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2023–24 AWIHL season

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2023–24 AWIHL season
LeagueAWIHL
SportIce hockey
Duration28 October 2023 – 10 March 2024
Regular season
PremiersPerth Inferno (1st title)
Top scorerMichelle Clark-Crumpton
(38 points) (Inferno)
Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy
ChampionsMelbourne Ice (8th title)
  Runners-upPerth Inferno
Finals MVPDanielle Butler (Ice)
AWIHL seasons

The 2023–24 AWIHL season is the 15th season of the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League (AWIHL). It ran from 28 October 2023 until 10 March 2024. Five teams competed in 40 regular season games followed by 4 playoff games, making up the AWIHL Finals weekend. The Perth Inferno claimed the Gower Memorial Shield premiership title, their maiden title, for finishing top of the regular season standings. The Melbourne Ice claimed their eighth Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy championship title by winning the grand final. Perth Inferno collected silver with Adelaide Rush claimed bronze. Defending champions, the Sydney Sirens, claimed the wooden spoon.

Teams

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In 2023–24 the AWIHL had five teams from five Australian state capital cities competing, stretching east to west of the continent.[1]

2023–24 AWIHL teams
Team City Arena Head Coach Captain
Adelaide Rush South Australia Adelaide IceArenA Canada Joey MacDougall Australia Natasha Farrier
Brisbane Lightning Queensland Brisbane Boondall Iceworld Australia Matthew Meyer Canada Christina Badgley
Melbourne Ice Victoria (state) Melbourne O'Brien Icehouse Australia Curtis Klooster Australia Georgia Moore
Perth Inferno Western Australia Perth Cockburn Ice Arena Australia Graham Hyde United States Chrystina Acker
Sydney Sirens New South Wales Sydney Macquarie Ice Rink Australia Gabriel Robledo Canada Sarah Edney
Exhibition teams
Melbourne Ducks Victoria (state) Melbourne IceHQ Australia Jeremy Muir Australia Lucy Parrington

League Business

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Ahead of the 2023–24 season, IceHQ's Melbourne Ducks announced their bid to join the AWIHL.[2] The official AWIHL gameday schedule was released in early September 2023.[3] The season structure was amended from 2022 to 2023, with each team now playing eight home and eight away games for a total of sixteen games over the regular season. An increase from the previous six home and away games.[4] The trophy for the Premiership, winners of the regular season, was also amended in 2023. The Gower Memorial Shield replaced the previous Premiers trophy, the Stephanie Boxall Trophy.[5] In late September, the AWIHL broadcast partner, Clutch.TV, went into administration and ceased all operations.[6] The league was left little time to look for a new broadcaster for season 2023–24. On 24 October, the AWIHL announced a deal with Sportscast Australia to become the league's new broadcast partner for season 2023–24.[7] A few days later the AWIHL and Sportscast Australia launched AWIHL.TV to deliver region-unlocked live and on-demand streaming of all regular season and finals games on a custom built website and YouTube.[8] In January 2024, the AWIHL announced player equipment rule changes and a new equipment supplier agreement with Skaters Network.[9] Neck laceration protective equipment was made mandatory, bringing the league into policy alignment with Ice Hockey Australia (IHA) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).[10] The deal with Skaters network, also covers sponsorship of player of the month and end of season player awards.[9]

Exhibition games

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To support the Melbourne Ducks application to join the league, the AWIHL approved the team to setup an exhibition series against existing AWIHL teams, including the Sydney Sirens, Melbourne Ice and Adelaide Rush, during season 2023–24.[11] The Sydney Sirens also arranged a pre-season exhibition against a select team from their sponsor Wayward Brewing Company[12]

