2024 AIHL season

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2024 AIHL season
LeagueAustralian Ice Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Duration6 April 2024 – 25 August 2024
Regular season
Goodall Cup
AIHL seasons
← 2023
2025 →

The 2024 AIHL season is the 23nd season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The season consists of 155 total games, split between the 150 games regular season and 5 game Goodall Cup Finals post-season. The regular season is scheduled to run from 6 April to 11 August 2024. The Finals is scheduled to run from 23-25 August 2024 in Melbourne, Australia.

Teams[edit]

In 2024 the AIHL had 10 teams split into two conferences, Rurak and Hellyer, competing in the league.[1]

2024 AIHL teams
Hellyer Conference
Team City Arena Head Coach Captain
Melbourne Ice Victoria (state) Melbourne O'Brien Icehouse Canada Kerry Goulet Australia Mackenzie Caruana
Melbourne Mustangs Victoria (state) Melbourne O'Brien Icehouse Canada Scott Timmins Australia Todd Cutter
Perth Thunder Western Australia Perth Perth Ice Arena Australia Benjamin Breault Australia Jamie Woodman
Sydney Bears New South Wales Sydney Macquarie Ice Rink United States Tyler Huberty Australia Ryan Annesley
Sydney Ice Dogs New South Wales Sydney Macquarie Ice Rink Australia Jason Kvisle Australia Daniel Pataky
Rurak Conference
Team City Arena Head Coach Captain
Adelaide Adrenaline South Australia Adelaide Adelaide IceArenA Australia Stu Henly Australia Joey MacDougall
Brisbane Lightning Queensland Brisbane Boondall Iceworld Australia Terry Kiliwnik No Captain
Canberra Brave Australian Capital Territory Canberra Phillip Ice Skating Centre Australia Stuart Philps Australia Kai Miettinen
Central Coast Rhinos New South Wales Central Coast Erina Ice Arena Australia Ron Kuprowsky Australia Robert Malloy
Newcastle Northstars New South Wales Newcastle Hunter Ice Skating Stadium Canada Kevin Noble Australia Liam Manwarring

League Business[edit]

The 2024 regular season fixture list was released publicly by the AIHL on 21 October, confirming all 10 teams from 2023 would be returning to compete in 2024.[2] 2024 AIHL Finals information was released by the league in February 2024, confirming dates and location.[1] The Goodall Cup, H Newman Reid Trophy, Rurak and Hellyer conference trophies would continue to the be prizes AIHL teams would compete for in 2024. The league held its official season launch event at Bondi Icebergs Club on 20 march 2024. Mick McCormack was appointed as the first patron of the AIHL at the event.[3]

The AIHL confirmed AIHL.TV would return in 2024 on 4 March. The paid service would provide live and on-demand online streaming of all AIHL regular season and finals games, 155 games in total.[4] With the sudden collapse of 2023 service provided Clutch in late 2023, the service provider for AIHL.TV in 2024 moved to Swedish company StayLive AB.[5] Thought fox Media Group, ATC Productions, Spacequake Sports and Front Row Screens (FRS Sport) continue as the four local production companies associated with the service. 2023 season streams would also be made available on the service.[6]

Exhibition games[edit]

In 2024, the Newcastle Northstars and Central Coast Rhinos were the only two teams to schedule exhibitions games. The pair faced off over two games in Newcastle and Erina, Central Coast in March 2024. Apart from these two exhibition games, the Sydney Ice Dogs, Brisbane Lightning and Adelaide Adrenaline arranged intraclub pre-season exhibition games. This included a early March men’s and women’s showcase in Brisbane and a alumni vs current team match-up in Adelaide in early April.[7]

2024 AIHL exhibition games
Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
16 March 2024 17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 8–3 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium Ref
23 March 2024 15:15 Newcastle Northstars 2–3 (OT) Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena Ref

Personnel changes[edit]

Ron Kuprowsky ended his five-year stint with the Sydney Bears as their head coach in October 2023. During this time, Ron guided the Bears to two consecutive grand finals appearances, one Hellyer conference trophy and one championship title.[8] Kuprowsky was later unveiled as the new head coach of the Central Coast Rhinos in December 2023, replacing Ashley Marsh. Marsh moved into a new coaching role with the Rhinos.[9] In February 2024, the Brisbane Lightning announced the hiring of the vastly experienced Canadian Mike Sirant as an associate coach. Sirant joined the Queenslanders after stepping down from his 30-year position as head coach of the University of Manitoba hockey program.[10]

