2014 AIHL season

The 2014 AIHL season was the 15th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 12 April 2014 until 24 August 2014, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 30 and 31 August. The Melbourne Mustangs won both the H Newman Reid Trophy for finishing first in the regular season, and the Goodall Cup after defeating the Melbourne Ice in the final.

In 2014 the AIHL had 8 teams competing in the league.^[1]

2014 AIHL teams

Team	City	Arena	Head Coach	Captain
Adelaide Adrenaline	Adelaide	IceArenA	Ryan O'Handley	Greg Oddy
CBR Brave	Canberra	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	Matti Louma	Mark Rummukainen
Melbourne Ice	Melbourne	Medibank Icehouse	Brent Laver	Lliam Webster
Melbourne Mustangs	Melbourne	Medibank Icehouse	Brad Vigon	Sean Jones
Newcastle North Stars	Newcastle	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	Garry Doré	Robert Starke
Perth Thunder	Perth	Perth Ice Arena	Dylan Forsythe	Samuel Wilson
Sydney Bears	Sydney	Sydney Ice Arena	Vladimir Rubes	Michael Schlamp
Sydney Ice Dogs	Sydney	Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink	Andrew Petrie	Robert Malloy

In October 2013 it was confirmed that the Gold Coast Blue Tongues would remain suspended for the 2014 season. The team have until the 2015 season before their licence is reviewed.^[2] On 26 February 2014 Canberra Knights owner John Raut announced that the team had folded operations effective immediately and would not be competing in the upcoming 2014 season. Raut cited financial costs, lack of local players and poor performance as the reasons behind the move.^[3][4] The following day it was announced that the player group headed by captain Mark Rummukainen had approached the league with plans on taking on the club's licence.^[5] The following month the league announced that they had granted a provisional licence to a Canberra consortium, which involved the player group, to take on the licence and replace the Knights in the 2014 season. The new team was announced as the CBR Brave.^[6] The Melbourne Mustangs announced in March 2014 that they had signed a deal with MOAT: Mental Health Services who will become the teams naming sponsors for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The team's name will change to MOAT: Melbourne Mustangs Ice Hockey Club.^[7] Air Canada expanded their sponsorship of the AIHL to the entire 2014 season after last year sponsoring the 2013 finals series.^[8] They also announced they will continue to show a highlights package of the 2013 finals series as part of their in-flight entertainment until the end of June.^[8] They will then replace it with the 2014 Canada Day Classic between the Sydney Bears and Melbourne Mustangs and the 2014 AIHL finals series.^[8]

The first exhibition game was held in November 2013 with the Sydney Bears playing a match against former AIHL team, the Central Coast Rhinos. The Rhinos who previously played in the AIHL from 2005 to 2008 went on to win the game 8–4.^[9] A second game involving the Bears and Rhinos was held in March 2014 with the Bears winning 8–2.^[9] In February 2014 it was announced that the pre season tournament, the Wilson Cup, would be revived.^[10] The tournament was last played in 2009 and was won by the Rhinos.^[10] The 2014 edition features the Newcastle North Stars, Sydney Bears and the Sydney Ice Dogs.^[10] The tournament features a round robin of the three teams and finishes with a final between the top two placed teams. In started on 16 March and finished on 5 April.^[10] In the opening game of the Wilson Cup the North Stars defeated the Bears 4–3 in a shootout.^[11] The North Stars however lost game two to the Ice Dogs 5–4 in a shootout.^[12] In the last game of the round robin the Ice Dogs defeated the Sydney Bears 8–1 and they finished first in the standings.^[13] The Ice Dogs were drawn against the North Stars in the final who finished the round robin in second place. The Ice Dogs defeated the North Stars 4–2, winning their first Wilson Cup title.^[14] On 27 March the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs held an exhibition game at the Medibank Icehouse with the Ice defeating the Mustangs 8–3.^[15] On 3 and 5 April the Australian national team held two exhibition games against the Mustangs and Ice.^[16] The two games were played at the Medibank Icehouse and were held as part of the team's preparation for the 2014 IIHF World Championship Division II Group A tournament being held in Serbia from 9 to 15 April.^[16] Australia won both of the games, defeating the Mustangs 9–3 and the Ice 4–1.^[16][17]

