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Adelaide Avalanche

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Adelaide Avalanche
CityThebarton, Adelaide, South Australia
LeagueAustralian Ice Hockey League
Founded15 May 1999 (25 years ago) (15 May 1999)
Operated2000–2008
Dissolved17 June 2008 (16 years ago) (17 June 2008)
Home arenaSnowdome Adelaide
ColoursBlue, bronze, black and white
       
General managerAustralia Alan Yarrow
Head coachAustralia Corey Smith
CaptainAustralia Greg Oddy
Championships
Premierships4 (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007)
AIHL Championships2 (2000, 2001)

The Adelaide Avalanche was a semi-professional ice hockey club based in the Adelaide suburb of Thebarton, South Australia. The Avalanche, founded in 1999, was a founding member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team's home venue was the Snowdome Adelaide (now known as IceArenA). The Avalanche competed in the AIHL for eight years, from its inaugural season in 2000 until 17 June 2008, when the club was replaced with the Snowdome's own team, Adelaide A's (later rebranded Adelaide Adrenaline), after its AIHL licence was revoked due to financial issues. During the club's lifetime, the Avalanche won four AIHL premierships and two AIHL championships.

History

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Foundation and ECSL (1999–00)

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The Adelaide Avalanche was founded in May 1999 by the Oddy and Thilthorpe families to secure national ice hockey competition for South Australia and their sons. Steve Oddy and James Thilthorpe headed the fledgling club as owners and directors, Steve Oddy taking on the role of club chairman.[1]

The Avalanche appointed John Botterill as inaugural head coach. He would be assisted by Neil Boyle.[2] Australian international defenceman, Pavel Bohacik, was appointed the club's maiden captain.[3]

Adelaide quickly joined the de facto national league, East Coast Super League (ECSL) in 1999, in what would prove to be the NSW administered ECSL's last season.[4] The Avalanche's first ever competitive game was on the road in Sydney against the Canterbury Eagles. Adelaide defeated the Eagles 7-5 to register the club's inaugural victory. Steve's son Greg Oddy led the South Australian outfit's opening performance, registering two goals. Oddy and Thilthorpe personally arranged and paid for the travel of east coast teams to Adelaide in 1999. On 15 May 1999, Adelaide hosted its first competitive home game at the Snowdome in Thebarton.[1]

AIHL era (2000–08)

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Along with the Sydney Bears and Canberra Knights, the Avalanche were one of the founding members of the AIHL in 2000. They finished first out of the three teams that year and claimed the inaugural AIHL championship. In 2001, the club enjoyed the same success in winning their second consecutive title.

In 2002, the Melbourne Ice, Western Sydney Ice Dogs, and Newcastle North Stars joined the AIHL, expanding it to six teams. The Goodall Cup, Australia's top prize in ice hockey, also became part of the AIHL that year. Adelaide again finished second in the overall standings and lost to the Bears in the Goodall Cup final.

Adelaide Avalanche's original logo used between 1999–06.

The Avalanche finished the 2003 season with their fourth straight minor premiership but lost to the Ice Dogs in the first round of a newly introduced four-team playoff system. They would lose in the semifinals again in 2004 to the North Stars in double overtime.

As two more teams—the Brisbane Blue Tongues and Central Coast Rhinos—entered the league in 2005, the Avalanche returned to dominance by finishing first overall in the regular season standings. The "curse of the minor premiers" again haunted the team. Despite winning through to the Goodall Cup final for the first time in three years, they were defeated 3–1 by the North Stars in that game.

The Avalanche have retooled for 2006 in the quest for their first-ever Goodall Cup, with their current roster boasting Mighty Roos players Greg Oddy and brothers Ben & Luke Thilthorpe. They finished second after the regular season and hosted the finals series, beating the Ice Dogs 5–2 to reach the final but losing the final 0-4 to the North Stars.

Members of the Adelaide Avalanche were featured on episode 11 of Network Ten's Cyber Shack TV on 10 October 2006. Both David Huxley and Brad Wanchulak played and reviewed the new NHL 2K6 on Xbox 360.

The Avalanche came into financial difficulties in 2008, and after being able to host several game at the start of the season, could not meet its road commitments, forcing the team to withdraw from the remainder of the season on 17 June. The team's players were transferred to the newly formed Adelaide A's, who in a deal with the AIHL was allowed to play the remainder of the Avalanche's season.