Player transfers[edit]

All player transfers by the ten AIHL teams for season 2024.[11][12][13][14]

Regular season[edit]

Fixtures and results[edit]

The 2024 regular season consists of 150 games that are scheduled to run from 6 April to 11 August 2024. Teams are split into two five-team conferences named Rurak and Hellyer. Each team plays a total of 30 regular season games, playing each other team in their conference four times (two at home and two away) and playing teams outside their conference two to three times.[15]

April[edit]

April
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
1 6 Apr 2024 16:45 Perth Thunder 6–8 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [1]
2 6 Apr 2024 17:00 Canberra Brave 3–7 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [2]
3 6 Apr 2024 17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 1–11 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [3]
4 6 Apr 2024 17:00 Sydney Ice Dogs 2–6 Sydney Bears Macquarie Ice Rink [4]
5 7 Apr 2024 14:00 Central Coast Rhinos 0–9 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [5]
6 7 Apr 2024 15:45 Perth Thunder 5–1 Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [6]
7 7 Apr 2024 17:00 Canberra Brave 6–1 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [7]
8 13 Apr 2024 15:30 Newcastle Northstars 14–1 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [8]
9 13 Apr 2024 16:30 Sydney Bears 3–4 Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Ice Arena [9]
10 13 Apr 2024 16:30 Canberra Brave 2–7 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [10]
11 13 Apr 2024 17:00 Brisbane Lightning 2–5 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [11]
12 14 Apr 2024 14:00 Brisbane Lightning 4–7 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [12]
13 14 Apr 2024 16:00 Sydney Ice Dogs 3–7 Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [13]
14 14 Apr 2024 16:30 Canberra Brave 3–6 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [14]
15 19 Apr 2024 19:30 Sydney Bears 9–2 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [15]
16 20 Apr 2024 15:30 Sydney Bears 8–4 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena [16]
17 20 Apr 2024 17:00 Perth Thunder 5–2 Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [17]
18 20 Apr 2024 17:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 1–4 Sydney Ice Dogs Macquarie Ice Rink [18]
19 20 Apr 2024 17:15 Brisbane Lightning 5–2 Canberra Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [19]
20 21 Apr 2024 14:00 Perth Thunder 3–7 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [20]
21 21 Apr 2024 16:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 3–4 (OT) Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [21]
22 21 Apr 2024 16:45 Brisbane Lightning 5–2 Canberra Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [22]
23 26 Apr 2024 19:30 Melbourne Mustangs 2–5 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [23]
24 27 Apr 2024 16:30 Adelaide Adrenaline X–X Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [LINK]
25 27 Apr 2024 16:45 Central Coast Rhinos X–X Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [LINK]
26 27 Apr 2024 17:00 Sydney Bears X–X Melbourne Mustangs O’Brien Icehouse [LINK]
27 27 Apr 2024 17:15 Newcastle Northstars X–X Canberra Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [LINK]
28 28 Apr 2024 14:00 Sydney Bears X–X Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [LINK]
29 28 Apr 2024 15:45 Central Coast Rhinos X–X Brisbane Lightning Iceworld Boondall [LINK]
30 28 Apr 2024 16:00 Sydney Ice Dogs X–X Newcastle Northstars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [LINK]


Key:

Winner

Standings[edit]

Overall[edit]

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Melbourne Ice 4 4 0 0 0 32 6 +26 12 2024 Goodall Cup Finals
2 Perth Thunder 6 4 0 0 2 32 23 +9 12
3 Newcastle Northstars 4 3 1 0 0 32 10 +22 11
4 Sydney Bears 4 3 0 0 1 26 12 +14 9
5 Brisbane Lightning 6 3 0 0 3 25 27 −2 9
6 Adelaide Adrenaline 3 1 0 1 1 8 11 −3 4
7 Melbourne Mustangs 2 1 0 0 1 9 9 0 3
8 Sydney Ice Dogs 5 1 0 0 4 12 29 −17 3
9 CBR Brave 6 1 0 0 5 18 31 −13 3
10 Central Coast Rhinos 4 0 0 0 4 6 42 −36 0
Updated to match(es) played on 21 April 2023. Source: AIHL Elite Prospects
Rules for classification:
Tie-break: 1) points; 2) points percentage; 3) head to head; 4) goal difference; 5) goals scored; 6) coin toss
Points: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss; 0 points for regulation loss