In November 2013 Melbourne Ice announced that assistant coach Brent Laver has been promoted to the head coach position, replacing Sandy Gardner who had been in the job for only the 2013 season.^[18] The team also announced that former player, Glen Mayer had signed on as an assistant coach, along with former Swedish First Division player, Johan Steenberg, who was appointed back in June 2013.^[18][19] Just prior to the start of the season Perth Thunder Coach Stan Scott announced that he had stepped down as head coach in order to focus on the General Manager operations of the club. Scott was replaced by Dylan Forsythe as head coach and but remained on the coaching panel as an assistant.^[20] After eight games into the season it was announced that Forsythe had stepped down as head coach effective immediately for unknown reasons. He was replaced by Stan Scott who agreed to take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.^[21] On 24 April 2014 the Sydney Ice Dogs head coach Ron Kuprowsky and his assistants Colin Downie and Brad Andrlon had resigned from their positions.^[22] The club appointed Dion Dunwoodie as interim head coach with Mark Page and Anthony Wilson as his assistants. On 9 May 2014 the Ice Dogs signed Andrew Petrie as their new head coach.^[23]

Players signed Player Previous team New team Ref Matthew Anderson No team Melbourne Mustangs [24] Richard Ashton No team Melbourne Ice [25] Antoine Aubin Newcastle North Stars ECSL Newcastle North Stars [26] Brendan Ayton No team Sydney Bears [27] Matthew Ayton No team Sydney Bears [27] Sonny Bal No team Melbourne Ice [25] Brian Bales No team Newcastle North Stars [26] David Bell Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Stephen Blunden University of Ottawa CBR Brave [28] Zachary Boyle Adelaide Blackhawks Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Jeremy Brown Sherbrooke Cougars Melbourne Ice [25] Mitch Bye No team Sydney Ice Dogs [30] Harrison Byers Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] James Byers Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Blake Cameron Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Graham Charbonneau No team Adelaide Adrenaline [29] David Chubb Gander Flyers Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Robert Clark No team Melbourne Ice [25] Aaron Clayworth No team CBR Brave [28] Stuart Clemie ECSL Vipers Sydney Bears [27] John Clewlow Fayetteville FireAntz Sydney Ice Dogs [30] Darren Cope No team CBR Brave [28] Scott Corbett No team Melbourne Ice [25] Ethan Cornford Melbourne Whalers Melbourne Mustangs [24] Cody Danberg Shellbrook Elks Newcastle North Stars [26] Ben DiMarco Vikingar Sydney Bears [27] Nickolas Eckhardt Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Ryan Foll Adelaide Tigers Adelaide Adrenaline [29][31] Justin Fox Quad City Mallards Perth Thunder [32] Jordan Gavin Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Kaden Goulds Cockburn Hawks Perth Thunder [32] Jeff Grant Louisiana IceGators Melbourne Mustangs [24] Jordan Grover Perth Pelicans Perth Thunder [32] Sean Hamilton Perth Thunder Melbourne Ice [25] Joshua Hansen Sydney Sabres Newcastle North Stars [26] Matthew Harvey Okotoks Drillers CBR Brave [28] Sam Hodic Melbourne Glaciers Melbourne Ice [25] Ross Howell No team Melbourne Ice [25] Joseph Hughes Melbourne Ice Melbourne Mustangs [24] Vincent Hughes Melbourne Ice