2022–23 Asia League Ice Hockey season
Sports season
| 2022–23 ALIH season | |
|---|---|
| League | Asia League Ice Hockey |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 3 September 2022 – 26 March 2023 |
| Number of games | 40 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Leaders Flag | HL Anyang |
| Runners-up | Red Eagles Hokkaido |
| Top scorer | Shogo Nakajima (REH) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Kang Yoon-Seok (HLA) |
| Finals champions | HL Anyang |
| Runners-up | Red Eagles Hokkaido |
| Asia League Ice Hockey seasons | |
← 2021–22(Japan Cup) | |
The 2022–23 Asia League Ice Hockey season was the 20th season of operation (18th season of play) of the Asia League Ice Hockey. The league returned after the past two seasons were only Japanese clubs played due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The regular season began on 3 September 2022, when the East Hokkaido Cranes hosted HL Anyang.[1]
The playoffs concluded on 25 March, with HL Anyang defeating Red Eagles Hokkaido in the finals in five games, winning their seventh league championship in franchise history.[2]
Season changes
The Oji Eagles rebranded as Red Eagles Hokkaido back in 2021.[3] The Daemyung Killer Whales folded in 2021. The Yokohama Grits make their league debut this season after their initial debut was postponed with the cancelation for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons.[4]
On 2 August 2022, the league voted to remove PSK Sakhalin in protest to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5] On 15 September 2022, Anyang Halla announced that they rebranded to HL Anyang.
Teams
Only five teams from the 2019–20 season returned for the 2022–23 season, with the addition of expansion side Yokohama Grits.
| Team | City/Town | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| HL Anyang |  Anyang | Anyang Ice Arena | 1,284 |
| East Hokkaido Cranes |  Kushiro | Kushiro Ice Arena | 2,539 |
| Red Eagles Hokkaido | Tomakomai | Hakucho Arena | 3,015 |
| Nikkō Ice Bucks | Nikkō | Nikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena | 1,608 |
| Tohoku Free Blades | Hachinohe | Flat Hachinohe | 3,500 |
| Yokohama Grits | Yokohama | KOSÉ Shin-Yokohama Skate Center | 2,500 |
Regular season
The league's regular season began on 3 September 2022.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HL Anyang | 40 | 31 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 166 | 64 | +102 | 97 | Regular season champions Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 40 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 167 | 84 | +83 | 86 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 3 | Nikkō IceBucks | 40 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 126 | 114 | +12 | 64 | |
| 4 | East Hokkaido Cranes | 40 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 116 | 142 | −26 | 47 | |
| 5 | Tohoku Free Blades | 40 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 92 | 175 | −83 | 34 | |
| 6 | Yokohama Grits | 40 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 98 | 186 | −88 | 32 |
Updated to match(es) played on 3 April 2023. Source: Asia League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Games won in regulation time; 3) Number of games won; 4) Head-to-head results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 5) Fewest regulation losses; 6) Away game results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 7) Goals scored; 8) Goal difference; 9) Fewest penalty minutes; 10) Drawing of lots.
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Games won in regulation time; 3) Number of games won; 4) Head-to-head results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 5) Fewest regulation losses; 6) Away game results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 7) Goals scored; 8) Goal difference; 9) Fewest penalty minutes; 10) Drawing of lots.
