AIHL - History

History

The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) was formed in 2000 following the collapse of the former national league. In its first season, the AIHL comprised three teams - the Adelaide Avalanche, Canberra Knights, and the Sydney Bears. During the first two seasons the teams competed in round-robin weekends over the length of the season, with the two top teams playing a single final. Adelaide Avalanche finished first in both years after the regular season, with the Sydney Bears winning the Goodall Cup in the 2001 playoffs. In 2002 the AIHL expanded to six teams with the inclusion of the Melbourne Ice, Newcastle North Stars and the West Sydney Ice Dogs. The Sydney Bears finished first in the regular season standings and won the Goodall Cup playoffs. At the start of the 2003 AIHL season it was announced that the finals playoff would be expanded to include the top four finishing teams after the regular season. Newcastle North Stars won their first regular season and their first Goodall Cup. The following season the West Sydney Ice Dogs won their first Goodall Cup after defeating the Newcastle North Stars in the final. In 2005 the AIHL expanded to eight teams with the Central Coast Rhinos and the Brisbane Blue Tongues joining the league. During the 2005 season the Avalanche signed former National Hockey League (NHL) player Steve McKenna who played over 350 games in the NHL while the North Stars won their second Goodall Cup. In 2006 the Brisbane Blue Tongues signed Canadian Rob Zamuner who had played nearly 800 games in the NHL. The North Stars went on to win their second consecutive Goodall Cup title, defeating Adelaide for the second year in a row.

The 2007 AIHL season opened with the Avalanche and the Blue Tongues announcing the signing of former NHL players Mel Angelstad and Tyrone Garner respectively. The Bears won the 2007 Goodall Cup, their first since 2002, after defeating the North Stars in the final. Starting the 2008 season the Brisbane Blue Tongues announced their relocation to the Gold Coast to become the Gold Coast Blue Tongues as well as the signing of former Tampa Bay Lightning player Gaetan Royer. During the season the Adelaide Avalanche folded due to financial problems. Following the withdrawel of the Avalanche a new team was formed, the Adelaide Adrenaline. Newcastle North Stars went on to win the 2008 Goodall Cup, defeating West Sydney Ice Dogs in the final. In 2009 and the Central Coast Rhinos left the league after refusing to accept the AIHL's new licensing model and went on to join the newly formed Australian International Ice Hockey Cup. 2009 also saw the Goodall Cup withdrawn from the AIHL by Ice Hockey Australia so it could return to being a state contested tournament. It was replaced by the H. Newman Reid Trophy which was won by the Adrenaline. The following season Ice Hockey Australia returned the Goodall Cup to the AIHL with the H. Newman Reid Trophy being consigned to be the prize for the winner of the regular season. Melbourne Ice won their first Goodall Cup, defeating the Adrenaline in the final 6–4. In 2011 the league returned to an eight team competition with the inclusion of the Melbourne based Mustangs IHC. The AIHL also granted a ninth team, the Perth Thunder, a provisional license to play exhibition games during the 2011 season and potentially securing a vote to join the league in 2012.

In August 2011 the AIHL and the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) announced the formation of the Trans-Tasman Champions League. The Trans-Tasman Champions League will begin in 2012 and will be hosted in Australia, with the series shifting to New Zealand in 2013. The series will feature two teams from each the AIHL and the NZIHL each playing the others once with the winner being the team who finishes first in the round-robin standings. The two teams chosen from each league will be the regular season champions and the winner of the playoff. In a situation where the winning of both events is the same the runner up of the playoff final will be selected to represent their respective league. Melbourne Ice won both the H. Newman Reid Trophy and the Goodall Cup after finishing first in the 2011 regular season standings and winning the playoffs after defeating the Newcastle North Stars in the final. In November 2011 following the annual general meeting it was announced that Perth Thunder had been accepted as a full member of the league expanding the competition to nine teams for 2012. It was also announced that from 2012 the league would be split into two conferences in order to manage costs and length of the season. The two conferences where named the Bauer Conference and Easton Conference after the AIHL signed a three year deal with the Skaters Network who is the distributor of the ice hockey brands Bauer Hockey and Easton. The Bauer Conference will consist of the Canberra Knights, Newcastle North Stars, Sydney Bears, and the Sydney Ice Dogs, while the Easton Conference includes the Adelaide Adrenaline, Gold Coast Blue Tongues, Melbourne Ice, Mustangs IHC and the Perth Thunder. Following the announcement of the conference system a change in the finals playoff structure was also announced. The winners of each conference at the end of the regular season would play in a semi-final against the runner-up of the opposing conference with the winners of the semi-finals progressing to the Goodall Cup final. Prior to the start of the 2012 season the AIHL also announced a one year partnership with Virgin Australia in which the airline would become the leagues preferred supplier for the 2012 season. The 2012 regular season was won by the Newcastle North Stars after they finished one point ahead of the Melbourne Ice. The Melbourne Ice went on to win the Goodall Cup playoffs for the third year in a row after they defeated the North Stars in the final.