2023 CBR Brave season

2023 CBR Brave
Rurak Conference champions
League	1st AIHL
Conference	1st Rurak
2023 record	20–1–1–4
Home record	10–1–0–2
Road record	10–0–1–2
Goals for	170
Goals against	77
Team information
Coach	Stuart Philps
Assistant coach	Jeff Helbren
Captain	Kai Miettinen
Alternate captains	Bayley Kubara Casey Kubara
Arena	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
Team leaders
Goals	Austin Albrecht (39)
Assists	Felix Plouffe (44)
Points	Austin Albrecht (76)
Penalty minutes	Mike Giorgi (45)
Goals against average	Aleksi Toivonen (2.86)
←  2022 season 2024 season  →

The 2023 CBR Brave season was the Brave's 8th season in the Australian Ice Hockey League since being founded and entering the league in 2014. Canberra won a fourth consecutive premiership title and lifted the H Newman Reid Trophy, by finishing top of the regular season standings. ^[1] The Brave also finished top of the newly formed Rurak Conference and held aloft the inaugural Rurak Conference Cup. ^[1] Canberra finished second in the AIHL Finals, being beaten by the Melbourne Mustangs in the championship grand final in Melbourne to miss out on the Goodall Cup. ^[2]

Season notes

Pre-season, the Brave organised exhibition games against the Brisbane Lightning in Brisbane and Canberra. ^[3] Former Sydney Sirens head coach, Jeff Helbren, was signed to take on the role of assistant coach. ^[4] Caribou Kingston became the first ever Brave naming rights sponsor, with the team to be known as the Caribou CBR Brave for 2023 and Peter Di Salvo was added to the coaching roster as a goaltender coach for Toivonen and Tétreault. ^{[4] [5]} During the season the Brave revealed special one-off jerseys for Caribou Kingston, Menslink and Hockey Fights Cancer. All special jerseys were auctioned with proceeds going towards the team, Menslink and Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. ^{[6] [7] [8]} Off the ice, CBR Brave super-fan, Emma Easton, died in 2023. Before her death, the Brave faithful celebrated Emma's 35th birthday with a rendition of ‘happy birthday’ at a home game at the Brave Cave. Brave players and supporters then came together to produce a memorial video and give Emma a hockey guard of honour at her funeral. ^[9]

Roster

Team roster for the 2023 AIHL season. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

CBR Brave roster - 2023 AIHL season v t e
Active Roster				Coaching staff
Goaltenders -- Andrew Glass 29 Alexandre Tétreault 35 Aleksi Toivonen Defencemen 71 Jordan Brunt 44 Nick Christensen  4 Lachlan Fahmy 22 Mike Giorgi  7 Bayley Kubara (A) 61 Joseph Maatouk  8 Cameron Marks (I) 28 Carson Vance (I)		Forwards 11 Austin Albrecht (I) 27 Andreas Camenzind 42 Jackson Gallagher 81 Matthew Harvey  3 Mitchell Henning 21 Joseph Hughes 15 Casey Kubara (A) 85 Toby Kubara 16 Tyler Kubara 64 Kai Miettinen (C) 96 Ricki Miettinen 93 Félix Plouffe (I) 92 Jake Riley 90 Christopher Stoikos (I)(REL) 14 Charlie York 91 Henry York		Head Coach Stuart Philps Coaches Jeff Helbren Peter Di Salvo Andrew Deans Darryl Day Rob Reid Jono Carey Legend (C) Captain (A) Alternate Captain (I) Import player Statistics Average age: 27.0 Average height: 184.9 cm Average weight: 84.18 kg Locals: 21 Imports: 5 Acquired 2023: 9 Acquired pre-2023: 17
Last updated on: 7 August 2023
Elite Prospects IHNA

Transfers

All transfers in and out of the team since the last AIHL season. ^{[11] [13]} Kale Costa was announced as a signing in pre-season, ^[4] but in May 2023 it was revealed he would not be joining the team, instead choosing to stay in the Czech Republic to play for HC Stadion Litoměřice in the Czech 1.liga. ^[14] In July 2024, the Brave signed goaltender Curtis Villani to an affiliate contract. Villani was added to the roster as an emergency backup but was never dressed or used and was subsequently removed from the roster without playing a game. ^[15]

In

Pos	Player	Transferred From	Local / Import
W	Austin Albrecht	Maine Mariners	Import
D	Lachlan Fahmy	The Coast	Local
G	Andrew Glass	Adelaide Tigers	Local
D/F	Matthew Harvey	No team	Local
D	Cameron Marks	Corsaires de Nantes	Import
F	Ricki Miettinen	Jokerit (ACT)	Local
C	Felix Plouffe	Corsaires de Nantes	Import
F	Jake Riley*	Melbourne Ice	Local
F	Christopher Stoikos	Waterloo Maroons	Import
D	Carson Vance	South Carolina Stingrays	Import