2023-24 AWIHL exhibition games
Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
14 October 2023 16:30 Wayward Sons 1–3 Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink Ref
20 October 2023 19:00 Melbourne Ice 15–0 Melbourne Ducks iceHQ Ref
21 October 2023 18:30 Melbourne Ice 14–0 Melbourne Ducks iceHQ Ref
9 December 2023 19:30 Sydney Sirens 14–4 Melbourne Ducks iceHQ Ref
10 December 2023 16:00 Sydney Sirens 1–2 Melbourne Ducks iceHQ Ref
3 February 2024 19:30 Adelaide Rush 12–1 Melbourne Ducks iceHQ Ref
4 February 2024 15:00 Adelaide Rush 9–1 Melbourne Ducks iceHQ Ref

Regular season

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Fixtures & results

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Running between 28 October 2023 and 25 February 2024, the AWIHL regular season consisted of 40 games in total, with teams playing 16 games each.[3] Game 34 of the regular season was first postponed and then cancelled by the AWIHL following a carbon monoxide poisoning incident at Adelaide’s IceArenA.[13] At least 42 people, including players from both AWIHL teams, were treated for poisoning with dozens hospitalised by the incident.[14] The LPG gas-powered Zamboni was identified as the source of the leak that led to the poisoning.[15] The game was declared a tie with each team awarded one point each.[16]

October

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October
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
1 28 October 2023 16:30 Melbourne Ice 6–5 Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink [1]
2 28 October 2023 17:00 Adelaide Rush 6–5 (OT) Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld [2]
3 29 October 2023 08:15 Melbourne Ice 6–3 Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink [3]
4 29 October 2023 15:30 Adelaide Rush 2–6 Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld [4]

November

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November
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
5 4 November 2023 16:00 Perth Inferno 5–4 Melbourne Ice iceHQ [5]
6 5 November 2023 14:30 Perth Inferno 1–6 Melbourne Ice iceHQ [6]
7 11 November 2023 13:45 Sydney Sirens 4–5 Adelaide Rush IceArenA [7]
8 11 November 2023 20:00 Melbourne Ice 9–5 Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld [8]
9 12 November 2023 10:00 Sydney Sirens 4–6 Adelaide Rush IceArenA [9]
10 12 November 2023 15:30 Melbourne Ice 5–7 Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld [10]

December

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December
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
11 2 December 2023 16:30 Adelaide Rush 3–2 Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink [11]
12 2 December 2023 17:00 Perth Inferno 9–0 Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld [12]
13 3 December 2023 08:15 Adelaide Rush 7–1 Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink [13]
14 3 December 2023 15:30 Perth Inferno 4–3 (OT) Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld [14]
15 9 December 2023 16:30 Brisbane Lightning 0–1 Perth Inferno Cockburn Ice Arena [15]
16 10 December 2023 10:30 Brisbane Lightning 7–4 Perth Inferno Cockburn Ice Arena [16]
17 16 December 2023 16:00 Perth Inferno 7–4 Adelaide Rush IceArenA [17]
18 16 December 2023 16:45 Sydney Sirens 6–8 Melbourne Ice Macquarie Ice Rink [18]
19 17 December 2023 10:00 Perth Inferno 9–8 Adelaide Rush IceArenA [19]
20 17 December 2023 13:45 Sydney Sirens 2–7 Melbourne Ice Macquarie Ice Rink [20]

January

[edit]
January
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
21 13 January 2024 16:30 Melbourne Ice 4–5 (SO) Perth Inferno Cockburn Ice Arena [21]
22 14 January 2024 10:30 Melbourne Ice 6–3 Perth Inferno Cockburn Ice Arena [22]
23 20 January 2024 16:00 Brisbane Lightning 5–8 Adelaide Rush IceArenA [23]
24 21 January 2024 10:00 Brisbane Lightning 2–6 Adelaide Rush IceArenA [24]
25 27 January 2024 16:30 Sydney Sirens 5–7 Perth Inferno Cockburn Ice Arena [25]
26 27 January 2024 16:45 Adelaide Rush 2–3 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [26]
27 28 January 2024 10:30 Sydney Sirens 5–4 Perth Inferno Cockburn Ice Arena [27]
28 28 January 2024 13:45 Adelaide Rush 5–2 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [28]

