Ice Hockey mulls expansion East and West

 

Roar Rookie

By AIHL_IceHockey, 31 Jul 2009 Ice Pete is a Roar Rookie

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 Australian Ice Hockey League, ice hockey, Melbourne Ice, Newcastle North Stars

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Approaching ten years of successful growth in Australia, the Australian Ice Hockey League is looking to its borders and pondering the risks and opportunities.

While there is nothing official, there are two strong signs of interest from outside the current geographical boundaries. On the 8th and 9th of August the Melbourne Ice will head West to play two exhibition games in the new Perth Ice Arena.

Perth has had a strong ice hockey presence for years, along with its own West Australian Ice Hockey League, but the tyranny of distance isn’t kind to the sSndgropers, driving the costs too high for an easy transition into a league that would open up a world of opportunities to the sport in West Australia.

Two weeks later, the Newcastle North Stars, along with a few of the Sydney Bears, will send a combined team to New Zealand to play the Kiwi national team, the Ice Blacks, in two ice hockey ‘Tests’ in Dunedin, all part of the bi-annual New Zealand Winter Games, a huge event for the Shakey Isles.

The Kiwis have their own national league but definitely have the troops and facilities to host one or two teams, having hosted World Championship events twice since 2006.

Ultimately though, new teams cannot come at the expense of existing teams and extending the costs of flights and accommodation will increase the burden for those already in the league.

Even without considering geographical expansion there is the possibility of a second team in Melbourne and Queensland, and a return to NSW Central Coast.

If a Tasman Sea and Nullabor expansion can be successful, though, the AIHL can truely claim to be a national sport and, more, an Australasian sport like the ANZ Netball League.

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