2023 AIHL season

The 2023 AIHL season was the 22nd season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The season consisted of 130 regular season games from 15 April to 13 August 2023, with the Goodall Cup finals consisting of two play-in matches, two semi-finals, and a grand final, following the regular season on 26–27 August 2023. The CBR Brave and Sydney Bears claimed the Rurak and Hellyer conference trophies for finishing top of their respective conference standings. The CBR Brave also won the Premiership and claimed the H Newman Reid Trophy for a record fourth consecutive time by finishing top of the regular season standings. The Melbourne Mustangs won the Championship and claimed the Goodall Cup for the second time in their history, defeating the Brave in the grand final. The returning Central Coast Rhinos claimed the wooden spoon.

Teams

In 2023 the AIHL had 10 teams split into two conferences competing in the league.^[1]

2023 AIHL teams

Hellyer Conference
Team	City	Arena	Head Coach	Captain
Melbourne Ice	Melbourne	O'Brien Icehouse	Kerry Goulet	Mackenzie Caruana
Melbourne Mustangs	Melbourne	O'Brien Icehouse	Pat McMahon	Brendan McDowell
Perth Thunder	Perth	Perth Ice Arena	Benjamin Breault	James Woodman
Sydney Bears	Sydney	Macquarie Ice Rink	Ron Kuprowsky	Ryan Annesley
Sydney Ice Dogs	Sydney	Macquarie Ice Rink	Jason Kvisle	Daniel Pataky
Rurak Conference
Team	City	Arena	Head Coach	Captain
Adelaide Adrenaline	Adelaide	IceArenA	Stu Henly	Joey MacDougall
Brisbane Lightning	Brisbane	Boondall Iceworld	Terry Kiliwnik	Damian Bright
CBR Brave	Canberra	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	Stuart Philps	Kai Miettinen
Central Coast Rhinos	Central Coast	Erina Ice Arena	Ashley Marsh	Robert Malloy
Newcastle Northstars	Newcastle	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	Kevin Noble	Liam Manwarring

League Business

The 2023 regular season fixture list was released publicly by the AIHL on 2 November 2022.^[2] The AIHL Finals would be altered from 2022, moving to a two weekend format for the first time in league history.^[1] League trophies would continue to be consistent with previous seasons, with the league champion awarded the historic Goodall Cup and league premier awarded the H Newman Reid Trophy. The League confirmed that the Adelaide Adrenaline and Perth Thunder would be returning to the league for 2023, after both teams pulled out of competing in 2022. The Adrenaline had secured a new venue agreement with the IceArenA, paving the way for their return.^[3] While Western Australia no longer had any border restrictions, paving the way for the Thunder's return.^[4] A new paid subscription streaming service named AIHL.TV was introduced by the AIHL for season 2023.^[5] This marked the first time the league had ever brought in a paid streaming service for the regular season. All 130 regular season games and finals would be available live and on demand with yearly, monthly and weekly payment options.^[6]

Expansion

Following a successful 2022 exhibition schedule, the AIHL announced the Brisbane Lightning and Central Coast Rhinos had both been successful in obtaining full AIHL licences and would be officially joining the league and regular season for 2023.^[7][8] The two team expansion increased the league membership to ten teams for the first time, previously the highest membership number was nine teams in 2012.^[9]

During pre-season, there had been discussions about the possibility for the Brisbane Rampage to join the league following the collapse of the Pacific Hockey League,^[10] however the AIHL season schedule had already been organised and released publicly and season preparation had already advanced past the stage to accommodate a late addition. There was no public mention of exhibition games involving the Rampage and/or a pathway to obtaining a licence for the 2024 season.^[11]

Exhibition games

In the lead up to Season 2023, eight exhibition games were organised between different AIHL teams. The Mustangs and Ice organised a two game series for February and March 2023. The second of these games doubled as a charity event for The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne.^[12] The Mustangs, Ice, O'Brien Icehouse and The District Docklands raised $30,109 for the hospital's Good Friday Appeal. The Brave and Lightning arranged a three game series to replace the missed series in August 2022 when the Brave pulled out due to prepartions for the AIHL Finals. Two games would be played in Brisbane and one in Canberra.^[13] The Central Coast Rhinos lined up three pre-season games. One against the Sydney Bears at Erina Ice Arena^[14] and two against the Newcastle Northstars, one at Erina and one in Newcastle.^[15][16] In additional to the eight games, on 4 March 2023, the Melbourne Mustangs organised a delayed 10 year team anniversary reunion tournament invlolving current and former players, staff and supporters. The event saw 3 teams play in a round-robun tournament at O'Brien Icehouse.^[17]

