The 2000 AIHL season was the inaugural
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
of the
Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL), the first
semi-pro national
ice hockey league in Australian history. The
Sydney Bears finished first after the regular season but lost the championship final to the
Adelaide Avalanche 5–6 in a
shootout. Paul Lawson of the Adelaide Avalanche top scored in the regular season.
Regular season
The maiden regular season featured all three founding teams,
Adelaide Avalanche,
Canberra Knights and the
Sydney Bears, playing in a
round-robin format. The top two teams at the conclusion of the regular season would qualify to play a single head-to-head final.
Final
Following the regular season the Avalanche and the Bears competed in the single game final held at
Macquarie Ice Rink
The Macquarie Ice Rink is an ice sports and public skate centre, opened in 1981 and located within the Macquarie Shopping Centre in the northern Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is the current home of the Sydney B ...
. Adelaide won the game 6-5 in a shootout after coming from two goals behind late in the third period to level the match in regulation time. The Bears controlled the match in the first two periods before a controversial five minute major penalty late in the game to the Bears saw Adelaide pull goaltender Eric Lien and score two power play goals.
References
{{AIHL
2000 in ice hockey
2000 in Australian sport
Australian Ice Hockey League seasons