The Melbourne Ice is an Australian semi-professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team from

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

, based at the Icehouse in the Docklands precinct of central Melbourne. Founded in 2000, the Ice have been a member of the

Australian Ice Hockey League The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation). The league is run by its own board of ...

(AIHL) since 2002, and are four-time

Goodall Cup The Goodall Cup is a perpetual trophy that is, currently, annually awarded to the playoff champions of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The trophy is named after Australian born player John Edwin Goodall who originally donated the cup. ...

champions and H Newman Reid Trophy premiers.

History

Foundation

The Melbourne Ice was established in 2000 by Mark Weber after the initial three AIHL teams asked Weber to start a team in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The Ice spent two years playing exhibition matches and researching prospects at the Olympic Ice Skating Centre in

Oakleigh South, Victoria Oakleigh South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Kingston and Monash local government areas. Oakleigh South recorded a population of 9 ...

. Weber was named foundation chairman and president when the Ice were accepted into the AIHL in April 2002. The Ice joined the Australian Ice Hockey League as part of a three team expansion of the league, along with

Newcastle North Stars The Newcastle Northstars (formally ''Newcastle North Stars'') is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Newcastle, New South Wales. The Northstars are a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL), joining as an expansion tea ...

and Western Sydney Ice Dogs.

Oakleigh era

During the first two seasons the Ice play home matches at Oakleigh with occasional matches played in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. The Melbourne Ice appointed long time Demons IHC Victorian coach Rod Johns as inaugural head coach. Glenn Grandy and Jon Moses formed the first Ice leadership team as duel captains. The Melbourne Ice's first ever AIHL match was played on 4 May 2002. The Ice played

Adelaide Avalanche The Adelaide Avalanche was a semi-professional ice hockey club based in the Adelaide suburb of Thebarton, South Australia. The Avalanche, founded in 1999, was a founding member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team’s home venue ...

at home at Olympic Ice Rink, Oakleigh. The match was tough with a combined total of 77 penalty minutes. The Ice outshot the Avalanche 31 to 25 with Greg Sturrock scoring the Ice's first ever AIHL goal, assisted by Ross Howell and Jon Moses. Vinnie Hughes scored the Ice's second goal but it proved to be a consolation goal as Adelaide defeated the Ice 5–2. The Ice finished their first AIHL season in last place in the league standings with two wins and fourteen losses. In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, the Ice appointed Sandy Gardner has head coach, replacing Rod Johns. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, the Ice stopped scheduling matches in Bendigo and exclusively played out of the Olympic Centre in Oakleigh and Canadian Mike Mazzuca became the captain of the team. The Melbourne Ice failed to reach the AIHL finals in their first four seasons, consistently finishing fifth or sixth in the standings at the end of the regular season. The 2006 season was a turnaround season for the Melbourne Ice. Roy Sargent and Brad Vigon continued as the coach and captain leadership team from 2005. Josh Puls was elected club president. It was the first season the Ice won more matches than they lost in the AIHL, winning 21 times from 28 matches. It was the first time they reached top of the table during the season in May. It was the first season they finished inside the top four in the league standings and qualified for the AIHL finals. And it was the first time they won a title and trophy. Finishing top of the league ladder to be named Premiers and win the

V.I.P. Cup The V.I.P. Cup is a retired trophy that was awarded to the minor premiers of each season in the Australian Ice Hockey League from 2004 to 2009; that is, the team that finishes first overall in the standings at the end of the regular season. The t ...

. The Ice's first finals campaign was held in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

at the IceArenA. On Saturday 2 September 2006, the Melbourne Ice took on the

in the AIHL semi-finals. The Ice went behind 0–2 in the first period thanks to a pair of power play goals to league top point scorer, Marcel Kars. Lliam Webster scored the Ice's first finals goal to bring the match back to one goal separation but the North Stars broke away from that point and punished the Ice's poor discipline on the power play with a further four power play goals in the second and third periods. By the end of the match the Ice had been defeated 1–6 by the Northstars who had scored all six of their goals with the man advantage.