Personnel changes

2023 team staff and coaching changes included: Sydney Ice Dogs appointing a new head coach, Jason Kvisle, and associate coach, Jimmy Dufour, after letting Czech coach, Ondrej Cervenka, leave the team.^[18][19] Melbourne Ice had a number of ins, outs and role changes at the team. Canadian Kerry Goulet was appointed head coach.^[20] Sandy Gardner moved from head coach to assistant coach and is joined by Michael Flaherty and the rejoining Brent Laver.^[21] Keira Dunwoody joins the Ice from the Melbourne Ducks and rounds out the coaching department.^[21] In other team position changes at the Ice, Marie-Bernadette La Rose left her role as marketing manager after four years with the team,^[22] while Erin Tempest and Trevor Dickson were appointed to the roles of Director Secretariate and Director of Hockey Operations respectively.^[23][24] Melbourne Mustangs confirmed last season's head coach, Canadian Chris Lawrence would be returning to the team in 2023, but on the playing roster, so the Mustangs replaced Lawrence with American Pat McMahon, who had previous experience with Victorian junior teams and the Melbourne Ducks in the PHL in 2022.^[25] Brisbane Lightning's admission into the AIHL brought with it early pre-season changes at the team. Peter Holmes joined the Lightning as general manager and governor, replacing the outgoing Josh Labrie (GM) and Matthew Meyer (governor).^[26] Ash Jackson was then brought into the team in December 2022 as the new Director of Marketing, Media and Publicity. Ash has previous marketing campaign experience with the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and overseen projects with the AFL, FIFA and the ICC.^[27] Melbourne Mustangs and head coach Patrick McMahon parted ways in July 2023 due to unforeseen circumstances that required him to travel home to America.^[28]

Player transfers

All player transfers by the ten AIHL teams for season 2023.^{[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]}

Interclub transfers Nat Player Previous team New team Steven Adams Sydney Bears Central Coast Rhinos Zachary Boyle Melbourne Ice Adelaide Adrenaline Jack Carpenter* Melbourne Ice Melbourne Mustangs Wehebe Darge CBR Brave Newcastle Northstars Greg Davis Melbourne Ice Perth Thunder Luka Dimopoulos Sydney Ice Dogs Central Coast Rhinos Patrik Dittrich* Sydney Ice Dogs Central Coast Rhinos Nicholas Doornbos CBR Brave Sydney Ice Dogs Alexander Dvinyaninov Sydney Ice Dogs Brisbane Lightning Alexander Dvinyaninov* Brisbane Lightning Sydney Ice Dogs Ryan Foll Melbourne Ice Adelaide Adrenaline Glen Forbes-White Sydney Bears Brisbane Lightning Robert Haselhurst Sydney Bears Perth Thunder David-James Jeremy Newcastle Northstars Central Coast Rhinos Adam Kimbley* Sydney Bears Central Coast Rhinos Joshua Kleipas Sydney Ice Dogs Central Coast Rhinos Mika Laajunen Sydney Bears Sydney Ice Dogs Lynden Lodge CBR Brave Perth Thunder Bryan Mackenzie Melbourne Ice Melbourne Mustangs Robert Malloy Newcastle Northstars Central Coast Rhinos Matt Nikitin Melbourne Ice Melbourne Mustangs Matthew Price CBR Brave Newcastle Northstars Alastair Punler CBR Brave Perth Thunder Jake Riley* Melbourne Ice CBR Brave Lukas Vaic Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Bears Aidan Wardlaw Sydney Bears Central Coast Rhinos Alexander Wardlaw Sydney Bears Central Coast Rhinos Callum Wardlaw Sydney Bears Central Coast Rhinos Connor Wardlaw Sydney Bears Central Coast Rhinos Jamie Woodman CBR Brave Perth Thunder * Mid-season transfer.

