| 2012 AIHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Australian Ice Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 28 April 2012 – 2 September 2012 |
| Regular season | |
| H Newman Reid Trophy | Newcastle North Stars (4th title) |
| Season MVP | Jeremy Boyer (North Stars) Tomas Landa (Bears) |
| Top scorer | Jeremy Boyer (North Stars) Tomas Landa (Bears) (58 points) |
| Goodall Cup | |
| Champions | Melbourne Ice |
| Runners-up | Newcastle North Stars |
| Finals MVP | Todd Graham (Ice) |
| AIHL seasons | |
← 2011 2013 → | |
The2012 AIHL season is the 13thseason of theAustralian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 28 April 2012 until 26 August 2012, with theGoodall Cup finals following on the 1 and 2 September. TheNewcastle North Stars won the H Newman Ried Trophy after finishing the regular season with the most points. TheMelbourne Ice won the Goodall Cup for the third year in a row after defeating the North Stars in the final.
In 2012 the AIHL had 9 teams competing in the league.[1]
| Team | City | Arena | Head Coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Adrenaline |  Adelaide | IceArenA |  Ryan O'Handley | Greg Oddy |
| Canberra Knights |  Canberra | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | Bear McPhail | Mark Rummukainen |
| Gold Coast Blue Tongues |  Gold Coast | Iceworld Boondall | Peter Nixon | Adam Geric |
| Melbourne Ice |  Melbourne | Medibank Icehouse | Paul Watson | Vinnie Hughes |
| Melbourne Mustangs | Melbourne | Medibank Icehouse |  Bill Wilkinson | Shane Hardy |
| Newcastle North Stars |  Newcastle | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium | Garry Doré | Ray Sheffield |
| Perth Thunder |  Perth | Perth Ice Arena |  Stan Scott | Samuel Wilson |
| Sydney Bears | Sydney | Sydney Ice Arena | Vladimir Rubes | Michael Schlamp |
| Sydney Ice Dogs | Sydney | Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink | Ron Kuprowsky | Andrew White |
During the off-season theAustralian Ice Hockey League announced thatPerth Thunder had been accepted as a full member of the league expanding the competition to nine teams. The Mustangs IHC changed their name to the Melbourne Mustangs after the AIHL lifted a condition that prohibited the use of "Melbourne" in their team name. The restriction was originally put in place to protect the brand of the Melbourne Ice.[2] 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.[3] 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 brandsBauer Hockey andEaston Hockey. The Bauer Conference will consist of theCanberra Knights,Newcastle North Stars,Sydney Bears, and theSydney Ice Dogs, while the Easton Conference includes theAdelaide Adrenaline,Gold Coast Blue Tongues,Melbourne Ice,Melbourne Mustangs and the Perth Thunder.[4] 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.[4] It was also announced a one-year partnership withVirgin Australia in which the airline would become the leagues preferred supplier for the 2012 season.[5] In February 2012 the Sydney Bears announced that they were leaving thePenrith Ice Palace as their home arena and were returning to play their games at theSydney Ice Arena inBaulkham Hills where they had previously played from 2003 to 2006.[6] In April 2012 the AIHL announced that the Sydney Ice Dogs would be restricted to the dress of only three import players per game, as opposed to the normal four. The restriction is part of the penalties imposed on the club after it breached the AIHL code of conduct during the 2011 Goodall Cup final series in which a player and two team officials were involved in an assault of aMedibank Icehouse security guard.[7][8]
Prior to the start of the regular season, three exhibition games were held. The first game was held between the Mustangs and the Melbourne Ice at the Medibank Icehouse with the Mustangs winning the game 5–2.[9][10] The second and third games were played between the Sydney Bears and the Sydney Ice Dogs, with the Sydney Bears winning the first game 5–2 and the Sydney Ice Dogs winning the second game 5–4 in a shootout.[11][12]
