Sydney Ice Dogs mid-season report card – Current Rating: Never Giving Up

The Sydney Ice Dogs are in the toughest conference and face a big battle ahead of them as they approach the end of the season.

Ice Dogs suffered the annual short line-up that many teams faced at the start of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) season, with players competing in the National Team overseas. This meant a number of the younger members of the team had an opportunity to step up.

Head Coach Jason Kvisle has been the Head Coach for the U18s Tange trophy since 2009, he has been Head Coach in the AJIHL since 2012, and the assistant coach for the world junior championships for the last 4 years.

Working and developing the next generation of locals comes easy to Kvisle, and this is highlighted in how the Ice Dogs’ youngest players have stepped up for him this season when they were depleted during national team commitments.

The conference system has sparked a number of conversations in recent weeks. We have arrived at this halfway point, seeing strong numbers in the Hellyer conference compared to Rurak.

Kvisle and the Ice Dogs have found themselves in one of the toughest conferences to compete in, with the fight for the top spot seeing big numbers in points for its top teams.

Room for Improvement

One key area the Ice Dogs have had to look at is showing up for the games from puck drop. They have come out strong and often get a lead in their games, but have struggled to hold onto the lead with games ending in defeat.

In a matchup against Newcastle at Macquarie, the Ice Dogs were up 3-1 and the Northstars came back in the third to win 3-4.

The following week at home against the Bears, the Ice Dogs were up 3-0 at the end of first period and also lost this one 3-4.

Two weeks later playing in Canberra, holding a nil all game until 3.58mins left in the second period saw the Brave open the floodgates with a powerplay goal. The Ice dogs lost this matchup 1-5.

Games in Perth and against Melbourne Ice were the same with a close game early on, but when the other team starts to score, quick goals take the game away from the Ice Dogs highlighting how they are playing 50mins of the game, but unable to bring it home.

Current Standings

Finding themselves in the toughest of the two conferences, the Ice Dogs sit at the bottom of the Hellyer conference with 14 games played. Chasing more wins as they approach the second half of the season they’ll be looking to move up the ladder in both their conference and overall to finish as strong as possible.

Key Performers so far

DMITRI KULESHOV

Dmitri Kuleshov has been growing from strength to strength each season and this year is no exception. He is becoming a well known player for the ice dogs, an exceptional talent that will be on the Australian hockey scene for years to come.

With 20 points (14 goals, 6 assists) from 14 games played this season, Kuleshov looks set for a career year and is two goals shy of his highest goals tally in an AIHL season.

JERRY ZOU

Jerry Zhou might not show up high on the stats sheet for the Ice Dogs, but his presence both on the ice and in the locker room is immeasurable. Even at a young age.

Trusted on the defensive line by Kvisle, Zhou works hard across all three zones, with exceptional puck handling skills.

Zhou has the ability to battle in 2-on-1 situations to retrieve pucks along the boards, an impressive skater who at 18-years-old will only get better.

BRAYDEN COSTA

Brayden Costa, a confident forward player has found his place amongst the defensive line-up for the Ice Dogs this year following his shift to that position under the world junior championship coaches guidance, which included Kvisle.

Returning to the Ice Dogs for 2024 in the backlines, his performances have earned him the hardest worker from his teammates. He will be another local player under Kvisle’s guidance to keep an eye on.

Best win of the season

Sunday May 5^th the Ice Dogs took on the Melbourne Mustangs at home and came away with a 5-2 victory over the 2023 defending champions.

Outshooting the Mustangs 53-37 it was a commanding win for the Ice Dogs at home and on their first win streak in 5 years.

Expectations for the remainder of the season

It is going to be a tough back half of the year for the Ice Dogs but I believe they will continue to drive hard to the end of the season to get the best out of their players and team to the very end.

Kvisle shared this sentiment saying, “And it’s going to be tough slogging for us, but I really wouldn’t sleep on it. We’ve got a good team that’s slowly finding their feet. We’ve just got to find it for 60 minutes.”

For more stories, news and analysis from the AIHL, please check out Hockey Hype Australia’s AIHL News section.

For AIHL stats and standings, please visit AIHL official and Elite Prospects.