Retirements Nat Player Team New role

New signings Nat Player Previous team New team Josh Adkins Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne Newcastle Northstars Austin Albrecht Maine Mariners CBR Brave Harley Anderson Brisbane Rampage Brisbane Lightning Bradley Apps Canterbury Red Devils Melbourne Mustangs Anthony Barnes Brisbane Rampage Brisbane Lightning Andrew Bellant Indy Fuel Perth Thunder Steve Best Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Mackenzie Bolger The Coast Sydney Ice Dogs Josh Bortignon Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Jamie Bourke Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice Tyler Boyle Adelaide Tigers Adelaide Adrenaline Declan Bronte Salem State Vikings Melbourne Ice Dane Brumm No team Sydney Bears Tanner Butler Evansville Thunderbolts Newcastle Northstars Jamie Campbell West Coast Flyers Perth Thunder Liam Campbell Blackhawks IHC Perth Thunder Jack Carpenter Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice Aiden Catakovic Brisbane Blitz Brisbane Lightning Daniel Chen Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Darren Corstens Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Braden Costa The Coast Sydney Ice Dogs Kale Costa HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi CBR Brave Tristan Côté-Cazenave Rivière-du-Loup 3L Perth Thunder Ace Cowans EV Lindau Islanders Sydney Bears Tom Cross The Coast Central Coast Rhinos Todd Cutter Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Mustangs Hayden Dawes Melbourne Ducks Sydney Bears Dillon Dewar Northern Chiefs Perth Thunder Justin Dixon Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice James Douchkov Sydney Bombers Sydney Ice Dogs Ivan Doukhovnikov No team Central Coast Rhinos James Downie Manchester Storm Sydney Bears Luke Doyle Adelaide Generals Perth Thunder Brandon Egli Courchevel-Méribel-Pralognan Sydney Ice Dogs Sean Ellison No team Sydney Ice Dogs Joakim Erdugan No team Central Coast Rhinos Lachlan Fahmy The Coast CBR Brave Thomas Flack Saint Michael's Purple Knights Melbourne Mustangs Darcy Flanagan Åseda IF Melbourne Ice Thomas Forrest Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice Stefan Fournier Allen Americans Sydney Ice Dogs Jordan Freeman Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Jeremy Friederich Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Christian Fuschini No team Brisbane Lightning Anthony Gagnon Rivière-du-Loup 3L Perth Thunder Logan Gallacher Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice C.J. Garcia CSM Corona Brașov Perth Thunder Alexis Girard Knoxville Ice Bears Brisbane Lightning Andrew Glass No team CBR Brave Andrew Hamilton No team Adelaide Adrenaline Ben Handberg Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Matthew Harvey No team CBR Brave Jake Hazel Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Joshua Healey West Coast Flyers Perth Thunder Brady Heppner Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Sydney Ice Dogs Cameron Hughes The Coast Central Coast Rhinos Liam Hughes Wichita Thunder Melbourne Mustangs Kyle Hunter No team Sydney Ice Dogs Samuel Ivanic Eskilstuna Linden Hockey Sydney Ice Dogs Conner Jean Evansville Thunderbolts Perth Thunder Hunter Johnson Kelowna Chiefs Central Coast Rhinos Zane Jones Innisfail Eagles Newcastle Northstars Yuga Kikuchi Doshisha University Melbourne Ice Adam Kimbley Penrith Raptors Sydney Bears Artem Klein HEC Eisbären Heilbronn Melbourne Ice Dean Klomp No team Melbourne Mustangs Patrick Klöpper Hannover Scorpions Melbourne Ice Riley Klugerman Hearst Lumberjacks Newcastle Northstars Roman Kraemer Robert Morris Colonials Melbourne Ice Kasey Kulczycki Huntsville Havoc Brisbane Lightning Dmitri Kuleshov Minnesota Loons Sydney Ice Dogs Ivan Kuleshov The Coast Sydney Ice Dogs Nathan Lacasse No team Perth Thunder Joshua Lammon Kansas City Mavericks Sydney Bears Riley Langille Campbell River Storm Perth Thunder Chris Lawrence Fife Flyers Melbourne Mustangs Tyler Leeming Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Austin Lefkowicz No team Melbourne Ice Brody Lindal Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice Reece Lukowiak Fort Wayne Spacemen Perth Thunder David Nelson West Carleton Rivermen Brisbane Lightning Nicholas Novysedlak Brisbane Rampage Brisbane Lightning Noah Maley Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Cameron Marks Corsaires de Nantes CBR Brave Andrew Masters Français Volants Central Coast Rhinos Michael McMahon Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Mustangs Marc McNulty Kansas City Mavericks Sydney Bears Jordan McTaggart Brisbane Rampage Brisbane Lightning Ricki Miettinen Canberra Jokerit CBR Brave Casey Minson No team Melbourne Mustangs Matt Musumeci Sydney Bombers Sydney Ice Dogs Daniel O’Handley Adelaide Generals Adelaide Adrenaline Jake Pappalardo Birmingham Bulls Sydney Bears Jaden Pine-Murphy Brisbane Rampage Brisbane Lightning Félix Plouffe Corsaires de Nantes CBR Brave Jason Polglase The Coast Central Coast Rhinos Patrik Popovics Brisbane Rampage Brisbane Lightning Neil Pretorius Wisconsin Lumberjacks Brisbane Lightning Coy Prevost Abu Dhabi Storms Adelaide Adrenaline Dash Quartarolo Salem State Vikings Central Coast Rhinos Vladislav Rachinsky No team Melbourne Mustangs Brett Radford Evansville Thunderbolts Adelaide Adrenaline Jack Ransome The Coast Sydney Ice Dogs Jake Riley Kurra Hockey Team Melbourne Ice Mikko Rippon Brisbane Blitz Brisbane Lightning Drew Robson Adelaide Generals Perth Thunder Shawn Rooke No team Sydney Bears Maxwell Roth Worcester State Lancers Brisbane Lightning Ryan Ruddle Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Mustangs Anthony Santilli Brisbane Rampage Brisbane Lightning Hayden Sayers The Coast Central Coast Rhinos Michael Schlamp No team Sydney Bears Lachlan Shumak Reach Rebels Sydney Ice Dogs Chris Schutz Hammer Eisbären Melbourne Ice Jared Siemens Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Andrew Smardon No team Newcastle Northstars Kristian Stead Knoxville Ice Bears Perth Thunder Zachary Steele Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Thomas Steven Kungälvs IK Sydney Bears Christopher Stoikos No team CBR Brave Corey Stringer Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice Ville Tenosalmi No team Perth Thunder Brett Thompson Beaumont Chiefs Adelaide Adrenaline Zoltán László Tőke CSM Corona Brașov Melbourne Ice Albin Torstensson Meudon HC Central Coast Rhinos Matus Trnka Adelaide Avalanche Adelaide Adrenaline Byron Tschuma Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice Mac Tutton The Coast Central Coast Rhinos Carson Vance Fayetteville Marksmen CBR Brave Connor Vermeulen Toulouse Blagnac HC Adelaide Adrenaline Hector Vrielynck Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice Darcy Walsh North Dundas Rockets Adelaide Adrenaline Lliam Webster Melbourne Ducks Melbourne Ice Thomas Wedesweiler Newcastle North Stars (ECSL) Newcastle Northstars Maliq West Newcastle North Stars (ECSL) Newcastle Northstars Nicholas Windle No team Perth Thunder Kevin Yu Team Mantis Ice Hockey Adelaide Adrenaline