On 3 June, Gold Coast Blue Tongues' home game against the Melbourne Ice at Bundall Iceland was called off after a shortened first period due to an unplayable surface; it was the second such cancellation in less than a year at Bundall Iceland, with 10 July 2011 match between the Blue Tongues and Sydney Ice Dogs cancelled without play for the same reason.[13] After the cancelled game, Gold Coast was evicted from the rink by its owners,[14] and on 8 June, it was announced that its remaining seven home games for the season would be played atIceworld inAcacia Ridge, Brisbane; the matches will begin at 10:30pm, with a better time unable to be negotiated with the rink due to the short notice of the relocation.[15] Although Melbourne was offered a win by forfeit for the cancelled match, the club agreed instead to reschedule the match to Thursday 23 August, to be played in Melbourne (although technically a Gold Coast home game).[16]
During July there will be a weeks break for the firstTrans-Tasman Champions League. The formation of the Trans-Tasman Champions League was announced back in August 2011 between the AIHL and theNew Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL).[17] 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 2011 regular season champions and the winner of the 2011 playoffs. 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.[17]
The regular season will start on 28 April 2012 and will run through to 26 August 2012 before the teams compete in the playoff series.[75] The Gold Coast Blue Tongues' final seven home games were relocated fromBundall, Gold Coast toAcacia Ridge, Brisbane after the cancelled match on 3 June. All relocated matches were scheduled to commence at 10:30pm, and the dates of some of the matches were adjusted to accommodate the away teams' travel plans.[76]
TheNewcastle North Stars won the H Newman Reid Trophy after finishing the regular season with the most points, 52.[77] On 29 August the AIHL released the list of finalists for the 2012 awards. Matt Armstrong of the Melbourne Ice, Jeremy Boyer of the Newcastle North Stars, Perth Thunder's Kenny Rolph and Sydney Bears' Tomas Landa were nominated for the Most Valuable Player award, with Boyer and Landa both winning the award. Aaron Barton of Adelaide Adrenaline,Anthony Kimlin of theGold Coast Blue Tongues and Perth Thunder's Kiefer Smiley were nominated for the Top Goaltender award with Anthony Kimlin being named the winner. Adam Blanchette of the Blue Tongues, Scott Levitt of the Melbourne Mustangs and Newcastle's Rob Lawrance were nominated for the Top Defenceman award with Rob Lawrance being announced as the winner.George Huber of the Adrenaline, Greg Bay of the Blue Tongues, the Mustangs' Brendan McDowell and Perth's David Kudla were all nominated for the Rookie of the Year award with George Huber and Greg Bay tying for the win.[78][79]
| Game | Date | Time | Away | Score | Home | Location | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 April | 16:30 | Canberra Knights | 3 – 2 (SO) | Adelaide Adrenaline | Adelaide | 400 | [1] |
| 2 | 28 April | 17:00 | Melbourne Mustangs | 5 – 6 (SO) | Melbourne Ice | Melbourne | 1700 | [2] |
| 3 | 28 April | 18:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 2–5 | Sydney Bears | Baulkham Hills | [3] | |
| 4 | 28 April | 17:00 | Gold Coast Blue Tongues | 3–4 | Newcastle North Stars | Newcastle | 1000 | [4] |
| 5 | 29 April | 15:30 | Canberra Knights | 2–5 | Melbourne Ice | Melbourne | [5] | |
| 6 | 29 April | 17:00 | Gold Coast Blue Tongues | 7–2 | Sydney Bears | Baulkham Hills | [6] | |
| 7 | 29 April | 17:00 | Newcastle North Stars | 4–6 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Liverpool | [7] |
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GDF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle North Stars | 24 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 120 | 78 | +42 | 52 |
| Sydney Ice Dogs | 24 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 96 | 99 | −3 | 40 |
| Sydney Bears | 24 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 92 | 93 | −1 | 32 |
| Canberra Knights | 24 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 73 | 116 | −43 | 22 |
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GDF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Ice | 24 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 109 | 68 | +41 | 51 |
| Adelaide Adrenaline | 24 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 96 | 76 | +20 | 43 |
| Gold Coast Blue Tongues | 24 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 81 | 85 | −4 | 33 |
| Perth Thunder | 24 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 81 | 80 | +1 | 32 |
| Melbourne Mustangs | 24 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 54 | 107 | −53 | 19 |
| Qualified for the Goodall Cup playoffs | H Newman Reid Trophy winners |