Between 2007 and 2009 the Melbourne Ice consistently finished in the top three positions in the league standings. The Ice also consistently lost their semi-final match-ups in the finals. Losing 3–6 to the North Stars in 2007, 1–2 in overtime to the Western Sydney Ice Dogs in 2008 and 1–6 to the

Adelaide Adrenaline The Adelaide Adrenaline is a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team is a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team was founded in 2008 as the Adelaide A's to replace the defunct Adelaide ...

in 2009. Tommy Powell was named AIHL MVP in 2007 followed up by Lliam Webster in 2008. Doug 'Bubba' Ferguson captained the team for two years before Lliam Webster was appointed in 2009. The Ice also adopted their first mission statement in 2009.

Docklands era

In 2010, the Melbourne Ice moved from Oakleigh to

Docklands, Victoria Docklands, also known as Melbourne Docklands, is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Docklands recorded a population ...

. The Ice moved into the newly completed

Melbourne Icehouse The Icehouse (also currently known as O'Brien Icehouse due to naming rights) is an Australian ice sports and entertainment centre, located in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. ON 1 May 2010, the Ice played their first match at the Icehouse. The match saw the Ice take on the

Sydney Ice Dogs The Sydney Ice Dogs (formally ''Western Sydney Ice Dogs'') is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 2002, the Ice Dogs are a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The Ice Dogs are tw ...

in front of a sell out 1,100 strong crowd. The Ice dogs took an early lead through DeCristoforo but Brad Vigon levelled the match in the first period and the Ice went on to dominate the contest. The Ice ended up securing their maiden Icehouse win with a 4–1 scoreline. Melbourne Ice's head coach, Paul Watson, who had been with the team since 2007, guided the Ice to their most successful period in the team's history between 2010 and 2012. During three consecutive seasons Ice captains, Webster and Vinnie Hughes, led the team to three

s, one H Newman Reid Trophy and the one and only

Trans-Tasman Champions League The Trans-Tasman Champions League is an ice hockey tournament between the Australian Ice Hockey League and the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. Its formation was announced in August 2011 with the top two teams from each league from the previous sea ...

trophy. By securing a hat trick of Goodall Cup's the Ice completed the one and only

Three-peat In North American sports, a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships. The term, a portmanteau of the words ''three'' and ''repeat'', originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, during their unsuccess ...

in AIHL history. Melbourne Ice's maiden Goodall Cup victory in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

came after the team finished second in the regular season. Paul Watson was named AIHL coach of the year. The Ice's new home venue, The Icehouse, hosted the AIHL finals for the first time. And in front of sell-out home crowds, the Ice overcame the

Sydney Bears The Sydney Bears (formally ''Macquarie Bears'') is an Australia, Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1982, the Bears are the only remaining founding member of the Australian Ice Hockey League ...

in the semi-finals, 2–1, before defeating the

6–4 in their first Goodall Cup final the Ice had ever contested. Joey Hughes was the first Ice player to score in a Goodall Cup final. Ice's Canadian import, Jason Baclig was named finals

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. The 2011 season saw the Ice win the double by claiming both the H Newman Reid Trophy and Goodall Cup. It was the first time in nine years that a team had won the AIHL double. The Ice finished top of the league standings at the end of the regular season with an equal record points haul of 65 (equalling the team's 2006 season total). Jason Baclig backed up his impressive 2010 form and won the league MVP award after scoring 68 points at an average of 2.4 a match. In the finals, the Ice stormed over the Adrenaline in the semi-finals, defeating them 8–3. Matt Armstrong scoring a hat trick and Joey Hughes picking up four points. The Ice then faced the

in the Goodall Cup final on 4 September 2011. The Ice made it consecutive national titles with a close fought 3–2 victory. Armstrong, Joey Hughes and Webster all got on the scoring sheet for the Ice but Chwedoruk power play goal with two minutes left for the North Stars had all the Ice fans in the stands on biting there nails. Joey Hughes was then named finals MVP after the match. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, the AIHL split the regular season into two conferences. The Ice was grouped in the Easton Conference along with all the other non-NSW teams. The Ice topped their conference by eight points ahead of Adelaide to qualify for finals. The 2012 AIHL finals shifted from Melbourne to Newcastle. The

Hunter Ice Skating Stadium The Hunter Ice Skating Stadium is an ice sports and public skate centre, opened in 2000 and located in Warners Bay, a suburb of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium serves as the home ice rink of the Newcastle Northstars who ...

