The Newcastle Northstars (formally ''Newcastle North Stars'') is an Australian

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team from

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

. The Northstars are a member of the

Australian Ice Hockey League The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level men's ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation). The AIHL is a Semi-professional ...

(AIHL), joining as an expansion team in 2002. The team is based at the

Hunter Ice Skating Stadium The Hunter Ice Skating Stadium is an ice sports and public skate centre, opened in 2000 and located in Warners Bay, a suburb of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium serves as the home ice rink of the Newcastle Northstars w ...

Warners Bay Warners Bay is a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, and is located from Newcastle's central business district on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie. It is often regarded as a part of the Greater Newcastle distri ...

, a suburb of

Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area (LGA) in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. The ...

, 15 kilometres south-west of Newcastle. The Northstars are affiliated with the ice hockey club of the same name. The team have won six

Goodall Cup The Goodall Cup is a perpetual trophy that is, currently, annually awarded to the playoff champions of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The trophy is named after Australian born player John Edwin Goodall who originally donated the cup. ...

s and five H Newman Reid Trophies, making them the most successful team in AIHL history.

History

1977–2001 (Pre-AIHL)

Ice hockey started in the city of Newcastle in 1960 at the old boxing stadium where Marketown is now situated. Originally the Newcastle Red Wings, the Red Wings were part of national leagues of the time. Due to instability there were several variations of these leagues. The Red Wings became the North Stars in 1978 and were leading the national 'Super League' at the time when the Newcastle ice rink went into liquidation in late 1982. Some players then retired, while others went on to play for teams in Sydney or join

inline hockey Inline hockey or roller hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a v ...

teams that started in the 1990s in Newcastle. A Newcastle North Stars in-line hockey team was formed including former members of the defunct Wharf Road team. In 2000 the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium (a.k.a. HISS) opened at 230 Macquarie Road, Warners Bay. The Lake Macquarie suburb, only 15 km from the city, proved an ideal location for the new rink. The rink opened with former North Stars player/coach Garry Doré as general manager. A local committee was established and the Newcastle Northstars Ice Hockey Club was registered in 2001. The team mostly consisted of Canadian

expatriates An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

along with four talented local-born players contested the New South Wales Senior B championship. The Senior B North Stars went on to win the state Senior B Championship for 2001. Later in 2001 the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium hosted the

tournament. The Goodall Cup is Australia's senior men's national tournament, contested since 1909. Utilising the experience from running the tournament and gaining assistance from existing AIHL teams, rink general manager Garry Doré began building a team ready for the

. Canadian

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

Don Champagne was recruited to be coach, and local hockey enthusiast Peter Lambert was recruited as Team Manager.

2002–2006

The Newcastle Northstars entered the

(AIHL) as the North Stars in 2002. They were a part of the league's expansion that saw the league double in size from three teams to six. The Northstars joined the league along with the

Melbourne Ice The Melbourne Ice is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Melbourne, Victoria, based at the Icehouse in the Docklands precinct of central Melbourne. Founded in 2000, the Ice have been a member of the Australian Ice Hockey Leag ...

and

Western Sydney Ice Dogs The Sydney Ice Dogs (formally ''Western Sydney Ice Dogs'') is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Sydney. Formed in 2002, the Ice Dogs are a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The Ice Dogs are two time Goodall C ...

. Don Champagne was appointed the inaugural Northstars AIHL head coach while Bill Jones was named foundation captain. Due to a lack of local talent in the first season, the league allowed the Northstars to find players in Sydney and evenly split their roster between locals and imports. Newcastle assembled a roster for 2002 with nine Canadians expats and eight locals. The

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

season produced highs and lows for the Novocastrians. Newcastle's first ever match in the AIHL was at home at the

on 4 May 2002 against the

. The Northstars lost the match 3–7. Newcastle's first AIHL victory and shutout came on 19 May 2002 when they defeated the

Canberra Knights The Canberra Knights were a semi-professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team played its home games at the Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre in Phillip, a suburb of Australia's capital city, Canberra. I ...