Melbourne Mustangs [24] Brad Hunt Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Gustaf Huth Lidingö Vikings Melbourne Ice [25] Greg Hyde No team Perth Thunder [32] Tim Johansson No team Melbourne Ice [25] Adam Kimbley Sydney Heat Sydney Bears [27] Anton Kokkonen TuTo CBR Brave [28] Martin Kutek No team Melbourne Mustangs [24] Samuel Lammert Sydney Sabres Newcastle North Stars [26] Matt Lehoczky No team CBR Brave [28] Tom Letki Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] David Lewis Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Måns Lindgren Piteå HC J20 Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Brett Liscomb Fayetteville FireAntz Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Dane Ludolph Park City Pioneers Sydney Bears [27] Riley Major Sydney Sabres Sydney Bears [27] Harrison May University of Ottawa Newcastle North Stars [26] Jarrad McDonnell No team Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Joel McFadden No team Sydney Bears [27] Remy McGuiness Perth Sharks Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Christopher McPhail No team CBR Brave [28] Kai Miettinen Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Carter Moore No team Sydney Ice Dogs [30] Matt Monaghan No team Sydney Ice Dogs [30] Patrick Nadin Sydney Wolf Pack Newcastle North Stars [26] Tim Newmark Massachusetts Junior Mariners Sydney Bears [27] Aku Nevalainen No team Perth Thunder [32] Timothy Noting Rimbo IF Sydney Ice Dogs [30] Mathieu Ouellette University of Ottawa CBR Brave [28] Daniel Palmkvist Nittorps IK Sydney Bears [27] Thomas Papps No team Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Dean Peterson No team Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Petri Pitkänen KeuPa HT CBR Brave [28] Jason Polglase No team Newcastle North Stars [26] Harley Quinton-Jones Sydney Wolf Pack Newcastle North Stars [26] Shai Rabinowitz Newcastle North Stars CBR Brave [28] Kim Ranta-Aho No team Perth Thunder [32] Ryan Remillard No team Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Alain Riesen Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Troy Robertson No team Melbourne Mustangs [24] Cameron Rose Massachusetts Junior Mariners Sydney Ice Dogs [30] Mark Rummukainen Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Hayden Sheard Sydney Sabres Newcastle North Stars [26] Viktor Gibbs Sjödin Ferencvárosi TC Melbourne Mustangs [24] Jarrod Smith Sydney Wolf Pack Sydney Bears [27] Jeff Smith Hull Stingrays Melbourne Ice [25] Shane Southwood No team Sydney Ice Dogs [30] Niko Suoraniemi Herlev Eagles Adelaide Adrenaline [29] Robert Summons No team Melbourne Mustangs [24] Sean Hamilton Steen No team Sydney Bears [27] Stuart Stefan Huntsville Havoc Perth Thunder [32] Alec Stephenson Sydney Wolf Pack Sydney Bears [27] Matt Taylor Canberra Knights Newcastle North Stars [26] Peter Taylor Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Shaun Tobin Perth Sharks Perth Thunder [32] Marco Tomasello No team Sydney Ice Dogs [30] Corey Toy Fayetteville FireAntz Perth Thunder [32] Derek Walker St. James Canucks CBR Brave [28] Kieren Webster Perth Pelicans Perth Thunder [32] Corey Wilkie St. James Canucks CBR Brave [28] Rob Willis No team Sydney Bears [27] Chris Wilson Louisiana IceGators Newcastle North Stars [26] Stuart Woodall Canberra Knights CBR Brave [28] Jamie Woodman Palm Beach Hawks Perth Thunder [32]