hosted the weekend. On 1 September 2012, the Ice defeated the

6–2 in semi-final 2. The Goodall Cup final was a repeat of the previous season with the Ice taking on the North Stars. For the second year in a row the final between the league's top two teams went down to the wire. The Ice came out on top in the end, winning the match 4–3 after being down 0–2 in the first period. AIHL Commissioner, Tyler Lovering, called the match 'one of the best games ever played'. The Ice's Todd Graham was named finals MVP. Following the team's successes, Ice coach Paul 'Jaffa' Watson stood down from his role as head coach at the club and retired. He was honoured by the Ice by becoming a life member. 8 February 2013, long time Melbourne Ice figure, Sandy Gardner, was named Watson's successor as Ice head coach. It was Gardner's second stint as head coach of the Ice, having led them in 2003 and 2004. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

the Ice finished a disappointing fourth in the regular season and were beaten by the Ice Dogs, 2–4, in the semi-finals. Gardner was then replaced by his assistant, Brent Laver, in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Laver spent three seasons in charge of the Ice. The team twice finished regular season runner-up in 2014 and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

before finishing top and claiming the Ice's third H Newman Reid Trophy in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. The Ice also made the Goodall Cup final in both 2014 and 2015, however, the team lost both finals, including the first Melbourne derby final against the

Melbourne Mustangs The Melbourne Mustangs (formally ''Mustangs IHC'') is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Melbourne, Victoria. Formed in 2010, the Mustangs have been a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) since 2011. The Mustangs a ...

. In 2014, the Ice finished second behind the Mustangs by three points and Jeremy Brown was named rookie of the season. The Ice then demolished the

CBR Brave The CBR Brave is a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Canberra, ACT. The team is a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team was founded in 2014 to replace the defunct Canberra Knights in the AIHL. Their home venue is ...

6–1 in the semi's to reach the team's fourth Goodall Cup final. The final was an all Melbourne affair, 2,000 people in the stands, with the Ice taking on the Mustangs. The score line ended the same as the semi-final but this time the Ice were on the losing side with the Mustangs securing their first Goodall Cup with a 6–1 victory. In 2015, the Ice again finished second in the league standings, this time behind Newcastle. The team defeated

Perth Thunder The Perth Thunder is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 2010, the Thunder have been a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) since 2012. The Thunder are based at the Perth Ice Are ...

1–0 in the semi-finals to record their first finals shutout. In the Goodall Cup final, the Ice faced league premiers and heavy favourites Newcastle. In a close match the two teams could not be separated in regulation time with the score locked two-all. Both teams scored with under two minutes remaining in regulation time. Jan Safar thought he had secured the victory first for the North Stars but Mitch Humphries sent the home fans into raptures a minute later by scoring a short-handed goal to level the match with 31 seconds left on the clock. In overtime, the Ice gave away a penalty shot to the North Stars and Brian Bales calmly converted to defeat the Ice on golden goal. The final score 3–2 to the North Stars. In 2016, the Ice led the league for much of the season. The Ice only lost three regulation matches all season and ended with a goal difference of +56. After winning the league premiership and Brent Laver being named coach of the season, the Ice faced-off against the CBR Brave for the second time in the semi-finals. Despite outshooting the Brave, the Ice were defeated in overtime. The Brave's conversion on special teams proved a difference but a quick break by Jan Safar, who just came out of the penalty box, was the ultimate difference in OT. Ending the Ice's season early with a 4–3 defeat. The Ice started a new chapter in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

with the appointment of their first

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

head coach, Charles Franzén. The former

Tranås AIF Tranås AIF (sometimes abbreviated "TAIF") is a Swedish sports club active in a number of sports including ice hockey. The ice hockey club, Tranås AIF Ishockeyförening, better known as Tranås AIF Hockey (or Tranås AIF IF), played several seas ...

head coach was brought over to Australia as part of a new relationship established between the two clubs. Franzén brought over Tranås players Sebastian Ottosson, Niklas Dahlberg and Kristoffer Backman to play for the Ice in 2017. To complete the complement of Swedish imports, former Mustang's player Viktor Gibbs Sjodin signed with the Ice. In July the Ice held a special 'Sweden Day' to celebrate all things Sweden. The Ice donned a one-time kit in the Swedish yellow and blue colours. The Swedish national anthem was played pre-match, Swedish flags sold at the arena and there was a

Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking ( sv, Pippi Långstrump) is the fictional main character in an eponymous series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story wh ...

mascot. Post-match Swedish lollies,

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

and

caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the ter ...

was served. The Ice enjoyed their best ever regular season in 2017. The team won 24 of 28 matches for a then record 71 league points, 14 points ahead of their closest rival (Perth Thunder). The team clinched top spot in the league with four matches remaining and Joey Hughes was named AIHL local player of the season. After claiming the team's fourth H Newman Reid Trophy at the end of August, the Ice advanced to the AIHL finals weekend. In the semi-finals, the Ice avenged their finals derby loss from 2014 and defeated the Mustangs 4–2. The following day, the Melbourne Ice faced the CBR Brave in the Goodall Cup final. Wong gave the Ice the lead in the first period before Stephen Blunden levelled for the Brave in the second period. Just before the second intermission Ottosson restored the Ice's lead. The third period was controlled by the Ice and they added to their lead to eventually win the match 4–1. The Ice lifted the Goodall Cup for the fourth time and their first since their three-peat. Sebastian Ottosson was named finals MVP. Ahead of the 2018 season the Melbourne Ice announced a backroom shuffle and a new head coach appointment. Charles Franzén moved from head coach to Director of Coaching and Player Development with Swedish coach, Peter Ekroth, joining the team. The Ice started the season slowly and after five rounds, four wins and three losses, Ekroth departed the team. Former head coach and long-time Ice member, Sandy Gardner, stepped up from his assistant coach role and took over head coach duties for the remainder of the 2018 season on 9 June 2018. Gardner appointed Mark Smith and Josh Velez as his assistants. With a lot of backroom changes, on-ice performance of the team suffered in 2018. The Ice finished the season seventh, failing to qualify for finals for the first time in thirteen seasons. It was also the first season since 2004 that the Ice finished with a negative goal difference, −27. After the disappointment of 2018, the Ice made more backroom changes for

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. Sandy Gardner moved back to his assistant coach role and former Ice player and Mustangs coach Brad Vigon was appointed new head coach. Soon after, Brent Laver and Glen Mayer joined Sandy as assistant coaches to Vigon. Johan Steenberg also re-joined the club to take on the role of Director of hockey operations. Johan had previously worked as the Ice's goaltender coach between 2014 and 2017 before moving to the CBR Brave in 2018. The season started in a similar fashion to 2018 and by 26 May the Ice faced a similar situation as the previous season with their head coach stepping down. Vigon announced his temporary suspension of his head coaching duties for a period of four weeks for personal reasons. Johan and the assistant coaches filled in while Vigon was absent. The Ice finished the season seventh with nine wins from 28 matches for a total of 24 points, their lowest point tally from an eight team season. On 31 January 2020, Melbourne Ice announced their new head coach for

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

would be Canadian Michael Marshall. Michael hails from

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

and joins the team off the back of four years coaching in Sweden.

Season-by-season results

Championships

: Champions (4):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

: Runners-Up (2):

* H Newman Reid Trophy (2008–Current) : Premiers (3):

: Runners-Up (4):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

(2004–07) : Premiers (1):

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

: Runners-Up (1):

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

*Easton Conference : Winners (1):

: Winners (1):

Players

Current roster

''Team roster for the 2022 AIHL season.''

Retired numbers

Throughout the history of the Melbourne Ice, one jersey number has been retired in honour of a former club legend. {, class = "toptextcells" , - , Style = "width: 50%" , * Vincent Hughes – # 7
(2004–2013, Defenseman) : Vincent 'Vinnie' Hughes played for the Ice for ten years, racking up 159 matches for the team. The defenceman captained the Ice in 2011 and 2012. Vinnie won four Goodall Cups with the Ice including the fabled three-peat between 2010 and 2013. Hughes was a part of and won the one and only Trans-Tasman Champions League in 2012 with the Melbourne Ice. Humble to the end, Vinnie described his career, including his time with the Ice, as "A journey, from start to finish", when he retired in 2016. In 2018, on 26 August, Vinnie Hughes was celebrated by the Melbourne Ice community with the retirement of his number seven jersey in a pre-match ceremony at the Melbourne Icehouse on the Ice's Heritage Day. The team then donned a retro-styled uniform for the occasion.