Results
| Home \ Away | HLA | EHC | REH | NIB | TFB | YGR | HLA | EHC | REH | NIB | TFB | YGR | HLA | EHC | REH | NIB | TFB | YGR | HLA | EHC | REH | NIB | TFB | YGR | HLA | EHC | REH | NIB | TFB | YGR | HLA | EHC | REH | NIB | TFB | YGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HL Anyang | — | 1–2 | 2–3[a] | 1–4 | 4–0 | 9–2 | — | 4–1 | 2–3[a] | 7–2 | 10–1 | 4–2 | — | 3–2 | 4–2 | — | 1–2[a] | 4–1 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| East Hokkaido Cranes | 5–8 | — | 2–4 | 2–0 | 10–1 | 6–1 | 1–7 | — | 2–7 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 6–2 | 2–3 | — | 3–4[b] | 2–4 | — | 4–1 | — | 4–3[a] | — | 4–1 | ||||||||||||||
| Red Eagles Hokkaido | 3–5 | — | 6–2 | 7–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–3[b] | 7–1 | 1–3 | — | 4–3[b] | 3–4 | — | 6–1 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nikkō Ice Bucks | 0–4 | 4–0 | 2–3[a] | — | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 5–4 | 0–3 | — | 6–1 | 4–5[b] | 3–2 | — | 6–2 | 2–1 | — | 5–1 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Tohoku Free Blades | 3–4 | 5–7 | 0–2 | — | 3–2 | 3–4[b] | 2–8 | 4–5[b] | — | 1–2[b] | 3–4[b] | 1–2 | — | 4–3 | 6–5 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yokohama Grits | 0–2 | 4–5 | 2–3 | 3–6 | 4–2 | — | 0–7 | 5–3 | 1–7 | 2–5 | 6–3 | — | 3–4[b] | — | 1–6 | — | — | — |
Updated to match(es) played on 25 December 2022. Source: ALIH
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
- ^ a b c d e Shootout
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Overtime
Playoffs
Bracket
| Semifinal | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | HL Anyang | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | East Hokkaido Cranes | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | HL Anyang | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Nikkō IceBucks | 0 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) HL Anyang vs. (4) East Hokkaido Cranes
| 9 March 2023 | East Hokkaido Cranes | 1 – 4 | HL Anyang | Anyang Ice Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:40 – Song Jong-hun (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 6:58 – Lee Jong-min (1) | ||||||
| Sota Isogai (1) – 1:43 | Third period | 12:56 – pp – Ahn Jin-hui (1) 16:14 – Kang Yoon-seok (1) | ||||||
| Yuya Wakimoto (38 saves / 42 shots) | Goalie stats | Matt Dalton (22 saves / 23 shots) | ||||||
| 11 March 2023 | East Hokkaido Cranes | 0 – 2 | HL Anyang | Anyang Ice Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 4:22 – pp – Ahn Jin-hui (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 2:45 – Lee Jong-min (2) | ||||||
| Yuya Wakimoto (36 saves / 38 shots) | Goalie stats | Matt Dalton (29 saves / 29 shots) | ||||||
| HL Anyang won series 2–0 | |
(2) Red Eagles Hokkaido vs. (3) Nikkō Ice Bucks
| 9 March 2023 | Nikkō Ice Bucks | 1 – 3 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | Nikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:36 – Kohei Mitamura (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 2:01 – Yuto Osawa (1) 16:40 – Shuhei Kuji (1) | ||||||
| Tetsuya Saito (1) – 18:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Yutaka Fukufuji (28 saves / 31 shots) | Goalie stats | Yuta Narisawa (20 saves / 21 shots) | ||||||
| 11 March 2023 | Nikkō Ice Bucks | 1 – 2 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | Nikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 6:23 – pp – Shuhei Kuji (2) | ||||||
| Yuta Suzuki (1) – pp – 12:36 | Third period | 4:26 – Kenta Takagi (1) | ||||||
| Yutaka Fukufuji (28 saves / 30 shots) | Goalie stats | Yuta Narisawa (30 saves / 31 shots) | ||||||
| Hokkaido won series 2–0 | |
Final
(1) HL Anyang vs. (2) Red Eagles Hokkaido
| 18 March 2023 | HL Anyang | 1 – 4 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | Nikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:05 – Ryo Hashimoto (1) 16:10 – pp – Ryo Hashimoto (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jeon Jung-woo (1) – 8:30 | Third period | 11:51 – pp – Yushi Nakayashiki (1) 16:50 – Shogo Nakajima (1) | ||||||
| Matt Dalton (19 saves / 23 shots) | Goalie stats | Takuto Onoda (25 saves / 26 shots) | ||||||
| 19 March 2023 | HL Anyang | 4 – 1 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | Nikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| Kim Sang-wook (1) – 11:28 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Lee Juh-yung (1) – 6:15 Lee Young-jun (1) – 7:32 | Second period | 13:13 – Shogo Nakajima (2) | ||||||
| Song Hyeong-cheol (1) – pp – 8:46 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Matt Dalton (28 saves / 29 shots) | Goalie stats | Takuto Onoda (22 saves / 26 shots) | ||||||