Players lost Player Previous team New team Ref Travis Alabaster Melbourne Mustangs No team [33] Kenneth Autterson Sydney Bears ECSL Sting [34] Jonathan Bale Sydney Bears No team [34] Alistair Band Canberra Knights Haringey Racers [35] Shane Barrow Sydney Bears Sydney Heat [34] Brian Berger Perth Thunder Marian University [36] Luc-Olivier Blain Adelaide Adrenaline Anglet Hormadi Élite [37] Tyson Boyd Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Blackhawks [37][38] Jordan Braid Canberra Knights Columbus Cottonmouths [35] Russel Brewer Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Tigers [37][39] Caleb Butler Melbourne Ice No team [40] Dan Clarke Perth Thunder Mississippi Surge [36] Scott Clemie Sydney Bears Sydney Wolf Pack [34] Pier-Olivier Cotnoir Newcastle North Stars TEV Miesbach [41] Fred Coutts Perth Thunder No team [36] Andrew Crowther Melbourne Ice No team [40] Todd Cutter Melbourne Mustangs No team [33] Kevin Darcy Perth Thunder University of Oklahoma [36] James David Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Falcons [37][42] Rob Duchemin Newcastle North Stars No team [41] Andrew Erzen Melbourne Ice No team [40] Michael Fairlamb Canberra Knights No team [35] Michael Forney Perth Thunder EC VSV [36] Robin Forsythe Melbourne Mustangs No team [33] Chris Frank Melbourne Ice Braehead Clan [40] Ian Fulion Canberra Knights No team [35] Tim Fulton Canberra Knights No team [35] Kevin Glanzman Melbourne Mustangs No team [33] John Gordon Melbourne Ice EV Füssen [40] Sean Hamilton Perth Thunder Melbourne Ice [36] Matthew Haywood Adelaide Adrenaline Braehead Clan [37] Stuart Higgins Melbourne Mustangs No team [33] Aaron Hoffman Perth Thunder No team [36] Joseph Hughes Melbourne Ice Melbourne Mustangs [40] Vincent Hughes Melbourne Ice Melbourne Mustangs [40] Stephen Huish Perth Thunder West Auckland Admirals [36] Lyle Idoine Sydney Bears No team [34] Mikko Jortikka Canberra Knights TuTo [35] Renars Kazanovs Sydney Bears HK Kurbads [34] Chris Kelly Newcastle North Stars No team [41] Anthony Kimlin Sydney Ice Dogs Whitby Dunlops [43] Martin Kolos Sydney Bears ECSL Sting [34] Jan Koubek Sydney Bears No team [34] Tomas Landa Sydney Bears HC Risuty [34] Richie Lamb Perth Thunder West Coast Flyers [36][44] Justin Levac Canberra Knights St. Charles Chill [35] Ryan Lowe Sydney Bears No team [34] Matti Luoma Canberra Knights Retired [35] Silvan Maeder Sydney Bears ECSL Sting [34] Tomas Manco Sydney Ice Dogs No team [45] Ayden Millward Perth Thunder No team [36] Dan Mohle Perth Thunder No team [36] Dylan Moore Melbourne Ice No team [40] Jeff Martens Newcastle North Stars Brampton Beast [41] Olivier Martin Newcastle North Stars Retired [46] Ben O'Driscoll Sydney Bears No team [34] Joshua O'Neil Sydney Bears No team [34] Jon Olthuis Melbourne Mustangs No team [33] Dominic Osman Newcastle North Stars Huntsville Havoc [41] Britt Ouellette Adelaide Adrenaline Watertown Privateers [37] Travis Ouellette Adelaide Adrenaline Arizona Sundogs [37] Rick Parry Adelaide Adrenaline West Auckland Admirals [37] Dahlen Phillips Melbourne Ice No team [40] Kevin Phillips Adelaide Adrenaline Belfast Giants [37] Stuart Philps Canberra Knights No team [35] Matt Puntureri Sydney Ice Dogs Bloomington Thunder [43] Shai Rabinowitz Newcastle North Stars CBR Brave [41] Joel Rhodes Sydney Ice Dogs No team [43] Denis Ristic Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Redwings [37][47] Ken Rolph Perth Thunder Elora Rocks [36] Ollie Rozdarz Canberra Knights No team [35] Vladimir Rubes Sydney Bears No team [34] Nick Sault Canberra Knights No team [35] Francisco Sevilla Sydney Bears ECSL Sting [34] Carson Sinclair Adelaide Adrenaline No team [37] Chris Slauenwhite Canberra Knights Töreboda HF [35] Charles Smart Perth Thunder Ontario Hockey Academy U18 [36] Kane Spence Sydney Bears No team [34] Alec Stephenson Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Wolf Pack [43] Scott Stephenson Sydney Ice Dogs No team [48] Matt Strueby Perth Thunder No team [36] Maxime Suzzarini Canberra Knights Anglet Hormadi Élite [35] Mike Thorburn Melbourne Ice No team [40] Joe Tolles Perth Thunder Arizona Sundogs [36] David Upton Newcastle North Stars No team [41] Vadim Virjassov Melbourne Mustangs Tallinn Viiking-Sport [33] Frantisek Vlasek Sydney Ice Dogs No team [43] Dillan Wallace Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Redwings [37][49] Cameron Walsh Perth Thunder No team [36] Anthony Wilson Sydney Ice Dogs Retired [50] Andrey Zolotarev Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Falcons [37][51]