Hellyer Conference[edit]

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Melbourne Ice 4 4 0 0 0 32 6 +26 12 2024 Goodall Cup Finals
2 Perth Thunder 6 4 0 0 2 32 23 +9 12
3 Sydney Bears 4 3 0 0 1 26 12 +14 9
4 Melbourne Mustangs 2 1 0 0 1 9 9 0 3
5 Sydney Ice Dogs 5 1 0 0 4 12 29 −17 3
Updated to match(es) played on 21 April 2023. Source: AIHL Elite Prospects
Rules for classification:
Tie-break: 1) points; 2) points percentage; 3) head to head; 4) goal difference; 5) goals scored; 6) coin toss
Points: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss; 0 points for regulation loss

Rurak Conference[edit]

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Newcastle Northstars 4 3 1 0 0 32 10 +22 11 2024 Goodall Cup Finals
2 Brisbane Lightning 6 3 0 0 3 25 27 −2 9
3 Adelaide Adrenaline 3 1 0 1 1 8 11 −3 4
4 CBR Brave 6 1 0 0 5 18 31 −13 3
5 Central Coast Rhinos 4 0 0 0 4 6 42 −36 0
Updated to match(es) played on 21 April 2023. Source: AIHL Elite Prospects
Rules for classification:
Tie-break: 1) points; 2) points percentage; 3) head to head; 4) goal difference; 5) goals scored; 6) coin toss
Points: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss; 0 points for regulation loss


Awards[edit]

Skaters Network player of the week[edit]

Each week the AIHL, through sponsorship, names a player of the week.[16]
The award is based on the following criteria:

  • individual performance, including significant game statistics;
  • contribution to the team's success through individual leadership abilities; and
  • performance off the ice, including community engagement.
Round Awarded to Pos Ref
1 Australia Joey Hughes F Ref
2 Australia Wehebe Darge F Ref
3 Australia Noah Moncrieff F Ref


Goodall Cup playoffs[edit]

For season 2024, the AIHL adopted another new Finals format not previously used by the league. Six teams will qualify, three from each conference, to play five games in three days. AIHL Finals uses single-game elimination with winning teams advancing to the next round and losing teams eliminated. Melbourne's O'Brien Icehouse will host Finals once again for the 11th time. Finals winners are crowned AIHL Champions and claim the historic Goodall Cup. Man of the match in the grand final is named AIHL Finals MVP.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Hartshorne, Peter (26 February 2024). "Welcome to the AIHL in 2024" (PDF). Australian Ice Hockey League. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  2. ^ Collins, Lee (21 October 2023). "2024 AIHL season schedule released". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Australian Ice Hockey League season launch 2024". Hockey Hype Australia. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  4. ^ Hartshorne, Peter (2 March 2024). "2024 MEDIA RELEASE #2 – AIJL.TV – March 2" (PDF). Australian Ice Hockey League. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  5. ^ Poletti (28 September 2023). "Cluch TV enters administration, sporting organisations left scrambling". theinnersanctum.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  6. ^ O'Connor, Sean (17 March 2024). "Everything you need to know about AIHL.TV in 2024". Hockey Hype Australia. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  7. ^ Collins, Lee. "2024 AIHL preseason". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  8. ^ Collins, Lee (31 October 2023). "Head coach Ron Kuprowsky departs the Sydney Bears". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  9. ^ Collins, Lee (2 December 2023). "Central Coast Rhinos appoint Ron Kuprowsky as head coach". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  10. ^ Macdougall, Andrew (29 February 2024). "Brisbane Lightning announce Mike Sirant as associate coach". Hockey Hype Australia. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  11. ^ Collins, Lee (1 April 2024). "2024 AIHL season player announcements". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  12. ^ Collins, Lee (13 September 2023). "Brisbane Lightning captain Damian Bright retires". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  13. ^ Collins, Lee (14 November 2023). "Perth Thunder forward Andrew Cox retires". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  14. ^ Collins, Lee (27 September 2023). "Sydney Bears forward Joshua Lammon retires". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  15. ^ Collins, Lee (2 November 2022). "2023 AIHL season schedule released". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Skaters Network Local Player of the Week". theaihl.com. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  17. ^ O'Connor, Sean (8 March 2024). "In the Slot: Let's talk AIHL Finals". Hockey Hype Australia. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2024_AIHL_season&oldid=1220887686"