List shows the ten top skaters sorted by points, then goals.[80]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | POS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Boyer | Newcastle North Stars | 24 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 22 | F |
| Tomas Landa | Sydney Bears | 24 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 6 | F |
| Matt Armstrong | Melbourne Ice | 24 | 23 | 28 | 51 | 46 | F |
| Phil Ginand | Perth Thunder | 23 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 100 | F |
| Mike McRae | Gold Coast Blue Tongues | 22 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 66 | F |
| Ken Rolph | Perth Thunder | 24 | 21 | 26 | 47 | 26 | F |
| Greg Oddy | Adelaide Adrenaline | 22 | 27 | 19 | 46 | 26 | F |
| Casey Mignone | Sydney Ice Dogs | 24 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 66 | F |
| Beau Taylor | Newcastle North Stars | 24 | 25 | 20 | 45 | 10 | F |
| Brian Bales | Newcastle North Stars | 21 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 14 | F |
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage with a minimum of ten games played.[81]
| Player | Team | MIP | SOG | GA | GAA | SVS% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Kimlin | Gold Coast Blue Tongues | 519 | 399 | 26 | 2.25 | 0.935 | 1 |
| Mike Brown | Canberra Knights | 718 | 636 | 58 | 3.64 | 0.909 | 0 |
| Aaron Barton | Adelaide Adrenaline | 871 | 582 | 55 | 2.84 | 0.905 | 2 |
| Kiefer Smiley | Perth Thunder | 1026 | 655 | 70 | 3.07 | 0.893 | 1 |
| Olivier Martin | Newcastle North Stars | 944 | 589 | 64 | 3.05 | 0.891 | 1 |
Below lists the 2012 AIHL regular season award winners.
| Award | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP |  Tomas Landa Jeremy Boyer | Sydney Bears Newcastle North Stars |
| Goaltender | Anthony Kimlin | Gold Coast Blue Tongues |
| Defenceman | Robbie Lawrance | Newcastle North Stars |
| Rookie | Greg Bay Charlie Huber | Gold Coast Blue Tongues Adelaide Adrenaline |
The 2012 playoffs started on 1 September 2012, with theGoodall Cup final being held on 2 September.[75] Following the end of the regular season the top two teams from each conference advanced to the playoff series with the winner of each conference playing in the semi-final round against the runner-up of the other conference.[4] All three games were held at theHunter Ice Skating Stadium inWarners Bay, New South Wales, the home of theNewcastle North Stars. The series was a single game elimination with the two winning semi-finalists advancing to the Goodall Cup final.[82] TheMelbourne Ice completed thethree-peat and won the Goodall Cup for the third year in a row after defeating the Newcastle North Stars in the final.[83] Todd Graham of the Melbourne Ice was named the finals MVP.[79]
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Newcastle North Stars | 5 | |||||||
| Newcastle North Stars | 3 | ||||||||
| Melbourne Ice | 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Melbourne Ice | 6 | |||||||
All times areUTC+10:00
| 1 September 2012 15:30 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 4–5 (1–2, 2–1, 1–2) | Newcastle North Stars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Barton | Goalies | Olivier Martin | Referee: Jeff Scott Linesmen: Cory Ross Matthew Taylor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 min | Penalties | 13 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27 | Shots | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 September 2012 19:00 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 2–6 (0–3, 1–2, 1–1) | Melbourne Ice | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Robledo | Goalies | Stuart Denman | Referee: Rick West Linesmen: Darren Lampard Greg Madsen | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26 min | Penalties | 10 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27 | Shots | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 September 2012 16:00 | Melbourne Ice | 4–3 (1–2, 2–0, 1–1) | Newcastle North Stars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium Attendance: 1000 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Denman | Goalies | Olivier Martin | Referee: Jeff Scott Linesmen: Cory Ross Matthew Taylor | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 25 | Shots | 32 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Seasons | |
| Teams | |
| Former teams | |
| Current arenas | |
| Former arenas | |
| Other | |