February

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February
Game # Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
29 3 February 2024 17:00 Sydney Sirens 1–5 Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld [29]
30 4 February 2024 15:30 Sydney Sirens 2–7 Brisbane Lightning Boondall Iceworld [30]
31 10 February 2024 16:00 Melbourne Ice 2–6 Adelaide Rush IceArenA [31]
32 10 February 2024 16:30 Brisbane Lightning 3–4 Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink [32]
33 11 February 2024 08:15 Brisbane Lightning 2–3 (SO) Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink [33]
34 11 February 2024 10:00 Melbourne Ice Cancelled Adelaide Rush IceArenA [34]
35 17 February 2024 16:30 Perth Inferno 3–0 Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink [35]
36 18 February 2024 08:15 Perth Inferno 2–4 Sydney Sirens Macquarie Ice Rink [36]
37 24 February 2024 16:30 Adelaide Rush 3–5 Perth Inferno Cockburn Ice Arena [37]
38 24 February 2024 16:45 Brisbane Lightning 8–4 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [38]
39 25 February 2024 10:30 Adelaide Rush 2–3 Perth Inferno Cockburn Ice Arena [39]
40 25 February 2024 13:45 Brisbane Lightning 5–3 Melbourne Ice O’Brien Icehouse [40]

Key:

Winner Draw

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W OTW D OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Perth Inferno 16 9 2 0 0 5 72 61 +11 31 2024 Joan McKowen Finals
2 Adelaide Rush 16 8 1 1 0 6 74 61 +13 27
3 Melbourne Ice 16 8 0 1 1 6 76 69 +7 26
4 Brisbane Lightning 16 7 0 0 3 6 70 71 −1 24
5 Sydney Sirens 16 3 1 0 0 12 51 81 −30 11
Source: AWIHL Elite Prospects
Rules for classification:
Tie-break: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Points: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss or tie/draw; 0 points for regulation loss

Player stats

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The season's league leader statistics for skaters and goaltenders.[17]

Goals
No. Name Pos G
1 United States Elizabeth Scala Forward 22
2 Canada Sarah Edney Forward 22
3 United States Emma Wuthrich Forward 15
4 Australia Sharna Godfrey Forward 14
5 Canada Danielle Butler Forward 14
Assists
No. Name Pos A
1 Australia Michelle Clark-Crumpton Forward 27
2 Australia Sara Sammons Forward 24
3 Australia Ashlie Aparicio Forward 23
4 Australia Sharna Godfrey Forward 17
5 Australia Kaitlyn Malthaner Forward 15
Points
No. Name Pos P
1 Australia Michelle Clark-Crumpton Forward 38
2 Australia Sara Sammons Forward 33
3 Australia Sharna Godfrey Forward 31
4 Australia Ashlie Aparicio Forward 31
5 United States Elizabeth Scala Forward 29
Penalty minutes
No. Name Pos PIM
1 Canada Maya Tupper Defender 41
2 United States Emma Wuthrich Forward 39
3 Australia Samantha Brophy Defender 37
4 Australia Molly Lukowiak Forward 26
5 Australia Gabrielle Arps Defender 26
Save percentage
No. Name Pos SV%
1 Australia Sasha King Goaltender .923
2 Australia Madison Smith Goaltender .888
3 Australia Emma Moonen Goaltender .875
4 Australia Katie Meyer Goaltender .868
5 Australia Makayla Peers Goaltender .859
Goals against average
No. Name Pos GAA
1 Australia Sasha King Goaltender 2.86
2 Australia Katie Meyer Goaltender 3.23
3 Australia Madison Smith Goaltender 3.40
4 Australia Emma Moonen Goaltender 3.85
5 Australia Amelia Knott Goaltender 4.60

Season awards

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Below lists the 2023–24 AWIHL regular season league award winners.[18]

