The 2015 AIHL season was the 16th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 25 April 2015, until 23 August 2015, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 29 and 30 August. The Newcastle North Stars 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.
Teams In 2015 the AIHL had 8 teams competing in the league.
2015 AIHL teamsTeam City Arena Head Coach Captain Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide IceArenA Trevor Walsh Greg Oddy CBR Brave Canberra Phillip Ice Skating Centre Brad Hunt 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 Andrew Petrie Robert Malloy Perth Thunder Perth Perth Ice Arena Dave Kenway Samuel Wilson Sydney Bears Penrith Penrith Ice Palace Vladimir Rubes Michael Schlamp Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink Anders Jespersen Brian Funes
League business The Gold Coast Blue Tongues licence expired two years after they were suspended from the AIHL due to their inability to organise a new ice rink. In response, the league has started making enquiries in Brisbane to gauge interest in placing a team back in the city. The Central Coast Rhinos who played in the AIHL between 2005 and 2008 applied to re-enter the league at the 2014 Annual General Meeting. Their application however was rejected for undisclosed reasons. The Sydney Bears announced that they were moving from the Sydney Ice Arena to the Penrith Ice Palace. The Bears previously played at the Ice Palace from 2007 to 2011 before relocating to the Ice Arena. The team's move comes after the Ice Arena's land was approved for redevelopment. In January 2015, the Sydney Ice Dogs announced a deal with DGB Media Group to produce a highlights program for their home games which will be aired on the Television Sydney station. On 4 February, the Canberra Institute of Technology announced that they had signed on with the CBR Brave as a major sponsor with a deal that would include the Institutes logo on the team jerseys and their students working with the players as part of their training. The Brave also signed Anytime Fitness as a sleeve sponsor, Benchmarc Financial Group as a pants sponsor and Smoque restaurant as the club's official post match partner. In April 2015, the Sydney Ice Dogs signed Southern Cross Group Services as a new sponsor for the club. In March the league revealed new branding which included a new logo and slogan “Fast, Fierce, Full-on”. The new logo which is designed to represent the Australian Commonwealth star and a blade of an ice hockey stick was developed by Coordinate. The CBR Brave announced that they had established a junior affiliate club, known as the Junior Brave, in conjunction with Ice Hockey ACT to compete in the NSW Midget Ice Hockey League. On 17 March Hards Transport signed a deal with the Adelaide Adrenaline to become the club's naming rights sponsor. In April the Sydney Bears signed a deal with TGI Fridays Macquarie Centre restaurant to sponsor the bar located at the Penrith Ice Palace. They also announced a partnership with apparel company Ryzer for 2015 with the company supplying the home and away uniforms. The league changed one rule for the 2015 season, adopting the hybrid icing rule to allow players to better prepare for International Ice Hockey Federation competitions and mitigate risks associated with end wall collisions.
In May, watchmakers Haigh & Hastings signed a deal with the AIHL to become a sponsor for the 2015 season, expanding their activity in the league with the company already a major sponsor of the Perth Thunder. Also in May the Perth Thunder announced Ryan Laurel Resourcing, Sandalford Wines and Smartclub as a new sponsors of the club and the CBR Brave changed their official post match partner from Smoque restaurant to the Hellenic Club's Trattoria restaurant in order to accommodate the number of fans. In July, the league signed a deal with TGI Fridays Australia which saw them named as the official restaurant of the AIHL. The deal includes TGI Fridays showing the Fox AIHL Games of the Week and the Melbourne Central restaurant hosting the official after part of the 2015 playoffs. Also in July the Perth Thunder announced that Zarraffa's Coffee and Nova 93.7 had signed on with the club as sponsors.
Exhibition games The first exhibition game was held on 21 March between the Adelaide Adrenaline and an Ice Hockey South Australia A-Grade All Stars team at the Adelaide Ice Arena. The Adrenaline defeated the All Stars 5–1. In April 2015 the Perth Thunder competed in a three-game exhibition series against the New Zealand national team at the Perth Ice Arena. The three games were held as part of the New Zealand team's preparation for the 2015 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B tournament. The Thunder won the series two games to one, winning the opening two games before being beaten in the third. The Wilson Cup tournament was held for the second year in a row and again featured all three New South Wales based clubs. The number of games was increased from four to seven with a double round-robin being held before a final between the two top ranked teams. The Sydney Bears finished first in the round robin, winning three of their four games, and were drawn against the Newcastle North Stars in the final. The North Stars won the final 4–3, claiming their first Wilson Cup title. On 18 April the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs competed in a preseason game at the Medibank Icehouse with the Mustangs winning the game 9–1.
