Plenty has been said and explored regarding the bad news from the last couple of weeks. However, there has also a been a lot of good news stories to come out over this period.

I thought it would be great to share some of these to lift people’s spirits and moods.

Annelie Kvisle to the rescue

Annelie has been a fixture in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) for some time now. Devoting a lot of time, energy and medical expertise to the sport and community she loves.

This past week or so, she has been run off her feet. Annelie was on the spot to assist with a public skate session incident before the Sydney Ice Dogs game. Throughout the game she was constantly on hand to help players from both teams with medical issues. Annelie was then on hand for the significant Ville Tenosalmi injury incident.

She made a big difference on the ground in Sydney. She deserves a lot of praise for her actions this and every weekend.

It would have been nice getting the feedback from the public skater’s family and it was brilliant seeing Ville Tenosalmi show his support for her publicly in AIHL Fans last week. We all wish Ville the best and speediest of recoveries from his injury.

In fact, it has been nice seeing all the hockey community’s love for Annelie this past week on socials. Personal and community feedback is not always forthcoming or possible, so when it does happen, it can make a difference to our tireless volunteers.

Annelie is the epitome of volunteers across the league, stick taps to her and all other volunteers.

She said YES!

It’s not everyday you get to witness magic on the ice, but last weekend in Adelaide a packed barn did.

Under the pretense of a puck throwing game, Jonty and Kalani got engaged in front of the adoring hockey community in Adelaide. Jonty got down on one knee and proposed to a surprised and joyful Kalani who said yes.

Speaking to Jonty this week about the event, he had the following to say:

how long they have been Adrenaline fans for?

I’ve been a fan of hockey for a good few years after being introduced by my long time friend and hopefully best man and dragged Kalani to a few games and she quickly became just as engaged as I was for lack of a better term.

What does hockey mean to you both?

Hockey to us represents connection and mate-ship, a simple “do you want to go to the hockey” is enough to rally the troops and catch up on everyone’s lives.

Hopefully now with this we were able to bring a smile to people’s faces, cause you can never go wrong with one more smile.

I still can’t believe that we were given this opportunity and can’t extend our gratitude enough to the people that made this amazing day in our lives possible.”

Danielle Calvaresi, who helped stage the event had this to say:

How long did it take to plan?

Jonty and I planned this proposal for over a month, it was absolutely amazing to be a part of it. I’d say they’re at 99% of the home games, always early lining up and always cheering from the front row. Great couple.

It’s Game On off the Ice

Perth Thunder players shared a photo this last week of them enjoying a LAN session of Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition.

This photo went viral around the AIHL fan community and garnered such responses as “Look, they’re just like us!” and “I will buy a new laptop just for this”. Ben Hoggan even posted a photo of the 1999 San Antonio Spurs NBA champions team on a private jet enjoying a LAN party with laptops.

I spoke with Jamie Woodman about the photo and he said Ville Tenosalmi was the instigator for the boys to start playing AOE2 on longer road trips. Congratulations to David Kudla, who won the gaming session.

Currently they have four members of the Perth Thunder team playing, but they have been in contact with players from other teams about joining.

Alastair Punler and Jamie Woodman are working on developing an idea of an inter-team tournament if they can raise the interest. The idea would be to twitch stream games and raise donations for Ville Tenosalmi, who has lost his income stream with his injury.

The idea of a fans challenge could be incorporated if they donate. I suggested they could have a cup for the tournament winner, and it could be named the Tenosalmi Cup.

One to watch out for if it gets up. I’m sure we have lots of gamers in the community and plenty of people who would be happy to help Ville Tenosalmi out as he recovers.

Puck drops to remember

Every week in the AIHL we have ceremonial puck drops across the country. We’ve seen two that have meant a lot to us at Hockey Hype Australia.

Yaroslav Muzychka

Firstly, 14 year-old Ukrainian Yaroslav Muzychka’s special moment in Adelaide.

Yaroslav was born and raised in Ukraine and moved to Adelaide two years ago. He’s been a hockey player his whole life and moving to the other side of the world has not stopped that.

Muzychka has found a new hockey family in South Australia. He recently represented the state at the U15 Kurt De Fris national championships in Newcastle.  South Australia finished runner-up in the tournament.

Draped in his huge Ukrainian flag, Yaroslav dropped the ceremonial puck alongside newly arrived Ukrainian international defenseman Oleksandr Voronin. It was an emotional and joyous occasion that I am sure will live long in Yaroslav’s memory.

Andrew ‘Doogie’ Macdougall

To celebrate the annual Pride Round hosted by the Melbourne Mustangs in partnership with Amnesty International, HHA’s own Andrew ‘Doogie’ Macdougall performed ceremonial the puck drop.

Andrew has hosted the Pride & Puck podcast for a couple of years now. Bringing unique stories and voices from the LGBTIQ+ hockey community. Inclusive hockey is not just a motto, it is a way of life.

Thankfully Doogie remembered to look forward towards the camera so Phil Taylor could capture the moment in all its glory. Doogie’s moment was extra special as he got to share it with AIHL legend Matt Armstrong, who was celebrating his 250th AIHL appearance milestone.

If you want to listen to Doogie’s experience with the puck drop, he spoke about it on the Hockey Night in Australia podcast last week.

For more AIHL news and stories like It’s Good News Week, please check out Hockey Hype Australia’s AIHL News section.

If you want to get to an AIHL game and experience these moments first hand before the 2024 regular season ends, you can find tickets on the AIHL website.