Award Name Team
Best Forward Canada Sarah Edney Sydney Sirens
Best Defence Canada Maya Tupper Adelaide Rush
Best Goaltender Australia Sasha King Perth Inferno
Nellie Gee Rookie of the Year Australia Katie Meyer Brisbane Lightning

Below lists the 2023–24 AWIHL regular season Hockey Hype Australia award winners.[18]

Award Name Team
Assist of the season Australia Natalie Ayris Adelaide Rush
Goal of the season Australia Sara Sammons Perth Inferno
Save of the season Australia Archie Smith Adelaide Rush

Joan McKowen playoffs

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The top four teams in the AWIHL regular season qualify for the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy playoffs. The playoffs is held on a single weekend and uses Australian conventions of being called Finals. The playoff system used by the AWIHL is a four team single game semi-finals and grand final system where the semi-final winners progress to the grand final and the losers playoff for third place. Semi-finals are played on the Saturday and the third place playoff and grand final is played on the Sunday.[19] The prize for being crowned AWIHL Champions for winning the grand final is the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy.[20]

In 2023–24, the Inferno, Rush, Ice and Lightning qualified for the finals weekend.[21] The event was held on the weekend of 9–10 March 2024 in host city Melbourne at O’Brien Icehouse.[22] Perth and Melbourne won the semi-final games on Saturday to progress to the grand final on Sunday.[23] The defeated teams, Adelaide and Brisbane, progressed to the bronze medal game on Sunday.[23] In the third-place play-off, the Adelaide Rush defeated the Brisbane Lightning to clinch the bronze medal. In the grand final, the regular season Premiers were defeated in an upset to the Melbourne Ice. The surprise victory for the Ice saw them hoist the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy for a record setting eighth time.[24] After the grand final, Danielle Butler, of the Melbourne Ice, was named AWIHL Finals MVP.[18]

 
Semi-finalsJoan McKowen Final
 
      
 
9 March - Melbourne
 
 
Brisbane Lightning1
 
10 March - Melbourne
 
Perth Inferno3
 
Melbourne Ice4
 
9 March - Melbourne
 
Perth Inferno1
 
Melbourne Ice5
 
 
Adelaide Rush2
 
Third place
 
 

10 March - Melbourne
 
 
Adelaide Rush4
 
 
Brisbane Lightning2

Semi-finals

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9 March 2024
14:30		Brisbane Lightning1–3
(1–0, 0–1, 0–2)		Perth InfernoO’Brien Icehouse
Game reference
Australia Katie MeyerGoaliesAustralia Sasha KingReferee:
Gabby Aston
Linesmen:
Beth Bowshall
Davida Paul
(Unassisted) S.Crompton1–0
1–1G.Mclellan (Unassisted)
1–2M.Lukowiak (M.Clark-Crumpton, G.Mclellan)
1–3S.Sammons (M.Clark-Crumpton, S.Irvine)
8 minPenalties14 min
48Shots27
9 March 2024
17:15		Melbourne Ice5–2
(3–0, 1–2, 1–0)		Adelaide RushO’Brien Icehouse
Game reference
Australia Jenelle CarsonGoaliesAustralia Madison SmithReferee:
Ainslie Gardner
Linesmen:
Sarah Kinninment
Cien Pereira
(M.Pullin) B.Arsenault-Dufour1–0
(A.Aparicio) S.Conlon2–0
(S.Godfrey) S.Conlon3–0
(S.Godfrey) D.Butler4–0
4–1K.Malthaner (N.Ayris)
4–2N.Farrier (K.Venus, R.Pietrowski)
(Unassisted) D.Butler5–2
8 minPenalties10 min
31Shots40