In 2022 the name of the Adelaide Avalanche was revived by a new team competing in the Pacific Hockey League.[5]

Season-by-season record

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Champions Runners-up Third Place
Adelaide Avalanche all-time record
Season Regular season Finals weekend Top points scorer
P W T L SW SL GF GA GD Pts Finish P W L GF GA Result Semi-final AIHL final Name Points
2000 Information not available 2nd 1 1 0 6 5 Champions – Won 6-5 (SO) (Bears) Australia John Oddy 34
2001 16 15 1 0 – – 120 60 +60 31 1st 1 1 0 10 7 Champions – Won 10-7 (Bears) Canada Paul Lawson 38
2002 20 13 0 7 – – 120 67 +53 26 2nd 1 0 1 4 7 Runners-up – Lost 4-7 (Bears) Australia Greg Oddy 39
2003[a] 18 15 0 3 – – 98 52 +46 30 1st[b] 2 0 2 5 14 Fourth[c] Lost 1-4 (Ice Dogs) – Australia Greg Oddy 47
2004 20 7 1 9 1 1 64 68 -4 29 4th 1 0 1 2 3 Semi-finalist Lost 2-3 (2OT) (North Stars) – Australia Greg Oddy 30
2005 26 19 1 4 0 2 133 77 +56 60 1st 2 1 1 7 6 Runners-up Won 6-3 (Bears) Lost 1-3 (North Stars) Canada Darcy Corcoran 47
2006 28 19 – 9 0 0 134 84 +50 57 2nd 2 1 1 5 6 Runners-up Won 5-2 (Ice Dogs) Lost 0-4 (North Stars) Canada Brad Wanchulak 53
2007 28 17 – 7 1 3 124 99 +25 56 1st 1 0 1 1 4 Semi-finalist Lost 1-4 (Bears) – Australia Greg Oddy 43
2008 15[d] 3 – 8 2 2 32 53 -21 15 DNF – Sweden Peter Lindgren 29[e]

Notes:

  1. ^ 2003 AIHL season statistics are incomplete. No one source has all the information and the AIHL has not published official statistics on www.theaihl.com.
  2. ^ Based on the most complete information available, the Avalanche finished the 2003 season in first place and qualified for the first four team finals weekend.
  3. ^ 2003 was the one and only season where a third place play-off was contested as part of the finals format for the AIHL. The Sydney Bears defeated the Adelaide Avalanche 10-5 in the third place play-off so the Avalanche finished fourth.
  4. ^ Only completed 15 of the 28 matches in the 2008 season before withdrawing and forfeiting two games. All points, players and fixtured were transferred to the Adelaide A's when the licence was transferred.
  5. ^ top point scorer over entire season including matches for both the Avalanche and Adelaide A's.

Notes References: [6] [7] [8]

Honours

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Championships

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  • AIHL Championships (2000–01)1
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (2): 2000, 2001
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-Up (0):
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (0):
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-Up (3): 2002, 2005, 2006
1st place, gold medalist(s) Premiers (4): 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-Up (2): 2002, 2006
1 The first two season's of the AIHL did not have the Goodall Cup as the Championship prize. The Adelaide Avalanche is the only AIHL team to win the AIHL and not be crowned Goodall Cup Champions.
2 This list also includes Premierships won prior to the first trophy (VIP Cup) for Premiers came into existence in 2004.

Franchise Awards

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Each season, between 1999 and 2007, the Avalanche held an annual awards night where the team awarded a number of player awards.[9]

Season MVP BR FC BD LS BDF CA
1999 Australia Glen Foll Australia Eric Lien Australia Trevor Walsh Australia Pavel Bohacik Australia John Oddy – –
2000 Australia Greg Oddy Canada Shane Wouters Australia Greg Oddy Australia Pavel Bohacik Australia John Oddy – –
2001 Canada Charlie Lawson Canada Charlie Lawson Canada Paul Lawson Australia Glen Foll Canada Paul Lawson Australia Chris Brlecic –
2002 Australia Eric Lien Canada Jamie Lever Australia Trevor Walsh Australia Glen Foll Australia Greg Oddy Australia Chris Brlecic –
2003 Canada Dylan Martini Australia Josh Harding Australia Trevor Walsh Canada Dylan Martini Australia Greg Oddy United States Duane Gera –
2004 Australia Trevor Walsh Australia Cass Delsar Australia Greg Oddy United States Chris Chant Australia Greg Oddy Australia Luke Thilthorpe –
2005 Australia Greg Oddy Australia Olivier Martin Canada Steve McKenna Canada Steve McKenna Canada Darcy Corcoran Canada Tanner Shultz –
2006 Australia Greg Oddy Australia David Huxley Canada Brad Wanchulak United States Kevin Clauson Canada Brad Wanchulak Australia Chris Brlecic Canada Nigel Ward
2007 Australia Olivier Martin Australia Sean Greer Australia David Huxley Australia Josh Harding Australia Greg Oddy Canada Mike Van Den Bosch Australia Ryan Remillard

