Sydney Bears
| Sydney Bears | |
|---|---|
 2016 AIHL season
|
|
 |
|
| City | Macquarie Park, New South Wales |
| League | Australian Ice Hockey League |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Home arena | Macquarie Ice Rink |
| Colours | |
| General manager | Wayne Hellyer |
| Head coach |
 Ron Kuprowsky
|
| Captain |
Michael Schlamp
|
| Website | Bearsden.com.au |
| Franchise history | |
| 1982–1997 | Macquarie Bears |
| 1997–2007 | Sydney Bears |
| 2007–2009 | AIHL Bears |
| 2010– | Sydney Bears |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 2 (2002, 2008) |
| Conference Championships | 0 |
| Goodall Cups | 2 (2002, 2007) |
The Sydney Bears are an amateur ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL).
The team plays out of Macquarie Ice Rink in Sydney, New South Wales. They have won two Goodall Cup championships since their founding in 2000, most recently in 2007. The Bears are the last remaining original team in the AIHL, after the Canberra Knights and Adelaide Avalanche folded and were reformed under different names. The team has previously played out of the Penrith Ice Palace and the Sydney Ice Arena.
The Bears were founded in 1982 and were originally known as the Macquarie Bears. With the impending formation of a national league the team decided to change their name to the Sydney Bears in 1997.
The Bears are two-time winners of the Goodall Cup and won the AIHL championship in 2002 and 2007. The team also won the Goodall Cup tournament in 2001 in Newcastle, the last time the Cup was awarded independently of the AIHL.
The Bears are the last remaining original team in AIHL after both Canberra and Adelaide folded and restarted under new names and management.
In 2002, the Bears defeated the Avalanche in the Goodall Cup final for their second consecutive Cup and their first and only AIHL Championship. In 2007 the team announced they would move to Penrith for the 2007 AIHL season at which time, dropping "Sydney" to become The Bears, or AIHL Bears. For the start of the 2010 season the Bears reverted to their previous name of Sydney Bears. It was that year the Bears also won their second AIHL Championship and their most recent to date.
The Bears commenced the 2011 season on 16 April with a home opener against the newest addition to the AIHL, The Mustangs. Bears rookie forward Lucian Hackett scored the first goal of the season on his debut. Other Bears players making their debut were Laurie Mock, and import Kurtis Dulle. The Bears struggled to record a win in their first five games, however their roster was not yet at full strength. The Bears were missing goaltender Sheldon Baerg, forward Tony Demelinne who was representing Netherlands at the IIHF World Championship Division I, and defenceman Jordan Hale who was competing in the Royal Bank Cup with the Camrose Kodiaks.
...
Wikipedia