2026 AIHL Season Schedule Released

The 2026 AIHL season schedule has been released by the league. It offers up a bumper season of 150 regular season games plus a further five Finals games. The regular season will run from Friday 17 April 2026 and conclude on Sunday 23 August 2026. The Finals weekend will then follow on the last weekend of August. Let’s delve into the talking points and interesting tidbits of this season’s schedule:

Increase in Friday Night Games

Several teams will be playing their first Friday night games this year, including the Canberra Brave, Perth Thunder and Adelaide Adrenaline. Of course, the Sydney and Melbourne derbies get Friday night fixtures too, so expect to see the Mustangs, Ice, Bears and Ice Dogs in action too. There are 9 Friday night games in 2026, a 125% increase compared to 2025.

That seems like a lot, and it is, but we are talking about low numbers, 4 games compared to 9 and an abnormal season without the Sydney teams. In a normal season there would be 6 Friday night games. So, this still represents a 50% increase on a ‘normal’ season.

Weekend from Hell

The Perth Thunder get the weekend from hell in 2026. Three road games in three days in three cities. Over the weekend of 3-5 July 2026, the Thunder will play the Sydney Ice Dogs on Friday night at Macqaurie Ice Rink. On Saturday, they will travel to Erina Ice Arena on the Central Coast and take on the Rhinos in the afternoon. On Sunday, the Thunder will again travel, this time interstate, to Brisbane, Queensland to take on the Lightning at Boondall.

This must go down as the most epic of road trips any AIHL teams has ever taken in a season. It sounds like it could produce wild games, but one thing is for sure, the poor Perth players are going to be buggered at the end of it.

AIS Arena not Available until May

Similar to last season, the AIHL action will not be witnessed from the league’s largest venue until May. Unlike last season, they Brave will not play any home games in April at Phillip Ice Skating Centre. All games this season will be played at the AIS with an incredibly packed month of June.

Mad Month of May for Rhinos

The Central Coast Rhinos have he honour of the most intense month of the season out of any of the 10 teams. In May 2026 the Rhinos will play 10 games, five away and five at home. The congested May does give way to a light July and August workload, so it does have its advantages.

Canada Day Classic 2026

This season’s Canada Day Classic is scheduled for 27 June 2026 at Macquarie Ice Rink in Sydney. The Sydney Bears will take on the Melbourne Ice ahead of Canada’s actual day, which is 1 July 2026. So, everyone remember to bring your Canadian gear and make it a great day of hockey.

Finals 2026

The AIHL Finals weekend is once again scheduled for the last weekend of August. There will be three days of action between Friday 28 August to Sunday 30 August 2026. 2 games on Friday, 2 games on Saturday and the grand final on Sunday afternoon.