Roar Pro
Joined April 2009
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The Australian Ice Hockey League's latest addition, the Mustangs, tagged league heavyweights Adelaide Adrenaline not once but twice last weekend on home ice at…
The crowd had barely dispersed from Melbourne's World Championships on the previous Sunday night before the AIHL launched the season with a Thursday night…
Ice hockey in Australia has been enjoying a slow but steady progression into the world of Australian sports over the past few years. In…
The Australian Ice Hockey League celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2010, entering its second decade since launching in 2000. Starting from a modest three…
Canada vs. USA for gold at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, in men's (and women's ) ice hockey. The Olympic and ice hockey communities couldn't…
To be fair, Australia playing ice hockey in the Winter Olympics isn't a long way away - it's a long long way away. Still,…
The word "miracle" in ice hockey is used to refer to the USA's two biggest upsets in the sport — in the 1960 and…
On Saturday evening in New South Wales’ Warners Bay, the top four teams in the Australian Ice Hockey League will play their part in…
Australia and New Zealand are getting closer. In fact, a few weeks ago, the Kiwis organised to move the whole bottom end of the…
For seven seasons the Goodall Cup has been the ultimate prize for the Australian Ice Hockey League, Australia’s ancient ice hockey talisman has been…
Approaching ten years of successful growth in Australia, the Australian Ice Hockey League is looking to its borders and pondering the risks and opportunities.…
[caption id="attachment_21164" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Photo by Mark Bradford: Fully-glassed Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in the Newcastle area will host the 2009 finals."][/caption] Sun Tzu…
Fighting in ice hockey is undoubtedly the most controversial part of the sport, and often debated. But it's also the most misunderstood. Just as…
[caption id="attachment_20638" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Photo by Mark Bradford: Jassi Sangha and Matt Price go toe-to-toe last weekend in the Australian Ice Hockey League"][/caption] What's…
For 100 years, New South Wales has battled Victoria for the mantle of being the Aussie heartbeat of hockey, but that heartbeat shows signs…
[caption id="attachment_20092" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The Bears and North Stars last game ended 7-3 and with ill feeling in Newcastle. Photo by Mark Bradford."][/caption] It’s…
One of the most anticipated games in ice hockey will be played in Detroit this weekend when the Kings of the old NHL, the…
[caption id="attachment_19598" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Australian ice hockey. Photo by Frank Kutsche"][/caption] The seven Australian Ice Hockey League teams have sucked the chocolate coating off…
The Australian Ice Hockey League, Winter Games New Zealand, and the two nations' national ice hockey federations have come to an agreement for Australia…
[caption id="attachment_18992" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Newcastle\'s Ben Morrison and Gold Coast Captain Ross Howell exchange blows in an Australian Ice Hockey match. Photo by Mark…
I know you’re trolling here Sharminator but for the benefit of others:
* All sports were minority sports at some time, Rugby League was a rebel sport back in 1907, which incidently was the time when ice hockey first began in Australia. Ice hockey was quite popular and well known in the 50’s and 70’s, but was at the mercy of rinks closing or financial troubles
* The outside weather hasn’t been a factor since the 1880s when indoors refrigerated rinks were invented, nothing better for the kids than to play hockey on a hot summer’s day, so nice inside the rink!
Other comments aren’t worthy of a response.
I’m quite happy you don’t care Sharminator, that means you don’t need to comment on any future articles or comments.
For those who have mentioned TV rights: the AIHL have been trying to do so for a few years now. Currently the only way to get onto TV is to pay to be played, rather than the other way around.
For now it’s likely to be online TV or streaming that will provide fans the opportunity to watch games they can’t attend.
Ice hockey enters Australian minorstream
Sorry was away O/S and didn’t see your comment.
Yes, Lliam Webster plays for the Ice and is one of a few AIHL locals to have played professionally, in his case in Finland and in Germany.
I believe that four or more of the Melbourne Ice imports have or are playing professionally, and that’s typical of many of the import players.
$20 at the Icehouse isn’t so bad, marginally more expensive than other less impressive facilities and for the best ice hockey in the Southern Hemisphere. The level of Australian hockey is better than that of many European countries due to our playing in their off-season, allowing the AIHL teams to attract players that would be playing professionally otherwise.
Australian Ice Hockey League turns ten this year
It was a special game with great intensity.
I’ve lived in USA and have as many Canadian friend as Aussie friends so I couldn’t choose a team.
That the game went to OT was fantastic and in the end I was happy that Canada won the Gold medal.
I was extremely impressed with USA throughout the Olympics and if they do get to play in Sochi 2014, it will be a much closer match-up!
Canada vs USA gold medal game may be greatest ever
I think the networks did the best they could with what they had. The didn’t have much.
I got my money’s worth out of the $50 Foxtel subscription, I would have paid that just to see the ice hockey final live and in full, which I did. I switched over a couple of times to see Channel 9 covering naken people at the Sydney Opera House. Figures.