The regular season started on 12 April 2014 and ran through to 1 September 2014 before the top four teams compete in the Goodall Cup playoff series.^[52] Game 35 between the Newcastle North Stars and the Sydney Ice Dogs had to be postponed due to the North Stars bus breaking down en route to Liverpool.^[53] The game was later rescheduled for 22 June 2014 and will be played at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Newcastle.^[54] Game 77 between the Adelaide Adrenaline and CBR Brave had to be postponed after the Adrenalines team bus crashed en route to the Phillip Ice Skating Centre. Head Coach Ryan O'Handley and some players were taken to hospital however none of the injuries were serious. Game 79 which was set to be held the following day between the Adrenaline and the Sydney Bears was also postponed.^[55] On 31 July it was announced that both games had been cancelled as the teams involved had been unable to reschedule the games. As a result, the AIHL Commission awarded each team one point for the cancelled games, with the Adrenaline getting one point from each game and the Brave and Bears awarded one point each from their respective games.^[56]

The Melbourne Mustangs won the H Newman Reid Trophy after finishing first in the regular season with 54 points.^[57] In the final week of the regular season the AIHL released the list of finalists for the 2014 awards.^[58] Mathieu Ouelette of the CBR Brave, Jack Wolgemuth of the Melbourne Mustangs and the Sydney Ice Dogs' Simon Barg were nominated as the Most Valuable Player, with Barg going on to win the award.^[58][59] Petri Pitkänen of the CBR Brave, Mathieu Dugas of the Perth Thunder and the Sydney Bears' Daniel Palmkvist were nominated for the Goaltender of the Year award with Petri Pitkänen being named the winner.^[58][59] Niko Suoraniemi of the Adelaide Adrenaline, John Kennedy of the Newcastle North Stars and the Melbourne Mustangs' Jack Wolgemuth were nominated for the Defenceman of the Year award with Wolgemuth being announced the winner.^[58][59] Jeremy Brown of the Melbourne Ice, Jamie Woodman of the Perth Thunder and the Newcastle North Stars Hayden Sheard were all nominated as the Rookie of the Year award with Jeremy Brown taking the award.^[58][59] David Dunwoodie of the Sydney Ice Dogs won the award for Local Player of the Year.^[59]

Source

List shows the ten top skaters sorted by points, then goals.^[60]

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage with a minimum 40% of the teams ice time.^[61]

Below lists the 2014 AIHL regular season award winners.

Award	Name	Team
MVP	Simon Barg	Sydney Ice Dogs
Goaltender	Petri Pitkänen	CBR Brave
Defenceman	Jack Wolgemuth	Melbourne Mustangs
Rookie	Jeremy Brown	Melbourne Ice
Local player	David Dunwoodie	Sydney Ice Dogs

Source

The 2014 playoffs started on 30 August 2014, with the Goodall Cup final being held on 31 August. Following the end of the regular season the top four teams advanced to the playoff series with the Melbourne Mustangs and CBR Brave making their debut playoff appearance, along with the other two finalists the Melbourne Ice and Sydney Ice Dogs.^[62][63] All three games were held at the Medibank Icehouse in Docklands, Victoria, the home of the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs. 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 who also sponsored the 2013 playoffs.^[64] The Melbourne Mustangs won the Goodall Cup for the first time after defeating the Melbourne Ice in the final. Viktor Gibbs Sjödin of the Melbourne Mustangs was named the finals MVP.^[65][66]

All times are UTC+10:00

^ 1: Game 77 between the Adelaide Adrenaline and CBR Brave was cancelled after the Adrenalines team bus crashed en route to the Phillip Ice Skating Centre. Game 79 which was set to be held the following day between the Adrenaline and the Sydney Bears was also cancelled. The games which were initially postponed were announced by the AIHL as cancelled after the teams involved had been unable to reschedule the games. As a result, the AIHL Commission awarded each team one point for the cancelled games, with the Adrenaline getting one point from each game and the Brave and Bears awarded one point each from their respective games.^[55][56]