To the Melbourne Ice faithful, fans, members, volunteers, sponsors and my team mates.

I accept full responsibility for my actions during Saturday’s game, and would like to publicly apologise to all those who were upset by my behaviour.
A tribunal hearing will be scheduled later this week.  It is inappropriate for me to talk further about the incident until after the tribunal is held and the club has had a chance to conduct its own  review.
I appreciate your understanding and hope that you will remain forever loyal and faithful to the Melbourne Ice club and family.

Yours Sincerely
Vinnie Hughes #7

At this stage the club does not have a confirmed tribunal hearing date and until that tribunal is heard we cannot make any statements in relation to any and all charges.  The club is also conducting its own internal investigations and we will not make any judgements until the tribunal is heard.  Our job for now is to fully understand the facts and support Vinnie Hughes throughout the tribunal process.  We appreciate Vinnie for wanting to make the above public statement and respecting the tribunal process.

We ask our fans, supporters, volunteers and sponsors to understand and respect our process of investigation to ensure Vinnie gets a fair hearing, whilst the club conducts its own independent review.

Yours faithfully
Andy Lamrock
President

Story by Gus Harkett
Photo’s by Jack Geraghty

Bodies on the line

For the first time as a fully fledged member of the AIHL the Perth Thunder came to town to play the reigning champions the Melbourne Ice. It was a chance for the Ice fans to see the improvements Perth had made after two years playing exhibition games. Anticipation was high as a big crowd filed into the Icehouse and they were further buoyed with the return of big Todd Graham to the defence of the two time champions.

The first period went as many people would have expected with the Ice coming out hard and forcing the Thunder to play the majority of the period defending their goal, the Ice attacked in waves with slick passing and moves and if not good work from Kiefer Smiley in the thunder net the goals could have poured in for the Ice. As it was the Ice grabbed the first goal for the period at the 4:42 mark when Matt Korthuis stuck the puck in after a scramble in front of the Perth net, the assists going to Joey Hughes and Jason Baclig.

The second period started much better for the Thunder and they were duly rewarded with a goal at the 13 minute mark, Phil Ginand was put through by David Ruck and slotted a wrist shot past Stu Denman and the scores were tied at one a piece. For all who were at the game however the rest of the period will forever be remembered for what happened at later on. With 6:17 left Perth forward Sam Wilson and Melbourne goalie Stu Denman both went after a loose puck close to the Melbourne goal, Denman got there first to poke the puck away and was checked hard down the middle by Wilson. Denman went down hard and stayed down; with all the players from both sides on their feet the tension could be felt throughout the building. Several players let their voices be heard but it was Captain Vinnie Hughes who risked a suspension by taking up the physical fight. The second period stayed at 1 all and both penalty boxes filled with players from both sides.

Melbourne started the third period a little flat and was caught slightly on the back foot at the 12:22 mark when Ken Rolph scored for Perth with assists from Sam Wilson and Greg Hyde, suddenly the score was 1:2 in favour of the Thunder and the air seemed to be sucked out of the building leaving some fans to wonder if an upset on the cards. Only second’s later Ice star Baclig was put through on goal by Dylan Moore and again as many times before rounded the goalie and put the puck into the roof of the net to tie the game at 2. The Ice continued to press and with 8:13 left Todd Graham put a wrist shot on goal and with a bit of help from Joey Hughes put the Ice in the lead 3:2. Both teams continued to push hard and with less than a minute to go Perth pulled their goalie to push for the tying goal only to see Doug Wilson and Matt Armstrong get the puck to Joey Hughes who scored on the open net and finish the scoring for both teams making the score 4:2 in favour of the Ice.

This weekend at the Icehouse you can bring along your own FM radio or purchase one ($10 at the game) and listen in to our game commentary feed via Narrowcast.

If you can’t make it to the game, don’t stress, you can catch all of the action via our video live stream, starting approximately 15 minutes before game time.  The live stream includes multiple camera angles, commentary, and replays.  You  can also join in the live chat with other Melbourne Ice fans!

