The Hunter Ice Skating Stadium played host to four Ice Hockey Australia tournaments in 10 days during July 2024. Hockey Hype Australia recently published a tournament recap article with the team awards. This article focuses on the individual award winners.

Several of these players may already be familiar names for fans of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) and Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) with others being eligible for these competitions in future years. 

Along with the medalists in each tournament, each team awards their Most Valuable Player. From there, a decision is made for the Most Valuable Player of each tournament based on the best and fairest format. 

Each tournament has a Best Goaltender, Best Defender and Leading Points Scorer awarded. The team with the least penalty minutes for each tournament is also recognised. 

De Fris and Boxall tournament presentations were conducted by Nathan Walker and Lynda Holt after their tournaments. Tange and Ginsberg tournament presentations were conducted by Jane Woodlands-Thompson and Adam Woolnough. 

The presentations can be found online at the Thought Fox Media Group YouTube channel. The De Fris and Boxall presentations were held after the Boxall Gold Medal Game. The Tange and Ginsberg presentations were held after the Tange Gold Medal Game. 

The AIHL sponsored the Best and Fairest Award for each tournament. The awards were sponsored by Skaters Network with each winner receiving a $350 Gift Certificate.

This article features a brief summary of the people the four tournaments are named after. Full details about these names and many more in Australian ice sports can be found online at the Ice Legends Australia website.

Phil Ginsberg (13U)

Phillip Ginsberg OAM (1923 – 1998) was a hockey administrator who fought for Australians to be able to play hockey rather than simply importing players from overseas. He was highly committed to developing junior and womens hockey as well as at the national level for players and coaches.  

Gold: VIC
Silver: NSW
Bronze: QLD

AIHL Best and Fairest Award For Sportsmanship: Reid Wilkins (SA)

Fair Play Trophy: ACT and SA

Best Goaltender: Alston McMillan (SA)

Best Defender: Hudson Lesk (NSW) and Alyssa Lim (WA)

Top Points Scorer: Hudson Lesk (NSW)

VIC MVP: Mikhail Abdulin

NSW MVP: Hudson Lesk 

QLD MVP: Emmett Cunningham

SA MVP: Reid Wilkins

WA MVP: Anderson Magro

ACT MVP: Erin Breach 

Kurt Defris (15U)

Kurt Defris AM (1909 – 1983) was an administrator involved in various sports in Victoria including hockey. He was highly involved in the development of junior hockey in Victoria and had a focus on player development and welfare. He was awarded an Order Of Australia medal for services to sport in 1976. 

Gold: NSW
Silver: SA
Bronze: WA

AIHL Best and Fairest Award For Sportsmanship: Madden Kenzle (WA)

Fair Play Trophy: ACT

Best Goaltender: Riley Knapp (SA)

Best Defender: Mickey Nottle (SA)

Top Points Scorer: Hugo Arps (NSW)

NSW MVP: Aiden Downie 

SA MVP: Riley Knapp

WA MVP: Madden Kenzle

VIC MVP: Declan Adams

QLD MVP: Sami Rippon

ACT MVP: Aidan Byrne

Syd Tange (18U)

Sydney Tange (1917 – 2005) was a hockey player, coach, referee and administrator based in Sydney. He first played hockey in 1937 for the St George club in Sydney and held various hockey roles during his life. 

Gold: NSW
Silver: WA
Bronze: VIC

AIHL Best and Fairest Award For Sportsmanship: Daniel Koudelka (SA)

Fair Play Trophy: SA

Best Goaltender: Justin Baxter (NSW), Marcus Henderson (WA), Rohan Hoy (QLD)

Best Defender: Tyrone Oxlade (NSW)

Top Points Scorer: Jed Lake (VIC)

NSW MVP: Tyrone Oxlade 

WA MVP: Kael Telfer

VIC MVP: Jed Lake

SA MVP: Daniel Koudelka

QLD MVP: Cooper Kimmett

ACT MVP: Oliver Gilling

Stephanie Boxall (Womens)

Stephanie Boxall (born 1973) was the tournament MVP and top scorer at the first National Womens Championship in 1995. She was also a member of the first Australian Womens National Team in 1998 and the first captain in 2000. Apart from hockey, she has starred in other sports including triathlon, cricket, and Australian Rules Football.   

Gold: QLD
Silver: SA
Bronze: ACT

AIHL Best and Fairest Award For Sportsmanship: Ebony Brunt (ACT)

Fair Play Trophy: VIC

Best Goaltender: Sasha King (WA)

Best Defender: Katrina Rapchuk (QLD)

Top Points Scorer: Courtney Mahoney (QLD)

QLD MVP: Amanda Dixon

SA MVP: Elana Holub

ACT MVP: Ebony Brunt

NSW MVP: Samantha Payne

WA MVP: Abigail Webb

VIC MVP: Minran Yang

As seen from this first running of these four national tournaments together, the future of Australian hockey is certainly bright with a new generation of players, officials, and volunteers who are coming through the age groups.