Melbourne Ice mid-season report card – Current rating: Living on Cloud 9 (really f*ing good)

The best possible start to a season for the Melbourne Ice sees them right in the hunt for titles on three fronts. The feel-good factor has returned to the team that seemed to be veering from one crisis to another over the last few years.

The Ice’s start to 2024 is best summed up by their 10-game winning streak to commence the campaign.

Who would have predicted this pre-season? No one is the answer. Not even the most die-hard of Ice supporters from the South Pole or Bell End fan groups. There is a reason why we get almost weekly gifs or meme posts about how good the Ice are on the AIHL Fans group from Sam Morgan and Nathan McGee.

Ishida-mania

There is no denying the huge impact Tatsunoshin Ishida has made on the Ice and the AIHL since his arrival. He is the player on everyone’s lips this season.

His impressive performances on the ice, connections to the Asia League and legions of fans have really helped introduce Australian hockey to the wide world of Japanese and Asian hockey culture.

No matter what else happens this season, one thing is for sure, Ishida will go down as a cult hero for the Melbourne Ice and a modern icon of the AIHL

In Gouche we trust

Rightly or wrongly, there were a lot of doubters about Kerry Goulet last season. The ice kept faith in their decision to hire him last season and he returned for 2024.

Kerry himself has told us all on the Hockey Night in Australia podcast, that he took a lot of time in the off-season to go learn how to coach modern young hockey players. That investment in his own education is paying off in spades this season.

Kerry and the team put together a roster ready to challenge for titles and the way the Ice are going about things is so different compared to last season. Gone is the scenes of chaos and individualism and in its place a sense of unity and togetherness. Key ingredients, along with talent, tactics and a bit of luck, to a winning hockey formula.

Goulet is also a coach who thoroughly prepares his team for what they are going to face week in week out. Improvements to opposition analysis I believe is paying big dividends for the team this season.

Current standings

Not since 2017 have we seen the Melbourne Ice in this position. Top of the league and top of Hellyer (Hell-Yeah) Conference. You literally can’t be in a better position heading into the second half of the season.

The Ice have registered 15 wins and one loss from 17 games. This includes an overtime record of two wins and one loss.

The Victorians have the best defensive record in the league this half-season and the second-best attack, behind only the Sydney Bears by 10 goals. They are averaging 5.65 goals a game for and 2.35 goals against.

Key Performers so far

Joey Hughes

The returning King of the Ice has not missed a beat this season. Head coach, Kerry Goulet, keeps singing his praises every time we speak to him about the Ice this season.

Not only is he providing a big personality presence in the locker room, great leadership on the ice and bench but he is also supercharging his performance on the ice too.

He is the only official local player in the top 5 of the scoring charts this season so far. 31 points from 13 games is a fantastic return for a player who had limited games in the last two seasons with the Canberra Brave. In comparison to last season, Hughes played 11 games over the whole season and had 14 points.

His big game performances are also a big advantage for the Ice this season too. Joey loves the big occasions and it is so rare for him not to bring his best to those games. He has done this at every team he has played for. This is perhaps why he has lifted so many Goodall Cups.

Tatsunoshin Ishida

Ishida has been a revelation since arriving in Australia at the start of the season. At the mid-way point he has cemented his place as the undisputed number one for the Ice and one of the top goaltenders in the league.

He currently leads the league standings in save percentage with a seriously impressive .941 (94.1%) save percentage. He also leads the league in goals against average too, with a 1.80 GAA.

But what is most impressive about his stint with the Ice so far is how he inspires his team and the fans. He makes everyone feel like he will get a shutout every game and a win is on the way.

Mac Caruana

The C letter on his chest really suits Mac Caruana in 2024. Mac has gone from strength to strength since 2023 worlds with the Australian team.

Last season he produced a breakout season with 47 points and consistent high caliber performances in an unpredictable Ice team.

This season he has continued to produce on the Ice, 28 points in 13 games, but he has really grown as a leader. His rise to a key player for a trophy hunting Ice team is something to behold. What’s more, his generosity to the fans and kids is second to none.  That really adds buy-in by everyone who follows the team that translates to better atmosphere at games and a real feel-good factor around the team.

Best win so far

There is not a lot of options for this, however, the one win the team has got over the line thus far was a big scalp, the Sydney Bears.

The best win is hard to pick when there has been so many. I narrowed this down to two initially. The 4-3 shootout win over the Brave in Canberra and the ice faced adversity and overcame it, or the 4-0 shutout victory over the Thunder on the road in Perth.

The Perth victory has ultimately been picked. To get a shutout win against one of your main conference and league title rivals in their barn is a massive statement to make. Ice fans were rightfully buzzing after the result.

The Ice produced a masterclass performance in that game. Both offensively and defensively. They were killer on special teams, scoring 2 power play goals while killing five Thunder power plays. They were just out-shot but Ishida stood strong with 37 saves from 37 shots.

Austin Albrecht was debuting for the Ice that game and scored 2 goals to kick-start his Ice career. Big Mac Caruana and Solow also got on the scoresheet to silence the home crowd. The Ice also did with while missing the big game impact influence of Joey Hughes.

Expectations for remainder of the season

Keep the course, keep the faith and multiple title challenges are on the cards.

Expectation will be lifting at least one of the three trophies on offer this season for the Ice. Will it be the Hellyer Conference Trophy, H Newman Reid Trophy or Goodall Cup? Or all three? The chance to become the first treble winners in AIHL history is tantalizing for the Ice faithful.  

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