You can check out the live stream here:

We thank our video crew for their hard work:

Director – James Morgan
Assistant Director – Dom Watson
Commentary – Michael Clough, Nathan Strempel
Audio – Mark Crick
Cameras – Shelley Barwell, Evan Cottle, Max Drabik, Peter Frank

Thanks to HSN (Hewitt Sports Network) the preview for this weekends match up is brought to you by, writer Chris Meister

Perth Thunder @ Melbourne Ice :: Preview

VENUE & DATE: Medibank Icehouse, Saturday 12^th of May 2012

LAST TIME: First meeting between the two teams

WHAT’S WHAT: The second weekend of the 2012 season is done and dusted and included the introduction of the Perth Thunder for their first AIHL game, an eventual shootout loss to the Canberra Knights.

The Thunder would have viewed that game as winnable and be disappointed not to win it, especially after twice coming back from being a goal down and hitting the lead early in the final period.

How they will cope with their first road trip is one of the most intriguing aspects to this match up.

The Ice have been solid in their title defence despite missing gun forward Tommy Powell through injury and Mighty Roos defender Todd Graham who has not played as yet. They split the road double in Adelaide last weekend, conceding a match winning lead to the Adrenaline in the opening period on Saturday night, and backing up for a shootout victory on the Sunday after one of the most intense games seen in the AIHL for years,

They will arrive back home at the Icehouse expecting to win, however if this season has shown us nothing, it has shown us that the league will be tight and the underdog can often get up, especially early in the season.

The impact of consecutive double header weekends will also be a factor in the Ice’s game, particularly towards the back end of the match.

WHO’S HOT: Joey Hughes has undoubtedly been the star of the show to date for the Ice. He is amongst the league leaders in scoring, with three goals, all scored in Adelaide and an incredible eight assists, including four in the opening night game against the Icehouse rival Mustangs.

Jason Baclig has also continued his MVP form from 2011, also being up near the top of the league scoring chart. Baclig has scored five goals, assisted four others and has scored in both shootouts the Ice has been involved in.

For Perth, their hot man is Ken Rolph. Fresh off scoring a double against the Knights, he will be looking to terrorise the Ice defence and ask them a lot of questions.

Aaron Wilson will also have a big role to play in repelling the Ice forwards, a challenge which he will surely relish.

WE THINK: The Ice will have that little bit of extra depth and experience in front of their adoring fans and will not want to be the first team to lose to the Thunder. It will be an arm wrestle early but the defending Goodall Cup champions should prevail in the end.

It’s Melbourne Ice 4-2

by Chris Meister

Thanks to HSN (Hewitt Sports Network) the Adelaide double header report is brought to by writer Chris Meister

Ice stars find ways to shine

Melbourne Ice has made a solid start in their defence of the Goodall Cup and after two weeks of competition they have racked up seven competition points, leading the Easton conference by one point over the Gold Coast Blue Tongues, with the Adelaide Adrenaline a further point back in third place.  Chris Meister with more.

This lead is however somewhat misleading, as the Ice have played four games, while the Blue Tongues have played three as have the Adrenaline.

The Perth Thunder currently sit at the bottom of the conference on one point, however they have only played one game, the exciting shootout loss to the Canberra Knights that marked their arrival into the league.

As a point of reference, there are two teams in the Bauer Conference that have played four games being the Sydney Ice Dogs, who are leading the league on nine points and the Canberra Knights who have six points from the four games they have played on the road so far this season.

The record so far of one win, two shootout victories and a narrow loss from their opening four fixtures, gives an indication of just how tough the league is going to be this year. Turn around those two shootout wins and the Ice would only be on five points, right amongst the pack.

Who have been the keys to the start of the season for the Ice?

Joey Hughes has undoubtedly been the star of the show to date. Heading into Sunday’s second game against the Adrenaline he was amongst the league leaders in scoring, with two goals, both scored in the first game in Adelaide and an incredible eight assists, including four in the opening night game against the Icehouse rival Mustangs.

Hughes added another goal to that in the second match in Adelaide.

Jason Baclig has also continued his MVP form from 2011, also being up near the top of the league scoring chart. Baclig has scored five goals, assisted four others and has scored in both shootouts the Ice has been involved in.

