2023 in review
- 2023 record – 1st in Rurak Conference, 1st overall, Cup Final loss (20W – 1OTW – 1OTL – 4L)
After another strong season for the Brave, running into a Liam Hughes-shaped wall in the Final meant it was ultimately for nought, with a heartbreaking 1-0 loss. This came at the end of a season that reflects largely what has come to be expected from the Brave – with the best offensive team in the league, and a solid two-man goaltending tandem.
Figure 1: CBR Brave key stats in 2023 AIHL season
Key to the strength of the Brave has been depth – with enough firepower up front that they began Finals weekend with Jake Riley on a 4th line, and three defensive pairs rolling through. At the forefront of this was arguably the most threatening single line in the AIHL, with Casey Kubara centring Albrecht and Plouffe for a combined 197 points . A second line of Hughes, Camenzind and Harvey ensured the experience quotient was met as well.
Table 1: CBR Brave top 5 scorers in 2023
Table 2: CBR Brave 2023 goalie stats
History
Since joining the league in 2014, the Brave are the only team to feature in every Finals series and have been perennial contenders – with two Goodall Cups to show for it, as well as four consecutive H Newman Reid trophies for finishing the regular season on top of the standings.
They’re an offensive juggernaut, putting up over five goals per game since they joined the league in 2014 – the only team to play more than one season and average over five goals per game[i]. In more recent seasons, a stronger defensive aspect has been added, and in the last two seasons the Brave have restricted teams to just over 27 shots per game – the only team below 30.
Since their inception, their home record is outstanding – collecting almost three-quarters of the points on offer (74.8%), while away from home this falls a little to 67.9%. Driven by a core in recent years consisting of captain Kai Miettinen, the Kubara brothers, Joey Hughes, Matt Harvey, Wehebe Darge (until 2022) and Mitch Henning, with continued new additions, the Brave trade on depth.
When it comes to opponents, the Brave have winning records against all teams – and over 70% against six of them. The team they have the worst record against is the Perth Thunder – the Brave only take 53.8% of the points on offer here. The other two teams that take over 30% of the points on offer are the two Melbourne teams – who have combined for 3 Cups over the period.
While the Brave are a strong team, they aren’t a young team at all – and there may be a bit of a changing of the guard coming soon as well with five players on the 2023 roster on the wrong side of 35. It will be a key challenge to manage the transition of some of these players out, and the growth of younger guys as they become more regular AIHL players.
The tables below show the top scorers for the Brave, goalie performances for the two current goalies and the top scorers against CBR.
Table 3: CBR Brave top 10 scorers, 2014 to 2023
Table 4: CBR Brave key goalie stats, 2014 to 2023
*Per game calculations based on 60 minutes, not 50.
Table 5: Top 10 scorers against CBR Brave, 2014 to 2023
New players/imports
The Brave are yet to make any announcements around players for the 2024 season.
Player to watch
The Brave has an experienced core of players who are well established, but 2023 did show some glimpses of Charlie York, and he impressed with the chances he got. Not afraid to use his body and get into physical battles, he can be a front-of-net presence for the Brave as he takes the next step as an AIHL player.
Keys for 2024
Clearly the Brave are a contending team at the moment, after falling a goal short in 2023. So they don’t need to change much – just keep rolling on. Managing the availability of players to generate chemistry between lines will be something that Coach Stu Philps will need to continue to balance, as well.
With a strong local goaltending tandem, the assumption is the Brave will continue to play four import skaters and history suggests these will be high-quality. Adding these to the local firepower should take care of the scoring side of the ledger comfortably – though a little more spread than 2023 would be welcomed, after the dominance of the top line. This also allows for two import defensemen, which is a key for the strong defensive game the Brave have developed in recent years.
[i] Next best since 2013 are Newcastle, who are over 0.8 goals per game behind the Brave.
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