4–0. The Northstars finished the season in fourth place with six wins and ten losses. Canadian forward, Brett Hillier, finished the season as the Northstars top points scorers with 34 points. In 2003, Newcastle appointed their first coaching director. Former Denmark and Canadian national team coach, Rob Barnes was appointed to the position by the Northstars. Barnes made an immediate impact in Newcastle with the Northstars finishing second in the league table in the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

season. The Northstars then won their very first AIHL era trophy in 2003. The Novocastrians defeated the Ice Dogs 4–1 in the AIHL final to claim the

. The Northstars backed up this success in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

by finishing top of the league table having only lost one match all season and claimed the team's first premiership and V.I.P. Cup. Success continued in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

with the Northstars claiming back-to-back Goodall Cups with victories over rivals

Adelaide Avalanche The Adelaide Avalanche was a semi-professional ice hockey club based in the Adelaide, South Australia, Adelaide suburb of Thebarton, South Australia. The Avalanche, founded in 1999, was a founding member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL ...

in the final in both seasons.

2007–2016

The decade between 2007 and 2016 saw the Northstars continue their strong position within the league, establishing a winning tradition within the team culture. Newcastle throughout this period of time, claimed league premiers and the H Newman Reid Trophy, four times by finishing top of the league standings in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015. The team reached the

final eight times, claiming three Goodall Cups in 2008, 2015 and 2016. The Northstars also found success for the first time in the NSW Wilson Cup, lifting the trophy in 2015. The Northstars set a few team records in 2015 with their highest ever points total in a season (63), highest goals scored in a season (152) and highest goals difference (+69). Canadian import, Geordie Wudrick also set league records for highest points in a season, 91 points at a rate of 3.25 per game and most goals in a season, 44 goals. At the conclusion of the 2016 season, for the time, the team had become the most successful franchise in AIHL history.

2017–present

April 2017, prior to the start of the 2017 season, the team announced a minor change to their name. They changed their name from the North Stars to the Northstars. The re-brand was completed to align to the team with the New South Wales registered club, the Newcastle Northstars Ice Hockey Club.

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

marked a shift in fortunes for the team. After only missing out on finals twice in the previous fifteen years, the Northstars not only failed to qualify for finals but finished their lowest ever position in the league, seventh. Ten wins from twenty eight matches with a negative twenty seven goal difference did not make for good reading. Head coach, Andrew Petrie, decided to step down from his position at the conclusion of the season.

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

saw an improvement in the Northstars with thirteen wins in the season and a fifth-place finish under the leadership of stand-in coaching trio, Joey Theriault, Ray Sheffield and Garry Doré. However, it was still not good enough to see them qualify for the finals weekend in Melbourne and for the first time in the team's history they failed to qualify for finals back-to-back.

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, the Northstars hired a new head coach in former Northstars player, John Kennedy Jnr. This was the American Aussie's first head coaching positioning since retiring as a player. The team recruited well with a number of quality imports joining from overseas. Leading the way for the team in 2019 was Canadian import Sammy Banga who finished third top points scorer in the league with sixty-six points. The Northstars saw great improvement over the previous two seasons under the guidance of John Kennedy. They finished the season runners-up in the league standings and qualified for the finals which were played in Newcastle for the first time in seven years. Unfortunately for the Northstars, they were defeated 2-3 by the

Perth Thunder The Perth Thunder is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 2010, the Thunder have been a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) since 2012. The Thunder are based at the Perth Ice Are ...

in the semi-finals in front of a boisterous home crowd.

Season-by-season results

:¹ 2003 AIHL season statistics are unofficial. The AIHL has not published official statistics on www.theaihl.com. Data has been collected from web archives of the Newcastle Northstars and Ice Hockey Australia game reports. :² In 2022, the preliminary Final was the second game of the Finals format rather than the first, as it was in following seasons. The Northstars qualified for the preliminary-final after losing the major semi-final and played the winner of the minor semi-final for a spot in the grand final.