Baclig provides a presence on the ice that can never be ignored

New imports Matt Korthuis and Doug Wilson Jr have looked right at home and have added considerably to the Ice outfit. Korthuis has scored three goals to date and assisted in three others providing a continual goal scoring threat when the likes of Baclig, Hughes and Matt Armstrong are off the ice.

Wilson has slotted in down back and given the Ice a classy edge on the blue line, complementing nicely the uncompromising Vinnie Hughes. He has also added an extra attacking weapon, scoring the first goal of the season for the Ice against the Mustangs and coming up big in the shootout that night.

One interesting challenge confronting the Ice this year will be how they handle their goal keeping stocks. Stu Denman was in goal for the first three games and Dahlen Phillips for the last game. From all reports Phillips did a sterling job on Sunday and he may be the future for the Ice.

The pair of them, along with Andrew Crowther form a formidable goalkeeping squad, just how that is managed through the year will be something for Ice fans to watch with interest.

Next up for the Ice is a date with the Perth Thunder at the Icehouse. It will be intriguing to see how the boys from the West handle their first road trip and how the Ice back up from consecutive double header weekends.

by Chris Meister (HSN)

Report by Gus Harkett
Photos by Tim Hughes

Jason Baclig SCORES

The Canberra Knights visited the Icehouse to play the Melbourne Ice for the second game of the new AIHL season; both teams had come off shootout wins from the night before so the scene was set for a spectacular game. As was the case from the night before Melbourne had the best of the opening minutes but were unrewarded on the score board. A series of penalties against the Ice saw them kill off a string of 5 on 3 opportunities the defence coming up strong time and time again. Toward the end of the period Melbourne began to reassert control and with 2:20 left young Marcus Wong scored his first goal for the Ice with a lovely long range wrister from distance after being set up by Greg Sturrock. 1-0 at the end of the first period was a just score but with a bit of luck the advantage could have been much bigger.

The Ice came out strong for the second period and within a minute a lovely move started by Sturrock and helped by Matt Armstrong gave Jason Baclig a chance to deke the goalie and double the Melbourne lead. More strong play by the Ice gave them the opportunity to look at the Canberra penalty kill but a text book power play by Doug Wilson and Armstrong gave Baclig another goal and the lead had gone to 3-0 in favour of the home team. The Ice went into the second intermission leading almost every aspect of the game but for the strong play of Mike Brown in the Canberra goal the lead might have been more.

The third period saw Melbourne Ice on the penalty kill but some poor rebound control saw the Knights peg one goal back to make the score 3-1 in favour of the Ice. The game had started to even out to a degree with the Ice at some stages sending out a young line of Caleb Butler, Austin McKenzie and Mitch Humphries in a glimpse of the future for Melbourne fans. At the 11:55 mark Joey Hughes and Baclig helped set up Matt Korthuis to score the fourth goal for the Ice and a little bit of breathing room had opened up for Melbourne. Late in the game more rebound control from the Ice gave Canberra their second goal for the Knights and a small glimmer of hope. The glimmer was snuffed out shortly after however when Andrew Erzen for the Ice was Johnny on the spot and poked Melbourne’s fifth goal with the assist going to J Hughes. After a tight game the night before Melbourne never really looked like losing this game and the new season is off to a strong start for the defending champions.

Report by Gus Harkett
Photos by David Leong

Lets Go Melbourne

The new season of the A.I.H.L kicked off in Melbourne last weekend with what is fast becoming the most intense sporting rivalry in the city, the Ice v Mustangs derby had started with a bang last season and if possible Saturday night’s game lifted the rivalry another couple of notches. The sold out crowd was buzzing before the first face off and with the Ice dominating the early proceedings hopes were high for a positive outcome for the home team. The Mustangs managed to keep the Ice at bay for a large portion of the first period until Doug Wilson playing his first game for the Ice calmly put the puck in the net after good lead up play by Joey Hughes and Lliam Webster. For the remainder of the period, the Ice could have gone into the first intermission hoping for more reward for their early effort.

