Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 November saw the start of the 2024/2025 Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) season with games in Melbourne (Melbourne Ice v Brisbane Lightning) and Perth (Perth Inferno v Sydney Sirens). Let’s take an Eric Brook-style look at the weekend that was.
The Ice finally have a home jersey!
Anyone who knows me or has seen my appearances on The Weekly Wraparound or Hockey Night In Australia know that I am a jersey collector. On The Weekly Wraparound prior to the opening weekend, AWIHL Commissioner Michaela Fellowes shared the news that all teams from this season onwards will have a home and away jersey.
While the Sirens have used a white jersey as an alternative for a while, that is all that the Melbourne Ice Women’s team knows. For Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) fans, the jersey itself is similar to the Melbourne Ice men’s jersey – blue with touches of red and white. It is a nice addition to the AWIHL.
I can’t wait to see the Rush away jerseys when they go on the road. The Ice (white) and Rush (red) were the last two teams in the league with a single jersey choice.
As an aside, I have home jerseys for Sirens (two different years) and Rush with an Inferno jersey on the way. Needless to say, I have more jerseys to collect.
Marnie Sunday
Staying in Melbourne, one player that didn’t get to wear an Ice home jersey was Ice defender and newly named alternate captain Marnie Pullen. On Sunday, I was pleased to tune into the game live and hear Marnie on commentary alongside commentator Todd Morris.
I’ve always enjoyed hearing players and former players join in and add their experience to the commentary. This year, I was fortunate enough to have Sirens alumni Sera Dogramaci and Amelia Matheson alongside me in commentary including working with both ladies during the recent Trans Tasman series in Newcastle. Rush captain Tash Farrier also has had some serious time in the commentary role during AIHL games involving Adelaide Adrenaline.
Of course, it would be preferable for Marnie to be on the ice for her team instead of being in the commentary box. Injured during the Trans Tasman series, I personally am pleased to be able to hear action from the commentary box from people who have been there and know the game in a way I never will. Players who have been there will have a valuable insight and it is a great way to get to know players better. Marnie’s hoping to be back on the ice where she belongs in January.
They’ll need a bigger scoreboard… Oh wait
Over in Perth, Inferno took on the Sirens in what looked to be a busy afternoon for the scorekeepers if history is a guide. In previous games between the two teams, I’ve seen Inferno score nine goals against the Sirens and still lose. Sirens coach Jayden Ryan spoke with Hockey Hype Australia’s Gordon Goodenough who commented that defence can be optional for these two teams.
History can be wrong and people can be wrong. History will show that a goaltending clinic was the order of the day. Sasha King got her second shutout in a row (for Australia v New Zealand and for Inferno v Sirens).
At the other end of the ice, Ella Licari also went 60 minutes without conceding a goal. 60 minutes of Inferno/Sirens action on Saturday with no goals? Who saw that coming? Certainly not E Brook, G Goodenough or J Ryan!
In the end, it took Inferno 15 seconds of overtime to achieve what they couldn’t do in 60 minutes after a two-on-zero situation and a very close call about the zone entry. Elizabeth Scala drew Licari in and delivered a nice pass to Georgia McLellan to seal Inferno’s first W of the season.
Here’s a goal chart we prepared earlier
On Saturday’s pre-game show before the Inferno/Sirens game, Gordon Goodenough presented a couple of goal charts (or shot charts, if you prefer) based on last season’s goals scored by Sirens captain Sarah Edney and Inferno counterpart Elizabeth Scala. Both players scored 22 goals for the season as the equal top goal scorers in the 2023/2024 AWIL season.
As we can see on these maps, Edney and Scala have very different scoring patterns. On Sunday, Edney scored her team’s only goals (a hat-trick, if you don’t mind!) while Scala scored two goals and set up the game winner on Saturday. Note that these dots represent successful shots on goal only.
Keep looking forward to more interesting stats and other in depth coverage with Hockey Hype Australia this AWIHL season!
So what happened this weekend?
Melbourne Ice had a very successful home opener against the Brisbane Lightning. Winning 7-1 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday, the Ice stamped their authority on the weekend.
Christina Julien continued her good form from the Trans Tasman weekend with a seven point weekend (4 goals, 3 assists). With the exception of Saturday’s third period where the Ice accelerated away, the Lightning showed their abilities at both ends of the ice.
Obviously, scoring only one goal in each game will not help the Lightning’s cause to win games. Mind you, that’s all Perth Inferno needed to do on Saturday against Sydney Sirens.
At the Cockburn Ice Arena, the action on the ice was hot on Saturday with 60 minutes not enough for either team to score. It took Perth 15 seconds to win in overtime.
Perth continued their good form on Sunday morning sending the Sirens home with only one competition point to show for their weekend’s work. The scorers had to sharpen their pencils compared to Saturday’s OT game with a 4-3 win to the Inferno. Sarah Edney scored all three goals for the Sirens while Elizabeth Scala contributed two goals for the Inferno.
Week 2 – What can we look forward to?
Adelaide Rush were able to sit back as interested spectators last weekend as everyone else played their first games of the season. I’m very much looking forward to seeing Emma Moonen make her debut in a red Rush jersey against Inferno’s goaltending machine Sasha King in the weekend’s games in Adelaide. These matches are the only AWIHL regular season matches this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Melbourne Ducks fly north to Brisbane for their first road trip of the season and their history in a couple of exhibition games against the Brisbane Lightning. Do Ducks like to fly in lightning storms? I’ll let you know From Behind The Glass next week.
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