* Mid-season transfer

Out

Pos	Player	Transferred To	Local / Import
D	Declan Bronte	Salem State Vikings	Local
D	Garret Cockerill	Jacksonville Icemen	Import
F	Wehebe Darge	Newcastle Northstars	Local
F	Nicholas Doornbos	Steele County Blades	Local
G	Luke Fiveash	No team	Local
G	Wylie Hodder	No team	Local
D	Lynden Lodge	Perth Thunder	Local
D	Matthew Marasco	No team	Local
F	Brandon McNally	Sheffield Steelers	Import
F	Hamish Murray	No team	Local
D	Matthew Price	Newcastle Northstars	Local
D	Alastair Punler	Perth Thunder	Local
F	Christopher Stoikos*	Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan Jaguars	Import
F	Mario Valery-Trabucco	No team	Import
D	Jamie Woodman	Perth Thunder	Local

* Mid-season transfer

Staff

Current as of 2023 AIHL season. ^[11]

CBR Brave Staff
Role	Staff
Head Coach	Stuart Philps
Assistant Coach	Jeff Helbren
Team Manager	Andrew Deans
Equipment Manager	Darryl Day
Team Doctor	Rob Reid
Physiotherapist	Jono Carey
General Manager (hockey operations)	Jordan Gavin
Chief Operating Officer	Steve Moeller
Chief Executive Officer	Stephen Campbell
Bench Official	Darren Sault
Bench Official	Kelly Sault

Standings

Regular season

Summary

Season	Overall										Home								Away
	P	W	L	OW	OL	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Finish	P	W	L	OW	OL	GF	GA	GD	P	W	L	OW	OL	GF	GA	GD
2023	26	20	4	1	1	170	77	+93	63	1st	13	10	2	1	0	88	37	+51	13	10	2	0	1	82	33	+49

Position by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Position	5	5	5	5	4	3	4	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Updated to match(es) played on Completed. Source: www.icehockeynewsaustralia.com

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	CBR Brave (P)	26	20	1	1	4	170	77	+93	63	2023 Goodall Cup Finals
2	Sydney Bears	26	21	0	0	5	132	81	+51	60
3	Newcastle Northstars	26	18	1	0	7	162	112	+50	56
4	Melbourne Mustangs	26	17	2	0	7	147	94	+53	55
5	Perth Thunder	26	17	0	1	8	141	90	+51	52
6	Melbourne Ice	26	10	0	0	16	144	165	−21	30
7	Brisbane Lightning	26	9	1	1	15	156	136	+20	30	2023 Goodall Cup Finals
8	Sydney Ice Dogs	26	7	0	2	17	104	159	−55	23
9	Adelaide Adrenaline	26	4	0	1	21	90	162	−72	13
10	Central Coast Rhinos	26	1	1	0	24	75	245	−170	5

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
Note: Sydney Bears deducted 3 points by the league for accidentally breaching player cap regulations in June 2023. ^[16]
(P) Premiers

Rurak Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	CBR Brave	26	20	1	1	4	170	77	+93	63	2023 Goodall Cup Finals
2	Newcastle Northstars	26	18	1	0	7	162	112	+50	56
3	Brisbane Lightning	26	9	1	1	15	156	136	+20	30
4	Adelaide Adrenaline	26	4	0	1	21	90	162	−72	13
5	Central Coast Rhinos	26	1	1	0	24	75	245	−170	5

Updated to match(es) played on 6 August 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

Finals

Summary

Season	Finals weekend
	P	W	L	GF	GA	Result	Play-in final	Semi-final	Goodall Cup final
2022	2	1	1	4	2	Silver	–	Won 4-1 (Thunder)	Lost 0-1 (Mustangs)

Bracket

Play-ins

Semi-finals

Grand final

26 August – Melbourne

20 August – Melbourne

Sydney Bears

0

Melbourne Mustangs

8

Melbourne Mustangs

4

27 August – Melbourne

Brisbane Lightning

3

Melbourne Mustangs

1

26 August – Melbourne

CBR Brave

0

19 August – Newcastle

CBR Brave

4

Newcastle Northstars

1

Perth Thunder

1

Perth Thunder

4

Schedule & results

Exhibition games

2023 exhibition fixtures and results
Date	Time	Away	Score	Home	Location	Recap
4 MAR	17:00	CBR Brave	5–2	Brisbane Lightning	Iceworld Boondal	Ref
5 MAR	15:30	CBR Brave	6–0	Brisbane Lightning	Iceworld Boondal	Ref
1 APR	17:00	Brisbane Lightning	5–6	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	Ref

Regular season

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Arena	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	H	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	H	A	A	A	H	A
Result	W	W	L	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	L

Updated to match(es) played on Completed. Source: AIHL
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; L = Loss