Players lost Nat Player Previous team New team Samuel Bartlett Melbourne Ice Melbourne Glaciers James Barton Sydney Bears No team Alan Becken Sydney Bears Sydney Bombers Andrew Belic Melbourne Mustangs No team Ignacy Benjamin Sydney Bears No team Sebastian Bergström Melbourne Ice No team Thomas Blackwell Sydney Ice Dogs No team Paul Bond Sydney Bears No team Michael Breedveld Melbourne Mustangs Melbourne Jets Declan Bronte CBR Brave Salem State Vikings Riley Bryn Sydney Bears No team Joshua Cassar Sydney Bears No team Ondrej Cervenka Sydney Ice Dogs No team Robert Clark Melbourne Ice No team Garret Cockerill CBR Brave Jacksonville Icemen Charlie Davis-Tope Melbourne Ice Melbourne Glaciers Kevin Dow Sydney Ice Dogs No team James Downie Newcastle Northstars Manchester Storm Andrew Erzen Melbourne Ice Demons IHC Luke Fiveash CBR Brave No team Hussein Ghoniam Sydney Bears No team Michal Glowka Sydney Bears No team Jacob Haley Melbourne Mustangs Braves IHC Wylie Hodder CBR Brave No team Jeff Hu Melbourne Ice Melbourne Glaciers Bobby Huang Melbourne Ice Melbourne Glaciers Liam Jones Sydney Ice Dogs Penrith Raptors Eugene Ju Sydney Ice Dogs Penrith Raptors Nicholas Kabiotis Sydney Ice Dogs Reach Rebels Brian Kim Sydney Bears No team Jason Kvisle Sydney Ice Dogs Reach Rebels Sai Lake Melbourne Ice Demons IHC Chris Leetham Melbourne Ice No team Daniel Machin Melbourne Ice No team Matthew Marasco CBR Brave No team Blake Martucci Melbourne Mustangs No team Alex May Melbourne Mustangs Melbourne Glaciers Jackson McCoy Melbourne Mustangs No team Timothy McGrath Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Heat Nathan Moncrieff Sydney Bears Penrith Raptors Dylan Morris Melbourne Mustangs Saints Monarchs IHC Nicholas Munro Melbourne Ice No team Hamish Murray CBR Brave No team Spencer Nave Melbourne Mustangs Melbourne Glaciers Tim Nikitin Melbourne Ice No team Ethan Oberman Sydney Bears No team Michael Poirier Sydney Bears Sorel-Tracy Éperviers Cooper Porter Melbourne Ice Melbourne Glaciers Dash Quartarolo Newcastle Northstars Salem State Vikings Jake Ratcliffe Sydney Bears Quad City Storm Brandon Reid Sydney Ice Dogs No team Josef Rezek Melbourne Ice No team Fredrik Rozenberg Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Sting Marcus Rozenberg Sydney Ice Dogs Sydney Sting Connor Sidari-Alley Melbourne Mustangs Melbourne Jets Aiden Sillato Sydney Ice Dogs No team Paul Smith Sydney Bears No team Samuel Sweatman Melbourne Ice No team Richard Tesarik Newcastle Northstars No team Christian Turner Sydney Ice Dogs No team Mario Valery-Trabucco CBR Brave No team Joshua Van Douwen Melbourne Ice No team Franki Vlasek Sydney Ice Dogs No team