Personnel changes In September 2014, the Sydney Ice Dogs announced that Andrew Petrie had resigned as head coach. A week later the Newcastle North Stars announced that they had signed Petrie as head coach for the 2015 season. Petrie replaced Garry Doré who stepped down from the position to focus on his role as general manager. In December 2014, the Melbourne Ice announced their new committee for 2015. Bernie O'Brien was elected president, replacing Emma Poynton, former Ice goaltender Stuart Denman was elected vice president, Erin Tempest elected secretary and Virginia Fitzwater was elected treasurer. Chris Caveny, Nigel Sherwin, Shan Humphries and Alexandra McKnight were also added to the committee, while Candace Smith and Jo Luciania stepped down from their positions. The Melbourne Mustangs announced that assistant coach Mark Connolly had stepped down from his position. He was replaced by current head coach of the Melbourne Whalers and Saints-Monarchs Premier A team, Michael Flaherty. In January 2015, the Adelaide Adrenaline announced that general manager Ross Noga had resigned from his position due to time constraints following a change in career. Also in January the CBR Brave announced that they had signed former player Brad Hunt as head coach, replacing Matti Luoma who relocated to Perth, Western Australia. In March 2015, both the Sydney Ice Dogs and the Perth Thunder announced the appointment of new head coaches. The Sydney Ice Dogs signed Oman national team head coach Anders Jespersen to replace Andrew Petrie who resigned in September 2014 to join the North Stars. The Thunder promoted assistant coach Dave Kenway to the head coach position, replacing Stan Scott who returns to his general manager position. Also in March, it was revealed that the Sydney Bears had hired former Sydney Ice Dogs head coach Ron Kuprowsky as an assistant to head coach Vladimir Rubes. In June, Sydney Ice Dogs head coach Anders Jespersen left the club for unknown reasons and was replaced by Sydney Bears player Mario Passarelli. The head coach position was then handed to Tim Flynn after Passarelli opted to play for the Ice Dogs as a skater. In July, the CBR Brave announced that Brad Hunt had been replaced as head coach by goaltender Josh Unice on an interim basis. The club also announced that defenceman Aaron Clayworth would join the coaching panel as an assistant.
Player transfers
Interclub transfers Player Previous team New team Sydney Ice Dogs Melbourne Ice Sydney Ice Dogs Newcastle North Stars Sydney Ice Dogs CBR Brave Melbourne Ice Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Bears Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Dogs CBR Brave Sydney Ice Dogs Newcastle North Stars Sydney Bears Sydney Ice Dogs Melbourne Mustangs Melbourne Ice Sydney Bears Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Bears Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Dogs Newcastle North Stars Sydney Bears Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Bears Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Bears
Retirements Player Team New role Melbourne Ice — CBR Brave Head coach of CBR Brave Newcastle North Stars Assistant coach at Newcastle North Stars
New signings Player Previous team New team Huntsville Havoc Melbourne Mustangs No team Sydney Ice Dogs Pensacola Ice Flyers Melbourne Mustangs Sydney Heat Sydney Bears Adelaide Redwings Adelaide Adrenaline Nottingham Panthers Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Blackhawks Adelaide Adrenaline No team CBR Brave Penrith Raptors Sydney Bears Sydney Wolf Pack Sydney Ice Dogs West Coast Lightning Perth Thunder Reach Rebels Sydney Bears Melbourne Whalers Melbourne Ice No team Sydney Bears West Auckland Admirals Sydney Ice Dogs Arizona State University Sydney Bears No team Perth Thunder No team Newcastle North Stars Adelaide Tigers Melbourne Ice Mississippi Riverkings Perth Thunder CIHA Voyageurs Bantam AAA Sydney Bears No team Melbourne Ice Melbourne Whalers Adelaide Adrenaline Melbourne Glaciers Melbourne Ice Newcastle North Stars ECSL Sydney Bears Melbourne Whalers Melbourne Ice No team CBR Brave No team Sydney Ice Dogs No team Adelaide Adrenaline Fort Wayne Komets Perth Thunder Orlik Opole Sydney Bears No team Sydney Ice Dogs Adelaide Blackhawks Adelaide Adrenaline Rapid City Rush Sydney Ice Dogs Melbourne Glaciers Melbourne Mustangs Osby IK Adelaide Adrenaline Melbourne Whalers Melbourne Ice Peoria Rivermen Perth Thunder No team Sydney Bears Bakersfield Condors Perth Thunder Corsaires de Dunkerque Perth Thunder Blueline Bombers Sydney Ice Dogs Blueline Bombers Sydney Ice Dogs Okotoks Drillers Melbourne Ice HC Risuty Sydney Bears Sherbrooke Cougars Melbourne Ice Blueline Bombers Sydney Ice Dogs Melbourne Glaciers Melbourne Ice No team Perth Thunder Meaford Knights CBR Brave West Coast Lightning Perth Thunder ECSL Sting Sydney Ice Dogs No team CBR Brave Laval Prédateurs CBR Brave Melbourne Glaciers Melbourne Ice Cockburn Blackhawks Perth Thunder No team Melbourne Mustangs Penrith Raptors Sydney Bears Storhamar Dragons Newcastle North Stars No team Melbourne Ice HC Rebel Havlíčkův Brod Sydney Bears No team CBR Brave No team Sydney Bears Reach Rebels Sydney Ice Dogs Adelaide Redwings Adelaide Adrenaline No team CBR Brave Braehead Clan CBR Brave West Coast Lightning Perth Thunder Melbourne Whalers Melbourne Mustangs Adelaide Falcons Adelaide Adrenaline Penrith Raptors Sydney Ice Dogs Fayetteville FireAntz Newcastle North Stars Cockburn Blackhawks Perth Thunder West Coast Lightning Adelaide Adrenaline Sydney Heat Sydney Ice Dogs ECSL Sting Sydney Ice Dogs Southern Stampede Sydney Ice Dogs Melbourne Glaciers Melbourne Mustangs University of Alberta Augustana Newcastle North Stars No team CBR Brave HCIK CBR Brave Sheffield Steelers CBR Brave No team Melbourne Mustangs No team Adelaide Adrenaline West Coast Lightning Perth Thunder Louisiana IceGators Newcastle North Stars Blueline Bombers Sydney Bears
Players lost