Home arena Penrith Ice Palace Website Bearsden.com.au 1997–2007 Sydney Bears Arena Penrith Ice Palace Founded 1982 Conference titles 0 | General manager Wayne Hellyer 1982–1997 Macquarie Bears Captain Michael Schlamp Head coach Ron Kuprowsky Regular season titles 2 (2002, 2008) | |
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City Jamisontown, New South Wales League Australian Ice Hockey League Profiles | ||
Aihl 2015 week 10 canadadayclassic sydney bears melbourne ice
The Sydney Bears are an amateur ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL).
Contents
- Aihl 2015 week 10 canadadayclassic sydney bears melbourne ice
- Aihl newcastle north stars vs sydney bears 17 05 2015
- Team history
- 2011 Season
- 2012 season to current
- Season by season record
- Championships
- Roster
- Notable players
- Franchise scoring leaders
- Arena
- References
The team plays out of Macquarie Ice Rink in Sydney, New South Wales. They have won two Goodall Cup championships since their founding in 2000, most recently in 2007. The Bears are the last remaining original team in the AIHL, after the Canberra Knights and Adelaide Avalanche folded and were reformed under different names. The team has previously played out of Penrith Ice Palace and Sydney Ice Arena.
Aihl newcastle north stars vs sydney bears 17 05 2015
Team history
The Bears were founded in 1982 and were originally known as the Macquarie Bears. With the impending formation of a national league the team decided to change their name to the Sydney Bears in 1997.
The Bears are two-time winners of the Goodall Cup and won the AIHL championship in 2002 and 2007. The team also won the Goodall Cup tournament in 2001 in Newcastle, the last time the Cup was awarded independently of the AIHL.
The Bears are the last remaining original team in AIHL after both Canberra and Adelaide folded and restarted under new names and management.
In 2002, the Bears defeated the Avalanche in the Goodall Cup final for their second consecutive Cup and their first and only AIHL Championship. In 2007 the team announced they would move to Penrith for the 2007 AIHL season at which time, dropping "Sydney" to become The Bears, or AIHL Bears. For the start of the 2010 season the Bears reverted to their previous name of Sydney Bears. It was that year the Bears also won their second AIHL Championship and their most recent to date.
2011 Season
The Bears commenced the 2011 season on 16 April with a home opener against the newest addition to the AIHL, The Mustangs. Bears rookie forward Lucian Hackett scored the first goal of the season on his debut. Other Bears players making their debut were Laurie Mock, and import Kurtis Dulle. The Bears struggled to record a win in their first five games, however their roster was not yet at full strength. The Bears were missing goaltender Sheldon Baerg, forward Tony Demelinne who was representing Netherlands at the IIHF World Championship Division I, and defenceman Jordan Hale who was competing in the Royal Bank Cup with the Camrose Kodiaks.
With the 2011 Roster finally at full strength with the arrival and clearance of their import players, the Bears made their way to Melbourne. The Bears showed signs of improvement in their game against the Melbourne Ice, losing 3-4 to them in the shootout. The Bears also lost import Jordan Hale to a season ending lower body injury. The Bears then went on to record their first win of the season against the The Mustangs in a thrilling 5-3 victory, with newly acquired import Tony Demelinne displaying some of his puck handling skills and recording 4 points during the game.
However The Bears game seemingly unravelled, experiencing huge losses to the Knights, BlueTongues and Ice. However bouncing back in June recording a win against the Newcastle North Stars, ending their winning streak and starting a 3-game win streak of their own. The month of June saw the Bears 3-2-0, and they reached a peak position of 7th in the standings.
2012 season to current
In February 2012 the Sydney Bears announced that they were leaving the Penrith Ice Palace as their home arena and were returning to play their games at the Sydney Ice Arena in Baulkham Hills where they had previously played from 2003 to 2006. In January 2015 the Bears announced that they were moving back to the Penrith Ice Palace for the upcoming 2015 AIHL season. The move comes after the Sydney Ice Arena's land was approved for redevelopment.
Season-by-season record
1 As of the 2006 AIHL season, all games will have a winner. In 2014 due to the cancellation of a game the AIHL declared the result a tie. * The Bears were penalised 3 competition points for icing players that had not been officially cleared to play by the IIHF and IHA.Championships
Goodall Cup: 2002, 2007 V.I.P. Cup: 2008Roster
Team roster for the 2016 AIHL season
Notable players
Franchise scoring leaders
Top 10 franchise All-Time points scorers
Note: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; TP = Points; * = current Bears player
Top 5 franchise All-time Points Per Game
Note: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; TP = Points; PPG= Point-Per Game * = current Bears player
Arena
Home games are played at the Macquarie Ice Rink in Macquarie, in the Macquarie Shopping Centre. The team previously played at the Sydney Ice Arena in Baulkham Hills and Penrith Ice Palace in Penrith but announced they would return to Macquarie for the 2017 AIHL season.