I had an interesting conversation last week with a friend about our Blue Tongues, the AIHL Finals and what it would take to not only make the playoffs, but have a truly good shot at winning it all.
There is no blue pill that will transport this team out of the Matrix. Yoda isn’t going to infuse the boys with the force and as much as we may like the idea, we wont be playing in a fancy rink with 1000 seats, good ice and glass.
What we will have is a team with potential and a very loyal fan base.
So what needs to change? What is it that this Blue Tongues team needs to do to go to the next level? Here are 5 changes which I believe will greatly benefit our team going into the 2011 AIHL season.
Improve Defense
They say offense wins games but defense wins championships. This could not be more true for our Blue Tongues. We know they can score goals year in year out, but the one thing that has been a weakness each season is the defense. Don Burke has been the heart of the team for years, but age has caught up with him and it’s time he stepped down, allowing a younger, more agile skater to take the spot. Last season saw huge strides in the game of Cam Trew who was by far the best local player in many games. Ross Howell and Ben Spillane were solid as always, although it appears that Spillane did not get as much ice time as he deserved. Bringing in import defenseman is a must for our team, although I believe 2 imports should be used for defense, one puck-moving defenseman to help boost the offense on the blue line and one who can shut down the other teams top scorers.
Rest Imports / Play Locals
It doesn’t take a genius to see that our teams coach likes to favour the imports over the locals. Understandably so, as the imports are indeed the better players. Saying that, last season we saw Mike McRae and Dallas Costanzo played to the point of near collapse while locals sat on the bench. Players lose effectiveness when they’re tired and imports are no exception. If our guys are tired, sit them for a shift or 2 and let the local lines play some. It is a risk, as the other team will try and match their lines and put out their offensive guns against our weaker lines, but that’s hockey. A benefit is that our locals get more experience and therefore hopefully improve more. We have some great players who get very little ice time, such as Ben Spillane. It appears to many that “Spills” is used more as the team enforcer than an effective player, which has bewildered fans for the last few seasons; especially those who have been following the Blue Tongues since before they moved south to the Coast.
Choose A Goalie & Have Faith In Them
Those who know me will know that the goalie situation with the Blue Tongues is a point of contention with me, as my previous posts have mentioned. I believe the team needs to have faith in their local netminders and show that by letting them play. 2 years in a row now we’ve sat in the stands and seen Luke Fiveash get shafted from the net; the AIHL finals in 2009 and midway through the season just gone. Using an import spot on the goalie position may appear to be a good idea on the surface, but doing so leaves wholes in the rest of the lineup, especially the defense. We already have 2 good goalies in Fiveash and Anderson, so maybe it is time we play them, have faith in them and start to build the team around them in net.
Coaching Change
There are probably over a hundred reasons why a coaching change could be needed on a hockey team. With the case of the Blue Tongues I believe it’s simply that a change is as good as a holiday. This team has a lot more potential than the stats and standings show. The coach deserves major kudos for how he has greatly improved his coaching over the last 3 seasons, however decisions on and off the ice have many fans wondering if maybe a new coach / leadership is needed in order for the team to move to the next level.
New Rink
This really is a given and applies to most teams in the league, but in many ways more so for the Blue Tongues. If you’ve not come up to the Gold Coast and seen our rink, you are in for a shock. The rink is simply unacceptable for a national league team. The ice surface is terrible, there are no shower facilities and overall, it is a health / safety risk. The problem is, building a new rink is costly and the team seems to struggle to bring in sponsors as it is, so getting the level of sponsorship needed to fund a new rink may simply be a pipe-dream at this time. Move the team back to Brisbane (Acacia Ridge)? That would definitely be a HUGE improvement to the facility issue however it would mean the team would be based back in Brisbane again, something I fear the current ownership would neither want nor allow.
Like Frodo and the Fellowship walking through Moria, we now face the long dark of the AIHL off-season. Let us hope the team does not have a cave troll.
The Melbourne Ice finished the same way they started this season… on top. The Ice fairly dominated most of the season and were one of the most impressive home-teams all season, which gave them an extra step come the AIHL finals a few weeks back.
Defeating the Bears in the semi-final in what was an incredibly close game, the Ice then faced the defending champions, the Adelaide Adrenaline in the Final on Sunday. The Adrenaline fought hard locking the game 3-3 going into the 2nd intermission. The Ice were too strong however, and backed by a sell-out crowd at their new rink in Melbourne walked away victors with a 6-4 win.
Congratulations to the Ice for their well deserved victory.
We’ve reached that part of the season we love to hate. The skates are put away, the schedule is complete and the champion has been crowned; the 2009 AIHL season is over.
Adelaide Adrenaline, AIHL Champions
Congratulations to the Adelaide Adrenaline who played some of the best hockey this fan has seen in recent times, dominating the Melbourne Ice 6-1 in their semi-final and defeating the defending champions, Newcastle North Stars in a 3-2 overtime victory on Sunday to secure the championship.