| 23 March 2023 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 2 – 5 | HL Anyang | Anyang Ice Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 2:19 – Lee Juh-yung (2) | ||||||
| Kazumasa Sasaki (1) – 13:05 | Second period | 13:23 – Kim Ki-sung (1) | ||||||
| Yushi Nakayashiki (2) – 0:50 | Third period | 6:18 – Kim Ki-sung (2) 15:41 – pp – Lee Young-jun (2) 19:18 – en – Lee Jong-min (3) | ||||||
| Yuta Narisawa (28 saves / 33 shots) | Goalie stats | Matt Dalton (22 saves / 24 shots) | ||||||
| 25 March 2023 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 1 – 0 | HL Anyang | Anyang Ice Center | Recap | |||
| Ryo Hashimoto (3) – 3:05 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Yuta Narisawa (28 saves / 28 shots) | Goalie stats | Matt Dalton (32 saves / 33 shots) | ||||||
| 25 March 2023 | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 1 – 2 | 2OT | HL Anyang | Anyang Ice Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 4:00 – Kim Ki-sung (3) | ||||||
| Ryo Hashimoto (3) – 3:05 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 10:13 – Kang Yoon-seok (1) | ||||||
| Yuta Narisawa (48 saves / 50 shots) | Goalie stats | Matt Dalton (31 saves / 32 shots) | ||||||
| Anyang won series 3–2 | |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following shows the top players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of matches played on 5 March 2023.[6]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shogo Nakajima | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 40 | 22 | 53 | 75 | +3 | 18 |
| Makuru Furuhashi | Nikkō Ice Bucks | 40 | 27 | 31 | 58 | +2 | 28 |
| Kim Sang-wook | HL Anyang | 40 | 12 | 42 | 54 | +7 | 18 |
| Kento Suzuki | Nikkō Ice Bucks | 40 | 30 | 22 | 52 | +2 | 26 |
| Kim Ki-sung | HL Anyang | 40 | 25 | 25 | 50 | +14 | 4 |
| Yuto Osawa | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 40 | 18 | 31 | 49 | +3 | 12 |
| Ryo Hashimoto | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 40 | 4 | 44 | 48 | +3 | 14 |
| Seiji Takahashi | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 37 | 20 | 26 | 46 | +4 | 16 |
| Yushi Nakayashiki | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 39 | 29 | 14 | 43 | +3 | 39 |
| Kosuke Ohtsu | East Hokkaido Cranes | 40 | 19 | 24 | 43 | +1 | 24 |
Leading goaltenders
The following shows the top goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of matches played on 5 March 2023.[7]
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | GA | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Dalton | HL Anyang | 37 | 2198:33 | 53 | 94.22 | 1.45 |
| Yuta Narisawa | Red Eagles Hokkaido | 33 | 1946:47 | 65 | 92.17 | 2.00 |
| Roman Bengert | Nikkō Ice Bucks | 20 | 1162:48 | 64 | 88.93 | 3.30 |
| Yuya Wakimoto | East Hokkaido Cranes | 24 | 1290:21 | 73 | 89.12 | 3.39 |
| Michikazu Hata | Tohoku Free Blades | 25 | 1377:40 | 93 | 90.11 | 4.05 |
Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| League champions | HL Anyang |
| Most valuable player | Matt Dalton, HL Anyang |
| Best goaltender | Matt Dalton, HL Anyang |
| Rookie of the year | Kanata Isoya, East Hokkaido Cranes |
| Leading scorer (Regular season) | Kento Suzuki, Nikkō IceBucks |
| Leading assists (Regular season) | Shogo Nakajima, Red Eagles Hokkaido |
| Leading points (Regular season) | Shogo Nakajima, Red Eagles Hokkaido |
Team of the year
First Team[8]
- Matt Dalton (G) – HL Anyang
- Ryo Hashimoto (D) – Red Eagles Hokkaido
- Lee Don-ku (D) – HL Anyang
- Shogo Nakajima (F) – Red Eagles Hokkaido
- Kento Suzuki (F) – Nikkō IceBucks
- Kim Ki-sung (F) – HL Anyang
References
- ^ "Putting the Grit in Yokohama". Japan Forward. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Anyang Halla wins Asia League". eurohockey.com. 26 March 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ "Sparking consistent local interest in hockey key part of Japan's Winter Olympic future". The Japan Times. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "アジアリーグアイスホッケー 2022-2023：試合日程のお知らせ". asiaicehockey.com (in Japanese). 22 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "HOCKEYThe club from Russia was kicked out of the international league. Champions become a victim of politics". sportish.co. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Point Ranking 2022/2023". Asia League Ice Hockey. ALIH. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- ^ "GK SP Ranking 2022/2023". Asia League Ice Hockey. ALIH. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- ^ "Asia League Ice Hockey 2022-2023: Announcement of Regular Season Awards". Asia League Ice Hockey. 9 March 2023.
- v
- t
- e