The second period started a little more evenly with regular penalties testing the penalty killing of both teams. With 9:12 left on the clock last season’s league M.V.P Jason Baclig was put through on goal by Joey Hughes and slotted a wrist shot over the goalies shoulder to make the score 2:0 and the Ice were flying. Wilson and the other Ice new boy Matt Korthuis showed their class on every shift but the Mustangs were beginning to get more of the puck and they got their reward with 7:05 to go when a goal line mix up saw them get one goal back and show that it was very much game on.

Joey Hughes drives toward victory

What had been a dour, low scoring game in the first two periods exploded into life only seconds into the third when Korthuis and Joey Hughes fed the puck to the returning Dylan Moore who sent a long range slap shot into the top corner making the score 3-1 in favour of the Ice. Instead of breaking the Mustangs it merely seemed to fire them up, at the 13:47 mark the Mustangs got another goal back which was quickly followed by the tying goal with 12:35 to go. It was now time for the Mustangs supporters to have their voices heard and their team kept the pressure on the Ice. With 11:32 to go Matt Armstrong pulled the Ice one goal clear with the assist going this time to Vinnie Hughes. Again the Mustangs pushed and to the dismay of the home fans scored the next two goals to make the score 5-4 in favour of the away team. It seemed that an upset was on the cards when a late penalty against the Mustangs gave the Ice a whiff of a comeback. The Ice then pulled their goalie and pushed hard with the numerical advantage, the Mustangs had a number of chances to score on the open net but missed them all which would haunt them with only 5 seconds left when Matt Korthuis poked the puck in after a number of chances bounced around the goal line. The crowd erupted and the Ice had shown once again the qualities of a champion team.

The Mustangs started the shootout but Dean Moore hit his shot against the post, Korthuis for the Ice then also saw his shot miss, more drama followed when Jake Ebner for the Mustangs lost control of the puck and ended up putting his shot wide. Doug Wilson added to an impressive first game by slotting the first goal of the shootout which was then answered by James Sanford for the Mustangs leaving the ever reliable Jason Baclig to win the game for the Ice and add another chapter to the cross town rivalry.

Article by Gus Harkett

Humble beginnings and a bright future, this is our 10 year Anniversary

Original Logo

The Melbourne Ice have come a long way since they started ten years ago, it is easy to say it but to actually see it you have to sit in the seating of the Olympic Ice Rink in Oakleigh. The Olympic is a lot like your first car you may have to pump the accelerator several times before you turn the key and the back door may not close properly and people may see a bucket of bolts, but it is your bucket of bolts and you love it none the less. The Olympic may well be small and the ice seems as if someone pored water over a car park, froze it then built a shed over it and there is that slope that takes skaters unwittingly towards the boards. There is the ice cutting machine that appears to be powered by steam and then there is, when the conditions are just right, when a goalie does not have to deal with just a two man rush but a two man rush coming out of the fog! But it has character and you love it just the same. It was here that The Ice started with opposition from some but the foundations were laid here and should never be forgotten.

Fast forward a few shaking years and the first game at the new Icehouse at the docklands and hockey had arrived in Melbourne not with a shout but with enough voice to let people know that it was not going away. A sold out crowd cheered the goals, yelled at the ref and most importantly met the players at the end of the game, most loved it and came back in the weeks to come, a championship year cemented Melbourne Ice in this city. The 2011 season bought another year of dominance and another championship and suddenly Melbourne Ice looked like they were going to outgrow the Icehouse much quicker than anyone thought they would.

So it is with those thoughts that we come to the eve of the 2012 season, administrators and supporters have the luxury of looking forward to the finals or next season or a new stadium or whatever, players do not. Players have to look to their next game, their next period, their next shift, this point was emphasized by 5 time Stanley Cup winner Rick Chartraw in a pre season talk to the Melbourne Ice players and staff. It is a sign of how far the team and sport have come in this country that a man who played in two of the best teams in the history of the NHL is happy to come and watch the players and give the benefit of his vast knowledge to the team. Some of what he said seemed obvious and simple, such as the fact that Melbourne Ice has become the team that every other one wants to be and beat, it is an obvious theory but an easy thing to forget and from someone who won as often as he did it is a lesson that the players should take notice of.