With IHA declaring the revered Goodall Cup was going back to a state competition, the AIHL introduced a new trophy which AIHL teams will now play for. The trophy was on display during the finals and handed to Adrenaline Greg Oddy as the captain of the victorious Adelaide Adrenaline.
The Gold Coast Blue Tongues made their first ever finals appearance to the roar of a dedicated Tongues fan base. Players later expressed that the Blue Tongues fans, who numbered less than 20 out-screamed the packed North Stars crowd. Keeping even through 2 periods, the Blue Tongues lost to the Newcastle North Stars 5-3 in their semi-final matchup.
The Melbourne Ice team, who were defeated 6-1 by the Adrenaline in semi-final #1 should take away many positive things from this season, one in which saw them rebuilding with youth and inexperience. Greg Oddy and the boys did fantastic to get them to the playoffs.
Brad Smulders, AIHL MVP
Brad Smuldes was awarded the AIHL regular season MVP award. He broke the AIHL scoring record, putting up 33 goals, 43 assists for 76 points, beating the old record by 7 points.
Cass Delsar of the Adelaide Adrenaline was awarded the playoff MVP, for what we can tell, deflecting a puck and scoring the overtime game winner agains the North Stars. This has sparked a discussion as to whether scoring “that” goal is deserving of the playoff MVP. We feel Greg Oddy or Thilthorpe would have been more deserving personally.
Mike Crowhurst of Slapshot.com.au has posted that DVDs of the finals games (all 3 of them) are available for purchase via their website: http://www.slapshot.com.au. According to Mike, they had 300 people tuning in to watch the games! A huge thanks to Mike, Mischa and the rest of the Slapshot boys for making the games available to the world.
The AIHL Trophy
The AIHL off-season is a long one, stretching through til April/May next year. Over the next 7 months teams will work on securing new imports, work on training the local guys and prepare for another AIHL season. The AIHL is notorious for it’s rumour mill, so here are few to whet your appetite.
According to people in the know, the talk around the league is that there could be new teams in the AIHL next season. Nobody has been able to confirm anything as yet, however 3 names keep popping up; Melbourne, Central Coast and Brisbane. Melbourne have their new ice arena next season, making room for another team down there. The Central Coast has the Rhinos, although I find it hard to believe they would be back if the same owner is involved. Brisbane used to have the Blue Tongues, so has the ability and fan base to hold a team.
According to sources who we believe had one too many, Matt Ezzy’s days in Newcastle are over, and he could be on the move to a new team. This rumour was also popular this time last year, so take it as you will. I sincerely hope he does not move to the Gold Coast unless he welcomes the taste of humble pie, as there is zero chance fans up there will worship him as the Newcastle crowd do.
Loads of rumours of returning import players, including 1 from the Blue Tongues, 1 from Newcastle and 1 from the Adrenaline.
The Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues Supporters, team members, sponsors and hockey fans around South East Queensland would like to congratulate the Blue Tongues on their first ever appearance at the Australian Ice Hockey League Finals series, 29-30 August, 2009 at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium (HISS), Warners Bay, Newcastle, NSW.
We would also like to congratulate Blue Tongues import Brad Smulders on breaking the AIHL scoring record, previously of 69 points held by Brad Wanchuluk of the Newcastle Northstars in 2007. Brad finished the season with 33 goals, 43 assists for 76 points off just 22 games.
The Blue Tongues finished the regular season in 4th spot with 14 wins, 7 losses and 3 overtime losses, good for 44 points off 24 games.
The Blue Tongues will take on top seeded Newcastle Northstars in their semi-final matchup, scheduled for 7:30pm, Saturday 29 August, 2009.
Those of us up here in Brisbane and the Gold Coast have been treated by the reverred Goodall Cup over the last few weeks. Fans have been able to ogle, touch and drool at this trophy. It’s the Stanley Cup of Australian Ice Hockey, and almost as old as Lord Stanley also.
So no doubt there was a bit of “what the?” going on when word came down recently that the AIHL will not be playing for the Goodall Cup this year, and the cup will return to it’s old purpose, as a State tournament trophy. Not a bad idea, afterall that’s where it’s roots lie.
But one must ask the question… why?
Ice Hockey in this country is shaky at the best of times. We have a loyal fan-base across the nation and it is growing each year. When it comes to hockey in Australia, people are going to think of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) long before they think of the State tournament. Does the State tourny have a name? 10 points if you can think of it.
The fact is, the AIHL is the best hockey in this country, and realistically the best thing that has happened to hockey in Australia. Young local players are getting to skate alongside proven import players such as AIHL record holder Brad Smulders and former NHL players, such as Rob Zamuner and Steve McKenna.
So why does it feel like the IHA and AIHL have some kind of internal battle going on, and why, after parading the Goodall Cup around in front of AIHL fans recently are they now saying “no, your team can’t win this”. It just all seems a little strange to me.
That said, a new cup designed just for the AIHL is a great move, and will allow the AIHL to build a legacy of its own.