Player records

These are the top-ten all-time player records in franchise history for the following categories: Apperiences, goals, assists, points and penalty minutes
(Figures are updated after each completed AIHL regular season)
''Current as of

2019 AIHL season The 2019 AIHL season is the 20th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 20 April 2019 until 25 August 2019, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 31 August and 1 September 2019. The CBR Brave won the H Newman Reid Troph ...

'' {, , - valign=top , {, class="sortable wikitable" style="width:100%;text-align:center" , - , + style="background:white; border-top:white 5px solid; border-bottom:white 5px solid;", All-time Appearances , - !width=1%, # !width=55%, Name !width=8%, !width=8%, , - , align=left, 1 , , align=left, Tommy Powell , , F , , 369 , - , align=left, 2 , , align=left, Lliam Webster , , D , , 341 , - , align=left, 3 , , align=left, Matt Armstrong , , F , , 227 , - , align=left, 4 , , align=left, Greg Sturrock , , D , , 216 , - , align=left, 5 , , align=left, Todd Graham , , D , , 205 , - , align=left, 6 , , align=left, Marcus Wong , , D , , 202 , - , align=left, 7 , , align=left, Jason Baclig , , F , , 189 , - , align=left, 8 , , align=left, Austin McKenzie , , F , , 183 , - , align=left, 9 , , align=left, Jack Carpenter , , D , , 164 , - , align=left, 10 , , align=left, Chris Wong , , F , , 163 , - , {, class="sortable wikitable" style="width:100%;text-align:center" , - , + style="background:white; border-top:white 5px solid; border-bottom:white 5px solid;", All-time Goals , - !width=1%, # !width=58%, Name !width=8%, !width=8%, , - , align=left, 1 , , align=left, Lliam Webster , , D , , 193 , - , align=left, 2 , , align=left, Tommy Powell , , F , , 173 , - , align=left, 3 , , align=left, Matt Armstrong , , F , , 156 , - , align=left, 4 , , align=left, Jason Baclig , , F , , 148 , - , align=left, 5 , , align=left, Joey Hughes , , F , , 112 , - , align=left, 6 , , align=left, Brad Vigon , , F , , 38 , - , align=left, 7 , , align=left, Greg Sturrock , , D , , 33 , - , align=left, 8 , , align=left, Austin McKenzie , , F , , 31 , - , align=left, 9 , , align=left, Todd Graham , , D , , 29 , - , align=left, 10 , , align=left, Lasse Lassen , , F , , 27 , - , {, class="sortable wikitable" style="width:100%;text-align:center" , - , + style="background:white; border-top:white 5px solid; border-bottom:white 5px solid;", All-time Assists , - !width=1%, # !width=58%, Name !width=8%, !width=8%, , - , align=left, 1 , , align=left, Tommy Powell , , F , , 294 , - , align=left, 2 , , align=left, Lliam Webster , , D , , 243 , - , align=left, 3 , , align=left, Matt Armstrong , , F , , 225 , - , align=left, 4 , , align=left, Jason Baclig , , F , , 189 , - , align=left, 5 , , align=left, Joey Hughes , , F , , 147 , - , align=left, 6 , , align=left, Todd Graham , , D , , 108 , - , align=left, 7 , , align=left, Jérémy Brown , , F , , 49 , - , align=left, 8 , , align=left, Brad Vigon , , F , , 48 , - , align=left, 9 , , align=left, Mitch Humphries , , F , , 48 , - , align=left, 10 , , align=left, Vincent Hughes , , D , , 46 , - , {, class="sortable wikitable" style="width:100%;text-align:center" , - , + style="background:white; border-top:white 5px solid; border-bottom:white 5px solid;", All-time Points , - !width=1%, # !width=58%, Name !width=8%, !width=8%, , - , align=left, 1 , , align=left, Tommy Powell , , F , , 467 , - , align=left, 2 , , align=left, Lliam Webster , , D , , 436 , - , align=left, 3 , , align=left, Matt Armstrong , , F , , 381 , - , align=left, 4 , , align=left, Jason Baclig , , D , , 337 , - , align=left, 5 , , align=left, Joey Hughes , , F , , 259 , - , align=left, 6 , , align=left, Todd Graham , , D , , 137 , - , align=left, 7 , , align=left, Brad Vigon , , F , , 86 , - , align=left, 8 , , align=left, Austin McKenzie , , F , , 75 , - , align=left, 9 , , align=left, Mitch Humphries , , F , , 73 , - , align=left, 10 , , align=left, Jérémy Brown , , F , , 65 , - , {, class="sortable wikitable" style="width:100%;text-align:center" , - , + style="background:white; border-top:white 5px solid; border-bottom:white 5px solid;", All-time PIM , - !width=1%, # !width=55%, Name !width=8%, !width=8%, , - , align=left, 1 , , align=left, Lliam Webster , , D , , 1026 , - , align=left, 2 , , align=left, Vincent Hughes , , D , , 694 , - , align=left, 3 , , align=left, Joey Hughes , , F , , 577 , - , align=left, 4 , , align=left, Matt Armstrong , , F , , 370 , - , align=left, 5 , , align=left, Greg Sturrock , , D , , 351 , - , align=left, 6 , , align=left, Dylan Moore , , D , , 222 , - , align=left, 7 , , align=left, Cass Delsar , , F , , 208 , - , align=left, 8 , , align=left, Todd Graham , , D , , 180 , - , align=left, 9 , , align=left, Steve Laforet , , F , , 178 , - , align=left, 10 , , align=left, Glen Mayer , , F , , 159 , -