Regular season

Fixtures and results

The 2023 regular season consists of 130 games that are scheduled to run from 15 April 2023 to 13 August 2023. For the first time since 2012, the AIHL regular season sees teams split into two conferences. Teams will play a total of 26 regular season games, playing each team in their conference four times (two at home and two away) and playing teams outside their conference twice.^[39] In May 2023, the game between Brisbane Lightning and Newcastle Northstars, scheduled for Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, had to be postponed due to luggage issues with the airline.^[40] In June 2023, the Sydney Bears were found to have accidentally breached the AIHL player cap regulations and penalised three competition points.^[41] The postponed Northstars vs Lightning game from May was rescheduled for 30 July 2023.^[42]

April

May

June

July

August

Key:

Standings

Overall

Hellyer Conference

Rurak Conference

Statistics

Skater statistics

2023 AIHL season top-ten skater statistics for points, goals, assists and penalty minutes.^[43]

Points # Name Team Pos Pts 1 Scott Timmins MM F 82 2 Austin Albrecht CB F 76 3 Felix Plouffe CB F 64 4 Ty Wishart MM D 60 5 Daniel Berno NN F 58 6 Casey Kubara CB F 57 7 Chris Schutz MI F 53 8 Francis Drolet NN F 53 9 Joakim Erdugan CR F 49 10 Chris Lawrence MM F 49

