	76	+20	43	2nd, Easton	1	–	1	4	5	Semi-finalist	Lost 4–5 (North Stars)	–	Greg Oddy	46
2013	28	8	–	12	3	5	125	124	+1	35	6th	–								Greg Oddy	37
2014	28	10	2**	10	5	1	94	90	+4	43	5th	–								Brett Liscomb	36
2015	28	11	–	11	3	3	109	111	−2	42	5th	–								Wehebe Darge	44
2016	28	5	–	18	1	4	83	127	−44	21	8th	–								Wehebe Darge	52
2017	28	6	–	18	1	3	85	142	−57	23	8th	–								Cameron Critchlow	43
2018	28	3	–	20	2	3	62	151	−89	16	8th	–								Ales Kratoska	36
2019	28	0	–	26	0	2	71	188	−117	2	8th	–								Ales Kratoska	31

(*) – In a deal with the AIHL previous games played by the Adelaide Avalanche were carried over to the A's.

(**) – Despite there being no ties in the AIHL, since the introduction of the shootout in 2006, the Brave and Adrenaline were awarded one point each after their match, on 19 July 2014, was cancelled by the AIHL due to a bus crash involving the travelling Adelaide players and coaching staff en route to Canberra.[14][15]

• Goodall Cup

Champions (1): 2009

Runners-Up (1): 2010

• H Newman Reid Trophy (replaced the V.I.P. Cup)

Premiers (0):

Runners-Up (1): 2012