Club staff

''Current as of 2022 AIHL season.'' {, class="toccolours" style="width:25em" , - , + style="background:#1f2642; border-top:#1f2642 5px solid; border-bottom:#1f2642 5px solid;color:white", Ice staff , - ! style="background:#ea1d2b;color:white;border:#ea1d2b 1px solid", Role !! style="background:#ea1d2b;color:white;border:#ea1d2b 1px solid", Name , - , Head coach , , Sandy Gardner , - , Assistant coach , , Brent Laver , - , Assistant coach , , Michael Flaherty , - , Team manager , , Tom Hardwood , - , Equipment manager , , Cameron Charter , - , Strength and Conditioning , , Stuart Evans , - , Chief Executive Officer , , Peter Jon Hartshorne , - , General Manager , , Mark Smith , -

Leaders

Team captains

The Melbourne Ice have had a total of eleven captains in the team's history. The foundation captaincy for the Ice was shared between American born Jon Moses and Canadian Glenn Grandy in 2002. Lliam_Webster_2007

{, class="toccolours" style="width:25em" , - ! style="background:#1f2642;color:white;border:#ea1d2b 3px solid", No. !! style="background:#1f2642;color:white;border:#ea1d2b 3px solid", Name !! style="background:#1f2642;color:white;border:#ea1d2b 3px solid", Term , - , 1 , , Jon Moses , , 2002 , - , 2 , , Glenn Grandy , , 2002–03 , - , 3 , , Mike Mazzuca , , 2004 , - , 4 , , Brad Vigon , , 2005–06 , - , 5 , , Doug Ferguson , , 2007–08 , - , 6 , , Lliam Webster , , 2009–10 , - , 7 , , Vinnie Hughes , , 2011–12 , - , 8 , , Jason Baclig , , 2013 , - , 9 , , Lliam Webster , , 2014–21 , - , 10 , , Austin McKenzie , , 2022–Present , - , 11 , , Mac Caruana , , 2022–Present , - References:

Head coaches

The Melbourne Ice have had a total of thirteen head coaches in the team's history, and number fourteen is announced for the 2023 season. Rod Johns was the first head coach appointed by the Melbourne Ice for the AIHL in their inaugural season in 2002. {, class="toccolours" style="width:25em" , - ! style="background:#1f2642;color:white;border:#ea1d2b 3px solid", No. !! style="background:#1f2642;color:white;border:#ea1d2b 3px solid", Name !! style="background:#1f2642;color:white;border:#ea1d2b 3px solid", Term , - , 1 , , Rod Johns , , 2002 , - , 2 , , Sandy Gardner , , 2003–04 , - , 3 , , Roy Sargent , , 2005–06 , - , 4 , , Paul Watson , , 2007–12 , - , 5 , , Sandy Gardner , , 2013 , - , 6 , , Brent Laver , , 2014–16 , - , 7 , , Charles Franzén , , 2017 , - , 8 , , Peter Ekroth , , 2018 , - , 9 , , ''Sandy Gardner ()'' , , 2018 , - , 10 , , Brad Vigon , , 2019 , - , 11 , , Michael Marshall , , 2020 , - , 12 , , Chris Yule , , 2021 , - , 13 , , Sandy Gardner , , 2022 , - , 14 , , Kerry Goulet , , starting 2023 , - References:

