The 2010 AIHL season was the 11th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of the

Australian Ice Hockey League The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation). The league is run by its own board o ...

(AIHL). It also marked the 10th Anniversary since the league’s inception in 2000. The league ran from 24 April 2010 until 22 August 2010, with the

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 ...

finals following on 28 and 29 August 2010. The

Newcastle North Stars The Newcastle Northstars (formally ''Newcastle North Stars'') is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Newcastle, New South Wales. The Northstars are a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL), joining as an expansion tea ...

won the H Newman Reid Trophy after finishing the regular season first in the league standings.

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 Lea ...

won the Goodall Cup for the first time by defeating the defending champions Adelaide Adrenaline in the final.

Teams

In 2010 the AIHL had 7 teams competing in the league.

League business

During the off-season, the AIHL held its AGM where four board positions were filled following the retirement of three members. Chairman, Tim Frampton, was re-elected. The AGM agenda included the new stadium for Melbourne, scheduling, sponsorship, and referee management for the 2010 season. Other topics included IHA relations and a proposed new team from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. The AIHL Bears renamed to the Sydney Bears. The team was previously known as the Sydney Bears between 1997 and 2007. In January, the AIHL released the season schedule. Seven teams would compete in eighty-four matches between April and August. The opening round of the season would kick off on the Anzac Day Weekend. In February, the new ice sports stadium in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

was opened. Named the Icehouse, the new stadium boasts two Olympic-sized ice rinks and is the third rink in Australia to be fully glassed. The new facility is the home of the

Olympic Winter Institute of Australia The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) is an Olympic & federal government-funded elite sports training institution of Australia for the purpose of training athletes and coaches in sports involved in the Winter Olympics. The Australian ...

. In late February it was announced the

would relocate to the new stadium in Docklands from the Olympic Ice Skating Centre,

Oakleigh South Oakleigh South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Kingston and Monash local government areas. Oakleigh South recorded a population of 9,85 ...

. In March, the AIHL announced a change to how the Finals host would be selected. Rather than a combined member and board vote, the hosting rights would be put up for open tender. The League also welcomed back the

after a one year absence. Ice Hockey Australia made the request for the league to take back the Cup and the organisation voted to restore the Goodall Cup as the Championship winning prize for the AIHL. The newly minted AIHL Champions Trophy was renamed and re-purposed by the AIHL to become the H Newman Reid Trophy and would be handed to the regular season premiers. 2009 AIHL Champions, the Adelaide Adrenaline, were etched into the Goodall Cup. During the season, the Gold Coast Blue Tongues signed an agreement with the Southern Stars Ice Hockey Club to play two home games in

at the olympic sized

Acacia Ridge Acacia Ridge is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,429 people. Geography Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. It is within the local government a ...

ice rink. AIHL Vice President Joshua Puls tendered his resignation citing an over commitment with Victoria's disadvantaged communities and a perceived conflict of interest after accepting an appointment as Patron of the Melbourne Ice as his reasons for the decision. The Sydney Ice Dogs also announced the launch of Ice Dogs TV featuring highlights from 2010 Ice Dogs home games as well as player interviews and other content. In July, the league announced the new

Melbourne Icehouse The Icehouse (also currently known as O'Brien Icehouse due to naming rights) is an Australian ice sports and entertainment centre, located in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.Source
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Statistics

Scoring leaders

List shows the ten top skaters sorted by points, then goals.

Leading goaltenders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage.

Goodall Cup playoffs

The playoffs were held between 28 and 29 August with all three games being played at the Icehouse in

won the final and the

(1st title) after defeating the then defending champions Adelaide Adrenaline 6–4. The Ice took an early lead in the final before going behind twice. A strong finish to the match saw the Goodall Cup return to Victoria for the first time in 27 years. Melbourne Ice's Canadian born forward, Jason Baclig, was named the finals most valuable player (MVP) and was awarded the inaugural Kendall Finals MVP trophy. All times are UTC+10:00

Semi-finals

Final

References

External links

The Australian Ice Hockey League
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010 Aihl Season AIHL season

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

Australian Ice Hockey League seasons