Goals # Name Team Pos G 1 Austin Albrecht CB F 39 2 Scott Timmins MM F 33 3 Chris Schutz MI F 28 4 Tomas Landa SB F 26 5 Daniel Berno NN F 25 6 Zane Jones NN F 25 7 Joakim Erdugan CR F 24 8 Riley Klugerman NN F 22 9 Julian Fodor BL F 22 10 Tommy Steven SB F 22

Assists # Name Team Pos A 1 Scott Timmins MM F 49 2 Felix Plouffe CB F 44 3 Ty Wishart MM D 44 4 Casey Kubara CB F 41 5 Austin Albrecht CB F 37 6 Josh Adkins NN F 37 7 Grant Toulmin SD F 34 8 Daniel Berno NN F 33 9 Francis Drolet NN F 33 10 Carson Vance CB D 33

Penalty minutes # Name Team Pos PIM 1 Hamish Powell NN F 131 2 Darcy Flanagan MI D 102 3 Kasey Kulczycki BL F 86 4 Jamie Bourke MI F 83 5 Sacha Rapchuk BL F 79 6 Alec Stephenson SD F 74 7 Joakim Erdugan CR F 71 8 Daniel O'Handley AA F 71 9 Nicholas Doornbos SD D 66 10 Patrick Nadin NN F 59

Goaltender statistics

2023 AIHL season top-ten¹ goaltender statistics for goals against average and save percentage.^[44]

¹ only goaltenders who have played 10 or more games qualify for these lists

Goals against average # Name Team Pos GAA 1 Anthony Kimlin SB G 2.60 2 Kristian Stead PT G 2.77 3 Liam Hughes MM G 2.86 4 Aleksi Toivonen CB G 2.86 5 Alex Tetreault CB G 3.00 6 Charles Smart NN G 3.61 7 Nicholas Novysedlak BL G 4.61 8 Matus Trnka AA G 5.19 9 Steve Harris BL G 5.42 10 Michael James MI G 5.45

Save percentage # Name Team Pos SV% 1 Anthony Kimlin SB G .921 2 Liam Hughes MM G .916 3 Kristian Stead PT G .908 4 Alex Tetreault CB G .894 5 Aleksi Toivonen CB G .892 6 Charles Smart NN G .889 7 Jakob Doornbos SD G .870 8 Nicholas Novysedlak BL G .867 9 Andrew Masters CR G .866 10 Michael James MI G .857

Awards

Skaters Network player of the week

Each week the AIHL, through sponsorship, names a player of the week.^[45]
The award is based on the following criteria:

• individual performance, including significant game statistics;
• contribution to the team's success through individual leadership abilities; and
• performance off the ice, including community engagement.

Round	Awarded to	Pos	Ref
1	Jordan McTaggart	F	Ref
2	Michael Schlamp	F	Ref
3	Charlie Smart	G	Ref
4	Alexandre Tetreault	G	Ref
5	Strat Allen	F	Ref
6	Thomas Steven	F	Ref
7	Vadim Virjassov	F	Ref
8	Casey Kubara	F	Ref
9	Robert Malloy	D	Ref
10	Chris Schutz	F	Ref
11	Sebastian Woodlands	G	Ref
12	Wehebe Darge	F	Ref
13	Thomas Flack	F	Ref
14	Riley Klugerman	F	Ref
15	Jordan Kyros	F	Ref
16	Benjamin Breault	F	Ref

Season awards

Below lists the 2023 AIHL regular season award winners.^[46]

Award	Name	Team
MVP	Scott Timmins	Melbourne Mustangs
Goaltender	Andrew Masters	Central Coast Rhinos
Defenceman	Ty Wishart	Melbourne Mustangs
Local	Not awarded
Rookie	Riley Klugerman	Newcastle Northstars
Coach	Benjamin Breault	Perth Thunder

Goodall Cup playoffs

For season 2023, the AIHL adopted a new two weekend Finals format.^[39] The new format involved two play-in finals games during the first weekend and then two semi-finals and grand final in the second weekend. The new format involved single elimination games, with the losing team eliminated and winning team advancing to the next round. Participating teams in the AIHL Finals increased from four to six for the first time in league history. Qualification for Finals involved the highest three ranking teams from each AIHL regular season conference (Hellyer and Rurak). The top ranked teams from each conference would automatically qualify for the semi-finals, with the second and third ranked teams entering Finals at the play-in stage with a conference cross-over. The winner of Finals would continue to be named AIHL Champions and lift the historic Goodall Cup, just as it has been in previous seasons.^[47]

