I'm going to update regulary here about how the Australian Ice Hockey League Season is going. Season starts 14th of April and I'll put the updates up as soon as possible with team rosters if Anyone's interested.
ahhah really?!!>!?! when i was in Perth in Dec. 03 I went to a rink there, i heard there was 2 in Perth. I sure hope i was at the ****** one...the paint was running and the ice was brown. oh, does perth have a team? and whats the website?
By the way, in Australian National Team news, apparently they were robbed big time in a key match up against the host nation, Croatia. Croatia were credited with a third period goal even though time had elapsed. The goal judge did not signal a goal, but the referee did. The referee did not consult the time keeper or the goal judge after Australia questioned the goal. The goal stood, and Australia ended up losing 3-2 as a result, and were very much so on track for a gold medal and promotion to Division I B. And after the whistle, the timekeeper reset the clock back one second to indicate 19:59 instead of 20:00. With Croatia being the host nation, this seems incredibly suspicious to me.
They beat Korea today 4-0, and will be guaranteed silver if they beat Bulgaria on Saturday. If Korea beats Croatia, however they're in with a shot for the gold. But then it would come down to goal differential, and Croatia has them beat in that regard at the moment, which makes that 'goal' so frustrating. If the game ended in a tie, and the aforemention scenario were to transpire, Australia would finish the tournament 4-1-0 for 9pts, Croatia 3-1-1 for 7 points, giving them Gold.
I'm a Bears man myself, but the Ice Dogs look pretty good. They have some really talented young players out there, guys like Alex D'Jamirze and Scott and Todd Stephenson. D'Jamirze was a star for Australia when they won the gold at the World Juniors in Bulgaria in 2003. Scott Stephenson was there as well.
Matt Lehoczky on Canberra played for a Jr B team in Vancouver! I actually may have seen him played, b/c I used to go to alot of those Jr B games!
Yeh my brother plays in-line hockey with Matt and says he's awesome, probably the best in-line player in aus, could be wrong.
Anyone here heard of Oliver (Ollie) Rosdartz? I used to play in-line with him and he was awesome, heard he was the captain of the Australian under 18's ice hockey team a few years back
is there a young australian who might make the NHL one day? how long you think it'll take before a hockey prodigy a la Anze Kopitar comes out of Australia? Since watching the Sydney Olympics I've been impressed with how important sports are to Australian culture.
I think there will be an Australian in the NHL one day, its one of the fastest growing sports in Aus, but it is very small. Its just hard to get people out there because no one really knows about ice hockey, i mean we dont get any on T.V and also its really expensive if you want to start playing.
Australia is a very sporting country. With the Olympics we come like 5th and we only have just over 20 million people here!
haha wow i wonder what this will do for his offensive ability. he could become the premier power forward of the league..
See the thing is....he will be.
Plus, I have to say, for all the shortcomings of his NHL game (and there are alot of them) I do remember him having a pretty hard slap shot, even at the NHL level. I think he'll be able to beat a few of the local guys pretty frequently.
And you know what? So what if its only Steve McKenna. I mean, if you can play 373 NHL games, even if you are one of the worst in the NHL, you're in one of the top percentiles of hockey players in the world. And who knows? McKenna may go home at the end of the season and convince a few of his NHL pals to head over and play in Australia as well. This can only be good for the development of the game in Australia, even if it is only Steve McKenna.
BTW, Boz, the Avalanche play the Bears this Sunday at the Sydney Ice Arena in Baulkham Hills. I'm going to try and make it donning my Pens jersey.
I just saw a a piece on Steve McKenna's signing on the national news. I don't know about you guys but that is the first time I've seen Australian Ice Hockey make the news. Great for the game.
And you know what, McKenna's not a bad guy either. He had a quick interview, he was well spoken, humble and talked openly about his reasons for playing in Australia.
yeah i saw the report aswell on tv last night, was kinda funny how they dubbed him a 'superstar' of the game but true he will be good for the game here..i seem to remember sports tonight also ran a story before australia went to their champs but thats been about it on ice hockey besides NHL big hits and fighting in the highlights... but neway was a good piece on mckenna shows hes not locked out for the money.
hey clefty, yeah i would be there too but somehow i scored a private box to watch the swans game so wont be able to get there before 4 30. update us on how he plays. u could prob have a chat with him after the game when he spots u in the jersey!?
Hey guys, im off to the game now in Canberra, ill let you know how McKenna played and what have you. should be good! im excited! first time ive ever seen an NHL player!! WHL hockey is the best ive seen in person, its nothing to sneeze at though.
Anyways ill give u a report on how McKenna played soon...
