2015 AIHL season
| 2015 AIHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Australian Ice Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 25 April 2015 – 30 August 2015 |
| Regular season | |
| H Newman Reid Trophy | Newcastle North Stars |
| Season MVP | Geordie Wudrick (North Stars) |
| Top scorer | Geordie Wudrick |
| Goodall Cup | |
| Champions | Newcastle North Stars |
| Runners-up | Melbourne Ice |
| Finals MVP | Geordie Wudrick |
| Qualified for the playoffs |
The 2015 AIHL season was the 16th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 25 April 2015 until 23 August 2015, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 29 and 30 August. The Newcastle North Stars won both the H Newman Reid Trophy for finishing first in the regular season, and the Goodall Cup after defeating the Melbourne Ice in the final.
The Gold Coast Blue Tongues license has expired two years after they were suspended from the AIHL due to their inability to organise a new ice rink. In response the league has started making enquiries in Brisbane to gauge interest in placing a team back in the city. The Central Coast Rhinos who played in the AIHL between 2005 and 2008 applied to re-enter the league at the 2014 Annual General Meeting. Their application however was rejected for undisclosed reasons. The Sydney Bears announced that they were moving from the Sydney Ice Arena to the Penrith Ice Palace. The Bears previously played at the Ice Palace from 2007 to 2011 before relocating to the Ice Arena. The teams move comes after the Ice Arena's land was approved for redevelopment. In January 2015 the Sydney Ice Dogs announced a deal with DGB Media Group to produce a highlights program for their home games which will be aired on the Television Sydney station. On 4 February the Canberra Institute of Technology announced that they had signed on with the CBR Brave as a major sponsor with a deal that would include the Institutes logo on the team jerseys and their students working with the players as part of their training. The Brave also signed Anytime Fitness as a sleeve sponsor, Benchmarc Financial Group as a pants sponsor and Smoque restaurant as the club's official post match partner. In April 2015 the Sydney Ice Dogs signed Southern Cross Group Services as a new sponsor for the club. In March the league revealed new branding which included a new logo and slogan “Fast, Fierce, Full-on”. The new logo which is designed to represent the Australian Commonwealth star and a blade of an ice hockey stick was developed by Coordinate. The CBR Brave announced that they had established a junior affiliate club, known as the Junior Brave, in conjunction with Ice Hockey ACT to compete in the NSW Midget Ice Hockey League. On 17 March Hards Transport signed a deal with the Adelaide Adrenaline to become the clubs naming rights sponsor. In April the Sydney Bears signed a deal with TGI Fridays Macquarie Centre restaurant to sponsor the bar located at the Penrith Ice Palace. They also announced a partnership with apparel company Ryzer for 2015 with the company supplying the home and away uniforms. The league changed one rule for the 2015 season, adopting the hybrid icing rule to allow players to better prepare for International Ice Hockey Federation competitions and mitigate risks associated with end wall collisions.
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