2023 fixtures and results
Date	Time	Away	Score	Home	Location	Recap
16 APR	15:30	CBR Brave	5–3	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena
22 APR	17:15	Sydney Ice Dogs	2–3 (OT)	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
23 APR	17:00	CBR Brave	2–8	Sydney Bears	Macquarie Ice Rink
29 APR	17:00	CBR Brave	7–1	Melbourne Ice	O’Brien Icehouse
30 APR	14:00	CBR Brave	2–3 (SO)	Melbourne Mustangs	O’Brien Icehouse
06 MAY	17:15	Newcastle Northstars	3–4	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
13 MAY	15:30	CBR Brave	9–1	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena
20 MAY	17:00	CBR Brave	4–1	Sydney Ice Dogs	Macquarie Ice Rink
27 MAY	17:15	Sydney Bears	3–2	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
03 JUN	17:15	Brisbane Lightning	5–9	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
04 JUN	16:45	Brisbane Lightning	2–7	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
11 JUN	16:45	Melbourne Mustangs	2–8	CBR Brave	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
17 JUN	17:15	Newcastle Northstars	4–5	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
18 JUN	16:45	Melbourne Ice	7–9	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
24 JUN	16:30	CBR Brave	7–4	Perth Thunder	Perth Ice Arena
01 JUL	17:00	CBR Brave	7–3	Brisbane Lightning	IceWorld Boondall
02 JUL	16:30	CBR Brave	9–2	Brisbane Lightning	IceWorld Boondall
08 JUL	17:15	Adelaide Adrenaline	3–8	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
09 JUL	16:45	Adelaide Adrenaline	1–8	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
15 JUL	17:15	Perth Thunder	4–3	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
23 JUL	16:45	Central Coast Rhinos	0–10	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
29 JUL	17:00	CBR Brave	6–2	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
05 AUG	16:30	CBR Brave	13–3	Adelaide Adrenaline	IceArenA
06 AUG	12:30	CBR Brave	6–2	Adelaide Adrenaline	IceArenA
12 AUG	17:15	Central Coast Rhinos	1–12	CBR Brave	Phillip Ice Skating Centre
13 AUG	16:00	CBR Brave	5–7	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium

Finals

Goodall Cup semi-final

26 August 2023 18:30

CBR Brave

4–1 (2–1, 0–0, 2–0)

Perth Thunder

O’Brien Icehouse

Game reference
	Aleksi Toivonen	Goalies	Kristian Stead	Referees: Rob Love Mark Peruzzo Linesmen: Russell Dow Hayden Rogers
	(Plouffe) Albrecht 1 – 0 (Camenzind) T Kubara 2 – 0 2 – 1 Breault (Jean) (Hughes, Harvey) B Kubara 3 – 1 (Albrecht, Vance) Plouffe 4 – 1
	6 min	Penalties	4 min
	50	Shots	39

Goodall Cup final

27 August 2023 14:00

Melbourne Mustangs

1–0 (0–0, 1–0, 0–0)

CBR Brave

O’Brien Icehouse

Game reference
	Liam Hughes	Goalies	Aleksi Toivonen	Referees: Kent Unwin David Gal Linesmen: Russell Dow Hayden Rogers
	(Lawrence, Timmins) McDowell 1 – 0
	2 min	Penalties	2 min
	22	Shots	33

Awards

No team awards announced by the Brave for 2023. No Canberra players or staff were awarded any AIHL season awards for the first time in team history.

References

1. O'Connor, Sean (September 4, 2023). "CBR Brave win historic 4-Peat Premiership title". CBR Brave. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
2. O'Connor, Sean (September 4, 2023). "Brave finish runner's up in 2023 Championship tilt". CBR Brave. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
3. Collins, Lee (March 18, 2023). "Brisbane Lightning and CBR Brave to play exhibition game in April". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
4. Gavel, Tim (April 20, 2023). "With a new sponsor and another title under their belts, CBR Brave set for strong 2023 season". The RiotACT. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
5. Collins, Lee (April 27, 2023). "Peter Di Salvo joins the CBR Brave as a goaltending coach". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
6. Collins, Lee (May 26, 2023). "CBR Brave reveal Caribou sponsored jersey". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
7. Collins, Lee (July 8, 2023). "CBR Brave reveal Menslink jersey". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
8. Collins, Lee (August 16, 2023). "CBR Brave reveal Hockey Fights Cancer jersey". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
9. Radford, Travis (September 11, 2023). "The Caribou CBR Brave rallied around their biggest fan and showed 'humanity at its best'". The RiotACT. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
10. "2023 CBR Brave Team Roster". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
11. Collins, Lee (April 11, 2023). "CBR Brave 2023 roster". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
12. "CBR Brave 2023 captains". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. March 28, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
13. "CBR Brave 2022 roster". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
14. Collins, Lee (May 24, 2023). "Kale Costa opts not to join the CBR Brave for 2023". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
15. Collins, Lee (July 27, 2023). "CBR Brave sign Curtis Villani". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
16. Collins, Lee (June 26, 2023). "Sydney Bears penalised three points over breach of import rule". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.