2008 AIHL season

Last updated

2008 AIHL season
League Australian Ice Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration19 April 2008 – 31 August 2008
Regular season
H Newman Reid Trophy Sydney Bears
(2nd title)
Season MVPLliam Webster (Ice)
Top scorerMickey Gilchrist (67 points)
(North Stars)
Goodall Cup
Champions Newcastle North Stars
  Runners-up Western Sydney Ice Dogs
Finals MVPMickey Gilchrist (North Stars)
AIHL seasons
←  2007
2009  →

The 2008 AIHL season was the ninth season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 19 April 2008 until 24 August 2008, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 30 and 31 August 2008. The Bears won the H Newman Reid Trophy (backdated) after finishing the regular season first in the league standings. The Newcastle North Stars won the Goodall Cup for the fourth time by defeating the Western Sydney Ice Dogs in the final.

Contents

League business

In 2008, Brisbane Blue Tongues became the Gold Coast Blue Tongues after the team relocated from Brisbane's Ice World in Boondall to Gold Coast's Iceland Bundall ice rink. [1]

April 2008, the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium was significantly upgraded for the 2008 IIHF World Championship Division II, featuring plexi-glass boards, along with new lighting, scoreboards and expanded seating. The upgrade saw the Newcastle venue selected by the AIHL for the 2008 Goodall Cup finals weekend.

On 17 June, financial difficulties forced the Adelaide Avalanche to withdraw from the remainder of the 2008 season, leading to the cancellation and forfeiting of its 21 and 22 June games in Canberra and Penrith against the Knights (double points match) and Bears. Following negotiations, the Thebarton Ice Arena was one week later given a license for a new Adelaide team, the Adelaide A's, to fulfil the Avalanche's remaining commitments for the season, and inheriting their 2008 season results. [2]

Regular season

The regular season began on 19 April 2008 and will run through to 24 August 2008 before the top four teams advanced to compete in the Goodall Cup playoff series. [3]

April

DateTimeAwayScoreHomeLocationRecap
19 April17:00 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 1–3 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
19 April17:00 Canberra Knights 0–4 Adelaide A's IceArenA
19 April17:30 Central Coast Rhinos 4–6 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
20 April16:30 Canberra Knights 0–2 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
20 April17:00 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 3–5 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
20 April18:00 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 5–0 (Forfeit) [a] Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
24 April19:30 The Bears 6–5 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena
26 April16:30 Melbourne Ice 3–0 Adelaide A's IceArenA
26 April17:30 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 3–4 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
27 April16:30 Melbourne Ice 6–5 (SO) Adelaide A's IceArenA
27 April17:00 Canberra Knights 3–2 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
27 April18:00 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 2–10 (DP) Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena

Notes:

  1. ↑ The Central Coast Rhinos forfeited their first home match (originally a 5-1 victory) to the Gold Coast Blue Tongues by a margin of 5-0 after icing an IIHF and IHA uncleared import. Goaltender Markus Claesson was not cleared to play in the AIHL until 3 May.

May

DateTimeAwayScoreHomeLocationRecap
3 May17:00 Newcastle North Stars 2–3 (SO) Adelaide A's IceArenA
3 May17:30 The Bears 5–3 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
3 May18:00 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 6–4 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
4 May16:30 Newcastle North Stars 2–7 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
4 May18:00 Canberra Knights 2–6 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena
10 May17:00 The Bears 4–3 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
10 May17:30 Melbourne Ice 6–1 (DP) Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
10 May18:00 Central Coast Rhinos 1–2 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena
11 May17:00 Melbourne Ice 1–3 (DP) The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
11 May18:00 Newcastle North Stars 1–3 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
17 May17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 4–3 (SO) Adelaide A's IceArenA
17 May17:30 Newcastle North Stars 3–2 (SO) Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
17 May18:00 The Bears 4–3 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
18 May15:30 The Bears 4–3 Adelaide A's IceArenA
18 May16:30 Central Coast Rhinos 4–6 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
18 May17:00 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 3–2 (SO) Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
24 May16:30 Canberra Knights 2–3 (SO) Adelaide A's IceArenA
24 May17:00 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 5–4 (SO) Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
25 May16:30 Canberra Knights 3–2 (SO) Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
25 May18:00 Newcastle North Stars 3–1 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena
31 May16:30 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 5–3 Adelaide A's IceArenA
31 May17:30 Newcastle North Stars 7–1 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
31 May17:30 Central Coast Rhinos 4–5 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace

June

DateTimeAwayScoreHomeLocationRecap
1 June16:15 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 2–4 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
1 June17:00 Canberra Knights 4–5 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
7 June17:30 The Bears 5–6 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
7 June17:45 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 3–10 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
7 June18:00 Adelaide A's 2–5 (DP) Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
8 June17:00 Adelaide A's 2–1 (DP) Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena
8 June17:30 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 5–4 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
14 June15:30 The Bears 1–9 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
14 June17:00 Melbourne Ice 3–8 (DP) Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
14 June17:30 Central Coast Rhinos 4–2 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
15 June15:40 The Bears 4–5 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
15 June17:00 Melbourne Ice 4–5 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena
15 June18:00 Canberra Knights 5–2 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
21 June15:30 Newcastle North Stars 5–0 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
21 June17:30 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 1–6 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
21 June17:30 Adelaide A's 0–5 (Forfeit) [a] Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
22 June15:30 Newcastle North Stars 5–4 (SO) Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
22 June17:00 Adelaide A's 0–5 (Forfeit) [b] The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
22 June18:00 Canberra Knights 0–2 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
28 June15:30 Central Coast Rhinos 2–0 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
28 June17:30 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 5–4 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
28 June17:45 Adelaide A's 4–8 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
29 June15:30 Central Coast Rhinos 4–9 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
29 June16:30 Adelaide A's 0–4 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
29 June18:00 Newcastle North Stars 3–8 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena

Notes:

  1. ↑ The Adelaide Avalanche forfeited their double point match to the Canberra Knights by a margin of 5-0 following the collapse of the franchise. The Adelaide A's would be established during the next week and the results, including the forfeit, was transferred to the new A's franchise.
  2. ↑ The Adelaide Avalanche forfeited their match to the AIHL Bears by a margin of 5-0 following the collapse of the franchise. The Adelaide A's would be established during the next week and the results, including the forfeit, was transferred to the new A's franchise.

July

DateTimeAwayScoreHomeLocationRecap
5 July16:45 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 5–6 (SO) (DP) Adelaide A's IceArenA
5 July17:45 Newcastle North Stars 2–5 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
5 July18:00 The Bears 2–1 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
6 July16:30 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 3–6 (DP) Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
6 July16:30 Newcastle North Stars 9–10 (SO) Adelaide A's IceArenA
6 July18:00 Canberra Knights 2–3 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena
12 July15:30 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 7–4 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
12 July18:00 Newcastle North Stars 6–3 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
13 July15:30 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 2–5 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
13 July16:30 The Bears 7–8 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
19 July15:30 Canberra Knights 2–5 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
19 July17:30 Newcastle North Stars 4–6 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
19 July18:00 Melbourne Ice 3–2 (DP) Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
20 July15:30 Canberra Knights 7–3 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
20 July15:30 The Bears 5–3 Adelaide A's IceArenA
20 July17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 0–8 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
20 July17:00 Melbourne Ice 2–8 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena

August

DateTimeAwayScoreHomeLocationRecap
2 August16:30 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 2–3 (SO) Adelaide A's IceArenA
2 August17:30 Central Coast Rhinos 2–4 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
2 August17:30 Newcastle North Stars 10–2 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
3 August16:30 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 3–1 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
3 August17:00 Central Coast Rhinos 3–13 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
9 August15:30 Melbourne Ice 4–6 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
9 August17:00 Adelaide A's 3–5 (DP) Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
9 August17:30 Canberra Knights 5–2 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
9 August18:00 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 3–2 (SO) Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
10 August15:30 Melbourne Ice 9–1 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
10 August17:30 Adelaide A's 3–4 The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
16 August16:30 Central Coast Rhinos 0–7 Adelaide A's IceArenA
16 August17:30 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 6–9 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
16 August18:00 The Bears 7–8 (SO) Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena
17 August16:30 Central Coast Rhinos 1–8 Melbourne Ice Olympic Ice Skating Centre
17 August17:00 Gold Coast Blue Tongues 4–8 (DP) The Bears Penrith Ice Palace
17 August17:00 Canberra Knights 5–7 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
23 August15:30 Adelaide A's 3–2 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
23 August17:30 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 7–4 Canberra Knights Phillip Ice Skating Centre
23 August18:00 The Bears 9–3 Central Coast Rhinos Erina Ice Arena
24 August15:30 Adelaide A's 7–0 Gold Coast Blue Tongues Gold Coast Iceland
24 August19:00 The Bears 3–10 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
24 August18:00 Central Coast Rhinos 2–4 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Ice Arena

Standings

TeamGPWSOWSOLLGFGAGDFPTS
The Bears 2820017134118+1661
Western Sydney Ice Dogs 281541812691+3554
Melbourne Ice 281711912491+3354
Newcastle North Stars 281524715097+5353
Canberra Knights 2810121591107-1634
Adelaide A's 286621490107-1732
Gold Coast Blue Tongues 2880317104154-5027
Central Coast Rhinos 286112073129-5621
Qualified for the Goodall Cup playoffsH Newman Reid Trophy winners