Third place playoff

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10 March 2024
14:00		Adelaide Rush4–2
(1–0, 2–2, 1–0)		Brisbane LightningO’Brien Icehouse
Game reference
Australia Madison SmithGoaliesAustralia Tracey McIntoshReferee:
Gabby Aston
Linesmen:
Cien Pereira
Davida Paul
(K.Venus) R.Pietrowski1–0
(Unassisted) K.Malthaner2–0
2–1L.Kiliwnik (Unassisted)
2–2C.Mahoney (K.Rapchuk)
(Unassisted) S.Meroniuk3–2
(R.Pietrowski) K.Venus4–2
18 minPenalties18 min
34Shots36

Final

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10 March 2024
17:00		Melbourne Ice4–1
(1–0, 2–0, 1–1)		Perth InfernoO’Brien Icehouse
Game reference
Australia Jenelle CarsonGoaliesAustralia Sasha KingReferee:
Ainslie Gardner
Linesmen:
Beth Bowshall
Sarah Kinninment
(D.Butler) S.Conlon1–0
(B.Arsenault-Dufour) D.Butler2–0
(S.Conlon) D.Butler3–0
(T.Baker) M.Pullin4–0
4–1E.Scala (S.Sammons)
8 minPenalties6 min
39Shots30


Gold Silver Bronze
Victoria (state) Melbourne Ice Western Australia Perth Inferno South Australia Adelaide Rush

References

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  1. ^ "2023-24 AWIHL season". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. ^ Collins, Lee (7 March 2023). "Melbourne Ducks apply to enter the AWIHL". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Collins, Lee (8 September 2023). "2023–24 AWIHL season schedule released". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ Collins, Lee (23 August 2023). "AWIHL extends regular season to 40 games for 2023–24". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Australian Women's Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) Regulations 2023" (PDF). Ice Hockey Australia. September 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  6. ^ Poletti, Steve (28 September 2023). "Cluch TV enters administration, sporting organisations left scrambling". theinnersanctum.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  7. ^ Collins, Lee (24 October 2023). "AWIHL signs streaming deal with Sportscast Australia". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  8. ^ Collins, Lee (27 October 2023). "AWIHL.TV launched ahead of 2023–24 season". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b Collins, Lee (26 January 2024). "AWIHL partners with Skaters Network". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  10. ^ Collins, Lee (6 January 2024). "AWIHL makes neck laceration protection mandatory". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  11. ^ Goodenough, Gordon (5 December 2023). "Getting the Ducks in a row - Melbourne's bid for an AWIHL team". hockeyhypeaustralia.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  12. ^ Collins, Lee (12 October 2023). "Sydney Sirens to play Wayward Sons in exhibition game". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  13. ^ Macdougall, Andrew (11 February 2024). "AWIHL game postponed". hockeyhypeaustralia.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  14. ^ Keenan, Claire (12 February 2024). "At least 42 people treated after carbon monoxide leak at Adelaide Ice Arena". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  15. ^ Alderson, Bethanie (11 February 2024). "Suspected carbon monoxide leak at Adelaide Ice Arena sees 38 people attend hospital". ABC News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  16. ^ Goodenough, Gordon (12 February 2024). "Adelaide Rush into First, Sydney Quells Lightning". hockeyhypeaustralia.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  17. ^ "2023-2024 Regular Season Player Stats". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  18. ^ a b c Collins, Lee (10 March 2024). "2023–24 AWIHL season awards". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Australian Women's Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) Regulations" (PDF). Ice Hockey Australia. 1 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Joan Mckowen Memorial Cup". Ice Hockey Australia. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  21. ^ Collins, Lee (25 February 2024). "2023–24 AWIHL season: 25 February results and standings". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Welcome to AWIHL Finals – 2024". Ice Hockey Australia. 29 February 2024. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  23. ^ a b Goodenough, Gordon (10 March 2024). "AWIHL Finals: Perth and Melbourne emerge victorious". Hockey Hype Australia. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  24. ^ Goodenough, Gordon (13 March 2024). "AWIHL Medals Recap: Melbourne Ice lift Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy". Hockey Hype Australia. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
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