Melbourne's O'Brien Icehouse and Newcastle's Hunter Ice Skating Stadium were selected as host venues for the 2023 AIHL Finals. Newcastle hosting one of the play-in games and Melbourne hosting the other play-in as well as the second weekend. Following the conclusion of the 2023 AIHL regular season, the CBR Brave and Sydney Bears finished top of their respective conferences to directly qualify for the semi-finals in Melbourne in week two. The Melbourne Mustangs, Newcastle Northstars, Perth Thunder and Brisbane Lightning qualified for the play-ins in week one. The Northstars would play the Thunder in Newcastle and the Mustangs would play the Lightning in Melbourne.^[47] In week one, the Mustangs and Thunder won their respective play-in finals to advance to the semi-finals in week two. In week two, on Saturday, the Mustangs shutout the Bears in semi-final one to cause an upset, the Brave then eventually defeated the Thunder in semi-final two, after a lengthy player injury delay in the second period. On Sunday, the Brave faced-off with the hometown team the Mustangs in the grand final for the Goodall Cup. In a tightly contested game, the Mustangs prevailed and won 1–0, their second Finals shutout in a row. It was the Mustangs second ever Championship title and their first in nine years, since 2014 when they last won.^[48] The Brave missed out on going back-to-back. Following the grand final, Melbourne Mustangs' Canadian gaoltender, Liam Hughes, was named Finals MVP for his heroic two shutouts.^[49]

All times are UTC+10:00

Play-in finals

Game reference
	Charles Smart	Goalies	Kristian Stead	Referees: Kent Unwin Mark Peruzzo Linesmen: Hayden Rogers Luke Power
	0 – 1 Breault (Jean, Langille) (Klugerman, Darge) Adkins 1 – 1 1 – 2 Kudla (Kyros) 1 – 3 Jean (Unassisted) 1 – 4 Webster (Unassisted)
	8 min	Penalties	4 min
	47	Shots	39

Game reference
	Liam Hughes	Goalies	Steve Harris	Referees: Rob Love David Gal Linesmen: Russell Dow David Rehak
	0 – 1 Fodor (McTaggart, Fuschini) (Lawrence) Wishart 1 – 1 (Cutter) Humphries 2 – 1 (Humphries, Hughes) Turner 3 – 1 3 – 2 Anderson (Roth) (Wishart) Virjassov 4 – 2 4 – 3 Kulczycki (Roth, Harris) (Lawrence) Wishart 5 – 3 (Virjassov, Wishart) Apps 6 – 3 (McDowell) Timmins 7 – 3 (Khroustalev, Jones) Humphries 8 – 3
	10 min	Penalties	20 min
	33	Shots	27

Semi-finals

Game reference
	Anthony Kimlin	Goalies	Liam Hughes	Referees: David Gal Kent Unwin Linesmen: David Rehak Luke Power
	0 – 1 Timmins (Wishart, McDowell) 0 – 2 Virjassov (Wishart) 0 – 3 Virjassov (Unassisted) 0 – 4 Lawrence (Timmins)
	4 min	Penalties	10 min
	41	Shots	39

Game reference
	Aleksi Toivonen	Goalies	Kristian Stead	Referees: Rob Love Mark Peruzzo Linesmen: Russell Dow Hayden Rogers
	(Plouffe) Albrecht 1 – 0 (Camenzind) T Kubara 2 – 0 2 – 1 Breault (Jean) (Hughes, Harvey) B Kubara 3 – 1 (Albrecht, Vance) Plouffe 4 – 1
	6 min	Penalties	4 min
	50	Shots	39

Final

Game reference
	Liam Hughes	Goalies	Aleksi Toivonen	Referees: Kent Unwin David Gal Linesmen: Russell Dow Hayden Rogers
	(Lawrence, Timmins) McDowell 1 – 0
	2 min	Penalties	2 min
	22	Shots	33

References

External links

• The Australian Ice Hockey League
• Ice Hockey Australia