Source

Statistics

Scoring leaders

List shows the ten top skaters sorted by points, then goals. Current as of 31 August 2008 [4]

PlayerTeamGPGAPtsPIMPOS
Mickey Gilchrist Newcastle North Stars 153037678 F
B.J. Pelkey Newcastle North Stars 2135306514 F
Vladan Stransky The Bears 2522426434 F
Ryan Tremblay Western Sydney Ice Dogs 2323285140 F
Vladimir Rubes The Bears 2516355112 F
Colin Nicholson Newcastle North Stars 141730470 C
Lliam Webster Melbourne Ice 2024224661 F
Marko Raita Canberra Knights 2517254222 F
Vit Stransky The Bears 1522194112 F
Kyle Teague Western Sydney Ice Dogs 2014253942 F

Leading goaltenders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage with a minimum 40% of the team's ice time. Current as of 31 August 2008 [5]

PlayerTeamMIPSOGGAGAASVS% SO
Matthew Ezzy Newcastle North Stars 879525533.010.8992
Markus Claesson Central Coast Rhinos 803554684.230.8772
Christopher Elf Adelaide A's 630352483.810.8641
James Herbert Western Sydney Ice Dogs 663347483.620.8620
Stuart Denman Melbourne Ice 942444663.500.8513

Goodall Cup playoffs

The 2008 playoffs was scheduled for 30 August with the Goodall Cup final held on 31 August 2008. [3] Following the end of the regular season the top four teams advanced to the playoff series which was held at the redeveloped Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Warners Bay, Newcastle, New South Wales. The series was a single game elimination with the two winning semi-finalists advancing to the Goodall Cup final. The Goodall Cup was won by the Newcastle North Stars (4th title) who defeated the Western Sydney Ice Dogs 4-1. The North Star's Canadian import forward, Mickey Gilchrist, was named the finals most valuable player (MVP). [6]

Semifinals Final
      
1 Newcastle North Stars 7
4 The Bears 5
Newcastle North Stars 4
Western Sydney Ice Dogs 1
3 Western Sydney Ice Dogs 2
2 Melbourne Ice 1

All times are UTC+10:00

Semi-finals

30 August 2008
16:30		 Newcastle North Stars 7–5
(2–1, 3–1, 2–3)		 The Bears Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
Attendance: 700
Game reference
Matthew EzzyGoaliesJohn DaugulisReferee:
Jeff Scott
Linesmen:
Tim Bell
Darren Hardy-Hawken
Buckley (PP) (Carberry, Minson)1 – 0
Nicholson (PP) (Pelkey, Gilchrist)2 – 0
2 – 1Wand (PP) (Gribben, Stransky)
Nicholson (Starke, Gilchrist)3 – 1
Pelkey (Nicholson, Gilchrist)4 – 1
4 – 2Nelson-Bond (Wand, Gribben)
Sheffield (Carberry)5 – 2
Nicholson (Gilchrist, Pelkey)6 – 2
6 – 3Stransky (Rubes)
6 – 4Gribben (Stransky)
Carberry (Minson)7 – 4
7 – 5Shumak (SH) (Gribben)
22 minPenalties16 min
41Shots23
30 August 2008
19:30		 Melbourne Ice 1–2 (OT)
(1–1, 0–0, 0–0, 0–1)		 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
Attendance: 500
Game reference
Stuart DenmanGoaliesJames HerbertReferee:
Rob Duchemin
Linesmen:
Chris Mason
Steve Clyde-Smith
Powell (PP) (Ferguson, Tremblay)1 – 0
1 – 1Angyal (PP) (White, T.Stephenson)
1 – 2Sheddon (unassisted)
16 minPenalties24 min
23Shots27

Final

31 August 2008
16:00		 Newcastle North Stars 4–1
(1–0, 1–1, 2–0)		 Western Sydney Ice Dogs Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
Attendance: 900
Game reference
Matthew EzzyGoaliesJames HerbertReferee:
Jeff Scott
Linesmen:
Chris Mason
Steve Clyde-Smith
Pelkey (PP) (Nicholson, Starke)1 – 0
1 – 1Strang (unassisted)
Gilchrist (SH) (Nicholson)2 – 1
Gilchrist (SH) (Nicholson, Buckley)3 – 1
Gilchrist (unassisted)4 – 1
26 minPenalties26 min
34Shots31

References

  1. ↑ "Gold Coast Blue Tongues: Team History and Standings". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "History of the Australian Ice Hockey League". theaihl.com. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. 1 2 "2008 AIHL Schedule". theaihl.com. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  4. ↑ "2008 AIHL season: League leading players". theaihl.com. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "2008 AIHL season: League leading goalies". theaihl.com. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Lambert, Peter (1 September 2018). "North Stars win Fourth Goodall Cup vs Ice Dogs, 4-1". theaihl.com. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
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