Championships

: Champions (6):

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

: Runners-Up (7):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* H Newman Reid Trophy (2008-Current) : Premiers (4):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: Runners-Up (4):

* V.I.P. Cup (2004–07)^* : Premiers (1):

: Runners-Up (2):

* Wilson Cup : Winners (1):

: Runners-Up (1):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

*Rurak Conference : Winners (1):

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

: Runners-Up (1):

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

*Bauer Conference : Winners (1):

:^* This list also includes Premierships prior to the first trophy, V.I.P. Cup, for Premiers in 2004.

Players

Current roster

''Team roster for the

2024 AIHL season The 2024 AIHL season was the 23nd season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The season consisted of 155 total games, split between 150 regular season games and a five-game Goodall Cup Finals post-season. The regular season ran from 6 ...

.''

Important rosters

Player records

The following are the top five all-time leaders in five different statistical categories: matches played; goals; assists; points; penalty minutes

Staff

''Staff roster for the

Team identity

Rivalries

Sydney Ice Dogs

The Proski Newcastle North Stars' primary rivals are the

Sydney Ice Dogs The Sydney Ice Dogs (formally ''Western Sydney Ice Dogs'') is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Sydney. Formed in 2002, the Ice Dogs are a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The Ice Dogs are two time Goodall Cu ...

(Formally West Sydney Ice Dogs). The first ever AIHL game for the Proski North Stars was a loss to the Ice Dogs, who joined the league in 2002 along with the North Stars. The two teams have a rich history in the AIHL Finals of facing off in big matches in pursuit of the

. The North Stars defeated the Ice Dogs in the

and

finals to win the Goodall Cup (both by a margin of 4–1). The North Stars lost the Cup to the Ice Dogs in the

final, while also defeating the Ice Dogs in the semi-final in

Adelaide

Over the years the Northstars developed a healthy competitive rivalry with Adelaide franchises, the

and Adelaide Adrenaline. The Northstars and Adelaide have a knack of facing off in big finals matches with both teams sharing in the winning spoils at different times. The Northstars and Avalanche met in the Goodall Cup deciders in

and

. In 2005, the two teams fought for the regular season title with the Avalanche finishing first but the Northstars used their home crowd advantage in the final to secure a 3–1 victory. In 2006, the Northstars only snuck into the finals by finishing fourth but in the finals the dominated the Melbourne Ice in the semi's before meeting the Avalanche in the final. The Northstars played the perfect match, shutting out Adelaide and securing the cup with a 4–0 victory. In

the North Stars were defeated by the Adrenaline in overtime in the Goodall Cup final, 3–2 in overtime. In

the Adrenaline knocked out the Northstars in the semi-final, holding off a third period comeback by the Northstars to win 7–6.

CBR Brave

Since the induction of the

CBR Brave The Canberra Brave (formally CBR Brave) is a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Canberra, ACT. The team is a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team was founded in 2014 to replace the defunct Canberra Knights in the ...

into the AIHL in 2014, the Northstars have built a heated rivalry with the team from

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. The two sides have fought each other for league titles, faced-off in hotly contested finals matches, seen players and coaches switch teams and seen a player's career ended. Both sets of fans have a history of banter with walk out music, placards and clothing being used to ramp up the rivalry. In the 2015 AIHL semi-finals the two teams met in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The Brave took a 3–0 lead thanks to two short-handed goals deep into the second period. The Northstars then kicked into life and fought back to win the match 4-3 thanks to a third period hat trick to league MVP Geordie Wudrick. The Brave then ‘poached’ Wudrick and Jan Safar for the 2016 season, causing a massive stir around the league. Northstar's head coach, Andrew Petrie, took the issue up with the local media and labelled the Brave disrespectful and a team trying to buy the league title. He also went on to label the city of Canberra a place ‘in the middle of nowhere’. The four 2016 regular season matches saw the two teams rack up 178 penalty minutes and end Brave import Art Bidlevskii's career. The defenceman was accidentally struck in the throat. The two teams met in the AIHL final with the Northstars triumphing over the Brave 2–1 to clinch their sixth

. In 2017, Newcastle legend, Rob Starke switched to the Brave to take up the head coaching position following his playing retirement. He took with him another long-time Northstars favourite, Brian Bales. In 2019, the two teams fought for the H Newman Reid trophy for finishing premiers on top of the regular season table. The Northstars and Brave were one and two for much of the season but in the end the Brave claimed the trophy and the Northstars finished second.