It was with this advice that the players hit the ice for one of many training sessions for the weekend, knowing that this was a selection camp it was obvious that the intensity was high, a missed pass or check hurt more than a usual training session, letting a player or goal passed a defender could mean the difference in getting a spot on the roster. It was good to see the players who all but had a guaranteed spot as intense as those on the cusp, former players had returned to try and regain a place, but it was the progression of former academy players that caught the eye, fast and willing to throw the body in when needed the future for the Ice is looking positive.

A very young Vinnie Hughes

So to the roster for the 2012 season, all the usual suspects are back such as Lliam Webster, Tommy Powell and the Hughes brothers, the two imports who fell in love with the team and city and refused to go home in Matt Armstrong and Jason Baclig give power, speed and guile to the team. An old favorite in Dylan Moore returns to give the defence a solid footing with the likes of Greg Sturrock and Todd Graham, for some it is the youth that looks good for the future. Austin Mckenzie, Daniel Szalinski and Marcus Wong seem to have added an extra step of speed Chris Wong will return from overseas with more experience under his belt but the form of young Caleb Butler really caught the eye, handling the puck and maturity beyond his years the experience he will gain this year will not only give fans a sense of security but a reason for already established players to work hard to maintain a spot. The goalies now have an extra member of their off kilter community to push them with Dahlen Phillips joining the rock that is Stu Denman and the apprentice Andrew Crowther returning from a season playing junior hockey in Canada.

A fired up coaching and administrative staff look more than prepared to tackle one of the most high pressure seasons in the history of the Melbourne Ice, not only will the team be trying to win the Goodall cup for an unprecedented third time in a row but this year is the 10 year anniversary for the club and their are many events to plan to celebrate the occasion, combine that with a huge demand for memberships and the so called luxury that administrators have for honoring the past, enjoying the present and looking to the future has never been so important for an Australian Ice Hockey team. However with a strong and reliable team on both sides of the ice this season could well be one of glory for all involved.

Welcome to our family.

Following open tryouts spanning several months that concluded with Selection Camp over the weekend of 24th and 25th of March, Medibank Melbourne Ice is pleased to announce that it has has selected its Academy Squad for 2012.

2012 Academy Squad members will be part of a structured program that has been developed in unison with our incumbent external training provider, Next Level Hockey Australia. The program will be tailored to the individual, and involve “on-ice” activities such as skill development and positional play, combined with “off-ice” activities (fitness, nutrition, mental preparation etc.).

On behalf of the Medibank Melbourne Ice Academy, I would like would like congratulate the following players on their selection into the Academy Squad:

Goalies

Tynan Theobald

Mackenzie Hill

Forwards / Defense

Caleb Butler

Chris Fahy

Chris Wong

Ethan Newland

Harri Jaunozols

Jack Harvey

Nick McIver

Niko French

Sam Hodic

I would also like to extend congratulations to Austin McKenzie, Daniel Szalinski and Marcus Wong, whom have graduated from the Academy following their involvement in 2011. The selection of Austin, Daniel and Marcus, as members of the 10 year Anniversary Roster and Main Squad is vindication of the Academy’s success in its inaugural year, and is a testament to those that worked tirelessly during the initial conception and development of the program in 2011.

Melbourne Ice Academy; a program of excellence and community involvement.

For more information on the Academy for this link http://www.melbourneice.com.au/academy/

Regards,

Matt Osborn
Vice-President
Medibank Melbourne Ice

Player Sponsor Form

Click to Download the 2012 Sponsor Book

This is your opportunity to have a direct influence in helping every player on the Melbourne Ice team live their dream, ‘to play ice hockey at the highest level this country has to offer’.

In 2012, Melbourne Ice would again like to make this experience cost neutral for every player and so we are making it easy for you to be part of the ACTION! For as little as $750 you can sponsor a player.

Players can have multiple sponsors and the benefits are all the same, so please download our Sponsor Book and Player Sponsor form and help our players live their dream.

Main Roster