The 2018 AIHL season was the 19th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 21 April 2018 until 26 August 2018, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 1 and 2 September 2018. The CBR Brave won both the H Newman Reid Trophy after finishing the regular season with the most points in league history, and the Goodall Cup for the first time by defeating the Sydney Bears in the final.
Teams In 2018 the AIHL had 8 teams competing in the league.
2018 AIHL teamsTeam City Arena Head Coach Captain Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide IceArenA Jim Fuyarchuk Josef Rezek CBR Brave Canberra Phillip Ice Skating Centre Robert Starke Matthew Harvey Melbourne Ice Melbourne O'Brien Group Arena Peter Ekroth Lliam Webster Melbourne Mustangs Melbourne O'Brien Group Arena Maxime Langelier-Parent Michael McMahon Newcastle Northstars Newcastle Hunter Ice Skating Stadium *No head coach Robert Malloy Perth Thunder Perth Perth Ice Arena Dave Ruck Jamie Woodman Sydney Bears Sydney Macquarie Ice Rink Ron Kuprowsky Michael Schlamp Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Macquarie Ice Rink Andrew Petrie Scott Stephenson
League business In December 2017 the Sydney Ice Dogs released their logo for the 2018 season. The design was an adjusted version of the 15th anniversary logo, replacing the "XV" with a shield. A few days later the Sydney Bears unveiled their new logo featuring a re-designed Bear. Following the release of their new logo the Bears released their new jerseys which included a black home, white away and a red alternate version. In February 2018 the Bears signed All About Caring as a major sponsor for the season. The same month the Melbourne Mustangs signed with The Kodiak Group to be their new naming rights sponsor for the next two seasons. The Kodiak Group replace The James Hotel who held the rights in 2017. In March 2018 the Melbourne Ice signed partnerships with the charity 300 Blankets and not-for-profit Kids Under Cover. Both organisations focus on helping the homeless and part of deal with 300 Blankets will see the Ice selling blankets at their home games. In April the Adelaide Adrenaline signed with Complete Podiatry to be a sponsor and the club's official podiatry clinic. Also in April the Mustangs announced that they had signed with restaurant Billy's District to be their post-game venue, replacing The James Hotel which had been their venue since May 2016. On 8 April the Newcastle Northstars that Warners at the Bay had signed with the club as their official post-game venue for 2018. The Melbourne Ice announced on 10 April that they had signed with Tempur Australia to be their naming rights sponsor for the next three years. The deal also included captain Lliam Webster being appointed as a brand ambassador for Tempur. The Brave announced that The Signal Co. Wireless and Maliganis Edwards Johnson had signed on as major sponsors and Ace High Eatery & Bar, Care Traffic, Coffey, Compass Wealth Group and T C Air & Electric had signed on as business sponsors for 2018. The Brave also switched their post game venue to the Hellenic Club of Canberra's Fillos Taverna + Bar, replacing The Woden Tradies & Quality Hotel which had been their venue since June 2017. In April the Sydney Ice Dogs signed with the Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park to be a major sponsor for the 2018 season. They also announced that they would partner with Cheapskate Hockey to create an alternative jersey as well as produce a line of merchandise. The alternate jersey will feature a redesigned bulldog logo. On 20 April the Sydney Ice Dogs announced that The Ranch Hotel would be their post game venue for 2018, replacing TGI Fridays Macquarie Centre which was their venue for the previous season.
Exhibition games In January 2018 the Perth Thunder announced that they would hold a three-game exhibition series against an All-Stars team from the China Ice Hockey League. The games were held on 15, 17 and 17 February at the Perth Ice Arena. The Thunder lost the opening game 1–3 but tied the series with a 4–1 in game two. The All-Stars won the series with a 2–1 win in game three. On 7 April the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs held their annual exhibition match at the O'Brien Group Arena. The Ice defeated the Mustangs 3–2. The following week the Melbourne Ice hosted the Hockey Festival at the O'Brien Group Arena. The festival ran over 14 and 15 April and included the Ice, Adelaide Adrenaline, CBR Brave and Melbourne Mustangs. Day one of the festival saw each team compete in a round-robin competition in order to determine the playoff spots on day two. The Mustangs finished the round-robin at the top of the standings, one point ahead of the Ice, the Adrenaline finished in third and the Brave in last place. Day two included two games, a final between first and second and a placement game for third place. The Ice defeated the Mustangs 3–2 in the final to claim the Warrior Cup, while the Adrenaline beat the Brave 4–2 to finish in third place.