Identity

Name and colours

The Melbourne Ice have kept the same colours since foundation in 2002. Navy blue, crimson red and white are the three primary colours the club uses for their identity. The colours are used in all aspects of the club including: uniforms, supporter merchandise, official media and digital design. In 2017, the Ice held a

Day event to celebrate their Swedish ties, including five Swedish players, coaches Charles Franzen and Johan Steenberg, and a relationship with the Tranås AIF ice hockey club in Sweden. The Ice donned a one-off yellow and blue jersey for the occasion. The Melbourne Ice have never changed their name in their history. Since foundation in 2002, they have always been known as the Ice.

Facilities

February 2010, the Melbourne Ice moved into the newly completed $58m

. The Ice have played all their home matches from the 2010 AIHL season onwards at the Icehouse and they share the facility with local rivals, the

. The Icehouse is the only twin ice-sheet facility in Australia. The hockey rink within the facility is named the Henke Rink, in honour of

Geoffrey Henke Geoffrey "Geoff" John Henke, AO is a former Australian ice hockey player and Australian Olympic Committee official. He was the chef de mission of the Australian Winter Olympic delegations from 1976 until 1994, and is credited with ending the neg ...

AO. The Icehouse has an Olympic sized ice surface, café, bar, specialist winter sports gym, pro shop, corporate boxes and seating for 1,000 spectators as well as room for additional 500 standing attendance on match days. Prior to 2010, for eight years, the Ice were based in Oakleigh South, Monash in the wider Melbourne metropolitan area. Their home venue was the 300 capacity Olympic Ice Skating Centre (OISC), noted at the time for being the smallest rink in the league, with its width two-thirds that of a regulation Olympic-sized rink. {, class="wikitable" , - , + style="background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#1f2642 5px solid; border-bottom:#ea1d2b 5px solid;", Stadium history , - ! Rink ! Location ! First ! Last , - , Olympic Ice Skating Centre , , Oakleigh South , , 2002 , , 2009 , - ,

Rivalries

Melbourne Mustangs The Ice's main rival is the Melbourne Mustangs. The two may share the same home venue but the Melbourne derby has developed into one of the big fixtures in the AIHL each season over the past ten years. The derbies are regular sell out matches during the regular season and are known to be heavily physical affairs with high numbers of penalties minutes. There have been two Melbourne derby matches in AIHL finals history, including one Goodall Cup final. The Ice and Mustangs share the spoils in these finals matches with one win apiece.

Broadcasting

TV and SVOD:

Kayo Sports Kayo Sports is an over-the-top video streaming subscription service available in Australia, owned by Streamotion ( a wholly owned subsidiary of Foxtel). The service offers sports live and on demand from Fox Sports, ESPN, beIN Sports, and Racin ...

(2022-present) – Domestic SVOD broadcasting in Australia as part of the league wide deal struck in the lead up to the 2022 AIHL season.

Sportradar Sportradar AG is a multinational corporation with headquarters in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that collects and analyzes sports data for bookmakers, national and international sports federations, and media companies. As of 2022, the company has ...

(2022-present) – International SVOD broadcasting in North America and Europe as part of a league-wide 3-year deal signed in March 2022 in the lead up to the 2022 AIHL season.

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

(2013–present) – Domestic TV broadcasting deal that has been in place since 2013 with

to show one game a round, normally on Thursday's at 4:30 pm or after

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

games during NHL season.
ATC Productions (2017–2019) – Since 2017 the Melbourne Ice have live streamed home matches in Melbourne on the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

platform through ATC Productions. The broadcast is called "AIHL TV" and is a partnership between ATC Productions, the AIHL, Melbourne Mustangs and Melbourne Ice. All matches are also available on-demand.

References

External links

Melbourne Ice website

Australian Ice Hockey League website

Ice Hockey Australia website

O'Brien Group Arena Arena website
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