The Melbourne Ice have reclaimed their spot at the top of Australian ice hockey and claimed their first Championship since 2017, defeating the Canberra Brave 7–3 in Sunday’s AIHL Championship Final. The result not only avenged last year’s loss to the Brave but also confirmed the Ice’s status as the league’s most consistent side after finishing the regular season as the top seed.
The Australian Ice Hockey League finals will once again come down to the Melbourne Ice and Canberra Brave, after both sides punched their tickets to Sunday’s decider with semi-final victories in Melbourne on Saturday.
The opening night of the AIHL Playoffs delivered plenty of action, but served up two predictable results, as both higher seeds took care of business in the Preliminary Finals to book their places in Saturday’s semis.
James Lane The AIHL playoffs begin this weekend with two sudden-death preliminary finals to decide who will join Melbourne Ice and the...
The final weekend of the Australian Ice Hockey League regular season produced no shortage of goals, and with Week 19 in the books the playoff picture is now complete.
With just one weekend left in the AIHL regular season, the stakes are higher than ever. Adelaide shook things up with a stunning sweep of Perth, while Canberra once again showed why they’re the biggest threat to Melbourne Ice. Here’s how the league stacks up after Week 18.
With just one round remaining in the AIHL regular season, Week 18 delivered plenty of twists as playoff positions began to take their final shape. A points deduction for Perth Thunder, some high-scoring shootouts, and a couple of statement individual performances ensured there was no shortage of drama.
With just two gameweeks left in the AIHL regular season, the race for finals seeding tightened up after a dramatic Week 17 that saw momentum swings, high scores, and the Canberra Brave leapfrogging into second place.
There’s been no shortage of fireworks in Week 16, but with just a few rounds left before finals, the dust is beginning to settle. For the contenders, it was all about jostling for seeding. For the chasing pack, desperation is setting in. Here’s how the league stacks up after another telling weekend.
Week 16 of the AIHL season delivered a mixed bag of thrashings, comebacks, and one-way traffic, with the Thunder and Brave splitting a fiery double-header, the Lightning leaking goals across two losses, and the Mustangs clawing back into playoff relevance with a big win.
With just four weeks left in the AIHL season, the ladder leaders continue to firm up their credentials, but beneath them, the field is still shifting. Here’s how the power rankings stand after Week 15:
Week 15 delivered another reminder of how quickly momentum can shift in this league, and how dangerous it is to write anyone off too soon. Adelaide, left for dead in the early part of the season, picked up a statement double over Brisbane, while the Northstars experienced both sides of the hockey coin in a weekend split.
The Brave lit a fire under the AIHL playoff race this weekend, snapping the Ice’s long winning streak and shaking up the chasing pack. But while some teams made noise, the ladder remains mostly steady, at least for now. Here’s how the power rankings stand after Week 14:
If there was any doubt the Canberra Brave have become a force to be reckoned with, they put it to bed this weekend, and they shocked Melbourne Ice in the process.
The AIHL ladder took another big shake-up in Week 13 as the Perth Thunder surged into second, the Mustangs continued their dramatic slide, and both the Brave and Northstars cashed in to rise in the standings.
The standings might have shuffled a bit, but in terms of form and performance, the power rankings hold steady this week. With playoff battles heating up, expect that to change soon. But for now, status quo reigns.
Melbourne Ice continue to set the pace in the AIHL, and it remains an utter logjam behind them. This week, it’s Brisbane Lightning leapfrogging the Thunder and Mustangs after a perfect weekend on the road.
On Sunday afternoon, I found myself at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne’s Docklands, ticking off the second entry on my list of Australian sporting experiences. This time, it was ice hockey, a sport which is much less popular here, but one that I am more excited to attend.
Beyond the Ice, it's getting very hard to rank anyone in the AIHL.