Personnel changes On 15 October the Newcastle Northstars announced that Andrew Petrie had stepped down from the position of head coach following a mutual decision with the club. A month later the Sydney Ice Dogs announced the signing of Petrie as their head coach. Petrie replaced Christopher Blagg who moved into the position of club president. Petrie previously coached the Ice Dogs in 2014. On 14 November the Melbourne Mustangs' announced that head coach Michael Flaherty would not be returning for the 2018 season. Flaherty was replaced two weeks later by Maxime Langelier-Parent, a former import for the club who had served as an assistant coach in 2017. On 10 February the Ice Dogs announced Jason Juba had stepped down from his positions of general manager and vice president in order to focus on family and business. Also in February the CBR Brave announced that they had signed Mike Sargeant and Gordon Cockell as assistant coaches for the 2018 seasons. In April the Adelaide Adrenaline announced that Sami Mantere had stepped down from the position of head coach in order to return full time as a player for the club. Mantere was also signed on as an assistant coach. Mantere was replaced in the position of head coach by Jim Fuyarchuk. On 17 April the Brave announced that they had signed Johan Steenberg as Director of Player Development and Player Personnel. Steenberg was previously at the Melbourne Ice from 2014 to 2017 as their goaltending coach. On 19 April Northstars announced that Joey Theriault, Ray Sheffield and Garry Doré will share the coaching duties for the 2018 season, replacing Andrew Petrie who left in October 2017. Just prior to the start of the season the Melbourne Ice announced the signing of Peter Ekroth to the position of head coach. Ekroth replaced Charles Franzén who has moved into the position of Director of Coaching and Player Development.
Player transfers
Interclub transfers Player Previous team New team Melbourne Ice Newcastle Northstars Sydney Bears Melbourne Ice Melbourne Ice CBR Brave Perth Thunder CBR Brave Perth Thunder Newcastle Northstars Melbourne Ice CBR Brave Sydney Bears Newcastle Northstars Newcastle Northstars Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Bears Newcastle Northstars Newcastle Northstars Sydney Ice Dogs Melbourne Mustangs Adelaide Adrenaline Sydney Bears Newcastle Northstars Sydney Bears Sydney Ice Dogs CBR Brave Melbourne Mustangs CBR Brave Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Bears Newcastle Northstars
Retirements Player Team New role Melbourne Ice — Adelaide Adrenaline — Adelaide Adrenaline — Adelaide Adrenaline — Melbourne Mustangs Head coach of Melbourne Mustangs Adelaide Adrenaline — Perth Thunder —
New signings Player Previous team New team Knoxville Ice Bears Adelaide Adrenaline Pensacola Ice Flyers Sydney Bears Edinburgh Capitals Melbourne Ice Southern Stampede Adelaide Adrenaline No team Melbourne Mustangs Hammarby IF Adelaide Adrenaline Birmingham Bulls Adelaide Adrenaline Canterbury Red Devils Melbourne Mustangs Penrith Raptors Sydney Bears Brock University Newcastle Northstars Brisbane Blitz Sydney Bears Blueline Bombers Sydney Ice Dogs Saints Monarchs IHC Melbourne Ice West Coast Flyers Perth Thunder University of Manitoba CBR Brave Adelaide Tigers Adelaide Adrenaline Ontario Hockey Academy U17 Melbourne Ice Southern Stampede Sydney Bears No team Sydney Bears No team Melbourne Ice No team Melbourne Ice No team Melbourne Ice Adelaide Tigers Adelaide Adrenaline McGill University Sydney Ice Dogs Guildford Flames Melbourne Mustangs Lindenwood University CBR Brave Sydney Wolf Pack CBR Brave No team Sydney Bears Demons IHC Melbourne Mustangs Adelaide Tigers Sydney Bears Guildford Flames Melbourne Mustangs Manchester Storm Melbourne Ice Adelaide Generals Adelaide Adrenaline EHC Chur Perth Thunder LHC Les Lions CBR Brave Whitehawks IHC Perth Thunder Corsaires de Nantes Perth Thunder Penrith Raptors Sydney Bears Saints Monarchs IHC Melbourne Ice Reach Rebels Sydney Bears Northern Chiefs Perth Thunder University of British Columbia CBR Brave Melbourne Jets Melbourne Ice Adelaide Tigers Adelaide Adrenaline Botany Swarm Melbourne Mustangs Penrith Raptors Sydney Bears KS Cracovia Melbourne Mustangs Albatros de Brest Sydney Ice Dogs EV Landshut Melbourne Ice Edinburgh Capitals Melbourne Ice Innisfail Eagles Newcastle Northstars Adelaide Red Wings Adelaide Adrenaline Brampton Beast CBR Brave No team CBR Brave KaKiPo U20 CBR Brave St. Lawrence University Sydney Bears Adelaide Red Wings Adelaide Adrenaline Braves IHC Melbourne Mustangs Cockburn Whitehawks Perth Thunder Saints Monarchs IHC Melbourne Ice No team Perth Thunder Saints Monarchs IHC Melbourne Ice Braehead Clan Perth Thunder Melbourne Glaciers Melbourne Ice Cockburn Whitehawks Perth Thunder No team Adelaide Adrenaline No team Melbourne Mustangs Edinburgh Capitals CBR Brave Adelaide Falcons Adelaide Adrenaline Newcastle North Stars ECSL Newcastle Northstars Newcastle North Stars ECSL Newcastle Northstars No team Sydney Bears Boro/Vetlanda J20 Sydney Bears Melbourne Sharks Melbourne Ice Reach Rebels Sydney Ice Dogs University of Alberta-Augustana Sydney Ice Dogs Penrith Raptors Sydney Bears Fife Flyers Sydney Bears Sydney Sabres Newcastle Northstars Adelaide Tigers Adelaide Adrenaline Bellingham Blazers Sydney Bears HC 07 Detva Sydney Bears London Lakers CBR Brave Adelaide Falcons Adelaide Adrenaline Penrith Raptors Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Sting Sydney Bears Blackhawks IHC Melbourne Ice No team Perth Thunder
Players lost