I did enjoy that for the Foxtel commentators, they did make an effort to learn as much as they could about the sport and to get into the whole culture of the games.
Having done (poorly) commentary before, I know it’s damn hard, even when you know the sport and players really well.
I would give Foxtel 9/10 for the coverage, the 4 concurrent channels 24×7 was brilliant, and when I did watch Nine Network, well I’d give it a 5/10.
They were way too conservative on what people would accept as far as intrusion into regular programming, and way too patronising of people’s knowledge and interest in the sports, dumbing down the commentary.
Winter Olympics brings out our sporting ignorance
Is it all just about a gong? Australia won’t ever win a Gold medal in soccer (football), nor a world cup. We certainly won’t win Gold in the 4-man/woman bobsled.
But it’s certainly not a waste of money in either of the above cases. Participation and continuous drive for excellent is what the Olympics, and sport, is all about. Participation is what gives me pride watching my fellow Australians ‘have a go’ in these, and the previous Olympics.
And no, Australia will never win an Olympic Gold in Ice Hockey, and a win in an Olympics for Australia seems beyond imagination in my lifetime.
But if that’s all you’re thinking of then you’re missing the point. To make that improvement, to go from where we are to a point where we could qualify for an Olympics, would be the equivalent of a Gold medal for ice hockey in Australia.
Can Australian hockey make it back to the Winter Olympics?
Thanks for your opinion Sharminator.
Can Australian hockey make it back to the Winter Olympics?
Good questions guys but consider the following:
Ice Hockey is a year-round sport
Ice Hockey isn’t affected by weather or time of day, being completely indoors
Australia has a very long tradition in the sport, 101 years in fact, and used to be quite popular in Sydney and Melbourne especially.
Australia has the best league (7 teams) in the Southern Hemisphere, and the quality is comparable to former Eastern Block nations and lesser hockey nations such as Lithuania and Belgium.
Australia has around 3500 ice hockey players and is ranked 29th in the World.
I know it’s hard to believe when it gets no media interest, but the sport is far more developed in Australia than most Aussies would recognise.
Can Australian hockey make it back to the Winter Olympics?
Czechs were fortunate to make it through today, as were the Swiss. Canada as expected made short work of Germany.
I actually think Canada have a better chance of winning the Gold now they’ve lost that big game, than if they’d cruised through to a Gold Medal final.
Olympic ice hockey to offer more miracles
Congrats to the Adelaide Adrenaline (def. Melbourne ice 6-1) and the Newcastle North Stars (def. Gold Coast 5-3) on winning their semi finals and advancing to tonights AIHL National Championship Final.
Glory waits for Ice Hockey champions
A good point about the possibility of fights in ice hockey being staged. It’s something that NHL GM’s were apparently debating recently in the latest league GM meeting.
For what it’s worth, I’ve never seen it in AIHL, except perhaps when a player vows to take a number after an opposing player picks on a rookie or injures a teammate in what doesn’t seem like fair play.
Fights in AIHL are rare, mainly because the players have to go to work the following day. We have lawyers and professors and insurance bosses in the AIHL and showing up to work with a black eye and split lip can be a little meladramatic for some!
A case for fighting in ice hockey
Firstly, ice hockey is as much a North American sport as Rugby is New Zealand’s sport.
The sport is played right across the Northern Hemisphere and ignorance of that in Australia isn’t surprising. Here the media owns the four football codes and have no interest in covering lesser sports.
Ice hockey has been played in this country for 101 years and is as much a part of the culture as surf lifesaving (102 years) and rugby league (102 years).
I’m not sure if you’re criticising hockey for its ‘violence’ or congratulating it but the point of my article is it exists in all of our contact sports.
Good on you for defending your sport against ice hockey, though I don’t consider we pose much of a threat, in fact ice hockey fans are all sports fans in my experience and support others without fear or xenophobia.
I recommend you go see it for yourself, and I very much doubt you can honestly return and dismiss it as you have here.
A case for fighting in ice hockey
Hey people!
AIHL updates tonight at http://www.twitter.com/aihl/
NSW fading as heartbeat of Australian ice hockey
I forgot when I wrote this article that the Vlad’s are both suspended for Saturday’s games, so the Bears’ younger guys have their opportunity on Saturday.
Time for you to put on the foils Rowan!
The Bears struggle as the Ice Hockey season heats up
No thanks Rowan, we’re still trying to explain to the Judge why you did it the past three times.
Ice Hockey season reaching its hard centre
Well I’m trying to get the Aussie Ice Hockey community involved in the roar.
Best way to get them talking would be to write controversial articles I guess but we don’t have the drama that other sports get, well nothing to compare!
Ice Hockey season reaching its hard centre
Hi folks,
I’ll keep writing about ice hockey this year, was dissapointed I couldn’t keep up last season as I was stuck doing stats.
I’m also keen to get someone else to write opinion pieces, as I need to remain mostly impartial as an official.
Australian Ice Hockey League: Rd. 1 review