Honoured members

Accolades

The Newcastle Northstars have been recognised by the

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. ...

as Newcastle's most outstanding senior sports team on three occasions in 2003, 2004 and 2006. They were also a finalist in 2008. North Stars goalie Matt Ezzy was voted "Sportsperson of the Year" by the

Lake Macquarie City Council The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area (LGA) in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. The ...

for his 2005 season in February 2006, and was a finalist for the same award in 2007. North Stars defenceman and assistant captain Rob Starke was also a finalist for Senior Sportsperson of the year, 2007. North Stars coach Don Champagne was voted "Sports Official of the Year 2010" at the 2011 Newcastle City Sports Awards.

S.M. Hudson Trophy

The Hudson Trophy is awarded by

Ice Hockey Australia The Australian Ice Hockey Federation, currently trading as Ice Hockey Australia (IHA), is the official national governing body of ice hockey in Australia and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was first established in 1 ...

for sportsman of the year. It was first awarded in 1964 and is open for nominations by Australian ice hockey organisations and teams. Glenn Foll, who captained the Australian national team between 1990 and 2006, is the only player who has played for the Northstars and won the Hudson Trophy. Foll played for Newcastle during the 2005 AIHL season. He won the award in 2003 while playing for rivals

Retired numbers

Throughout the history of the Newcastle Northstars, three jersey numbers have been retired in honour of former club legends. The retired jersey number banners hang on the player's bench side of the

Club award winners

Since 2003, each season the Northstars hold an annual awards night to present that season's team awards. There are six awards given out at the awards nights including most valuable player, best defensive player, most improved player, most dedicated player, Tony Huntley Award for best Australian player and the coach's award. References:

Team leaders

Team captains

The Northstars have had five different captains in the team's known history. References:

Head coaches

The Northstars have had five different head coaches in the team's history. In 2018, the Northstars had no head coach, instead the team chose a new coaching structure of three associate coaches to share the coaching responsibilities. Joey Theriault, Ray Sheffield and Garry Doré took up these roles in 2018. References:

General managers

The Northstars have had one general manager (GM) in the team's history. References:

Team managers

The Northstars have had seven different team managers in the team's history. References:

Coaching directors

The Northstars have had one coaching director in the team's history. References:

Broadcasting

Current: * AIHL.TV (2023–present) – Worldwide paid subscription-based online video broadcasting published by the AIHL in partnership with the Clutch.TV platform using local production companies at each team’s rink. The service went live in April 2023, and would cover every AIHL regular season and finals games live and on demand. *

Sportradar Sportradar AG is a multinational corporation with headquarters in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that collects and analyzes sports data for bookmakers, national and international sports federations, and media companies. As of 2024, the company has 2 ...

(2022–present) – International online video broadcasting in North America and Europe as part of a league-wide 3-year deal signed in March 2022 in the lead up to the 2022 AIHL season. Former: *

Kayo Sports Kayo Sports is an Australian over-the-top video streaming service owned by Hubbl, a subsidiary of Foxtel. Launched in November 2018, the service is oriented towards sports, carrying live and on-demand content from Foxtel's Fox Sports networks ...

(2022) – Domestic online video broadcasting in Australia as part of the league wide deal struck in the lead up to the 2022 AIHL season to show every AIHL game live. *

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

(2013–19) – Part of the entire

AIHL The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level men's ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation). The AIHL is a semi-professional ...

domestic TV broadcasting deal with

to show one game a round, normally on Thursday's at 4:30 pm or after

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

games during NHL season.

Northstars trivia

''Trivia that relates to the Newcastle Northstars club or current and past players of the Northstars.'' *The North Stars set an AIHL record for most goals scored in a game by one team – and also for the greatest winning margin in a game – when they defeated the

by a score of 21–2 at the HISS on 6 August 2006. Centre Marcel Kars recorded 8 goals and 4 assists in the game. *Goaltender Ken Kozak played for the North Stars in 2002. He was in goal for the Australian national team when they defeated

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

58–0 in Perth in 1987, a world record score for an international ice hockey game.