Players

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Last roster

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Team roster for the 2008 AIHL season [10][11]

Adelaide Avalanche roster - 2008 AIHL season
Active Roster Coaching staff
Goaltenders
  • 87 Sweden Christopher Elf
  •  1 Australia Peter King
  • 35 Australia Eric Lien
  • 39 Australia Olivier Marton

Defencemen

  • 13 Australia Nathan Brown
  • -- Australia Scott Chandler
  •  2 Australia Nick Clark
  • 44 Australia Sean Greer (A)
  • 22 Australia Joshua Harding (A)
  • 23 Australia David Huxley
  • 33 Sweden Bob Sannemo
  •  8 Canada Brad Van Camp
  •  4 Australia Brandon Williams
  • 45 Australia Andrey Zolotarev
 Forwards
  • -- Canada Blair Bourgeault
  • 40 Australia Darren Corstens
  •  7 United States Kevin Crowder
  • 11 Australia Cass Delsar
  • 76 Australia Luke Harding
  • 18 Australia James Keane
  •  9 Canada Chase Kinch (A)
  • 27 Sweden Peter Lindgren
  • 19 Australia David Manning
  • 10 Australia Greg Oddy (C)
  • -- Australia Dean Peterson
  • 42 Australia Tristan Reese
  •  3 Australia Ben Thilthorpe
  • 15 Australia Mitchell Villani
  • -- Australia Trevor Walsh
  • 16 Australia Matthew Wegener
 Head Coach

Coaches

  • Australia Steve Wise


Legend
(C) Captain
(A) Alternate Captain
(I) Import player

Statistics
Average age: 22.1
Average height: 179.9 cm
Average weight: 82.4 kg
Win%: 33%

Last updated on: 28 May 2022
Elite ProspectsAdelaide Avalanche Legends of Australian Ice

NHL players

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A list of players that have played at least one game for the Avalanche and who have also played at least one game in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Name Year(s) NHL team(s)
Canada Steve McKenna 2005 Los Angeles Kings; Minnesota Wild; Pittsburgh Penguins; New York Rangers
Canada Mel Angelstad 2007 Washington Capitals

References:[12][13]

International players

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A list of players that have played at least one game for the Avalanche and who have also played at least one game for an international team at the World Championships organised by the IIHF.

Name Caps Points PIM Medals Notes
Australia Glen Foll 80 72 32 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Australian captain for 15 tournaments (1990 to 2006)
Australia Greg Oddy 72 118 131 2 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Australian captain for 4 tournaments (2010 to 2014)
Australia Ben Thilthorpe 32 20 51 1 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Australia Joshua Harding 31 8 16 1 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Australian alternate captain for 1 tournament (2014–15)
Australia David Huxley 28 10 8 2 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Australian alternate captain for 1 tournament (2015–16)
Australia Luke Thilthorpe 24 17 10 1 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Australia Pavel Bohacik 24 3 8
Australia Daniel George 20 2 6 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Australia Andrew Brunt 16 6 8
Australia Trevor Walsh 15 26 93 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Australia Chris Brlecic 14 10 20 2 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Australia John Oddy 14 28 36
Australia Mitchell Villani 10 5 8 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Australia Ross Howell 10 5 2 1 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Australia Sean Greer 10 0 4
Australia James Keane 9 4 2 1 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Australia Cass Delsar 9 4 8 2 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Australia Matthew Wegener 5 0 4
Australia Ari Pullinen 5 0 2
Australia Dusan Ocenas 4 2 2
Australia Olivier Martin 1 0 0
Australia Paul Cracknell 1 0 0

References:[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]

Player records

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Avalanche all-time, season and game player records.[36]

All-time

No. Appearances Points Penalty Minutes
# Name GP Name P Name PIM
1 Australia Greg Oddy 133 Australia Greg Oddy 280 Australia Trevor Walsh 505
2 Australia Ben Thilthorpe 126 Australia Trevor Walsh 201 Australia Greg Oddy 426
3 Australia Luke Thilthorpe 122 Australia Ben Thilthorpe 153 Australia John Oddy 350
4 Australia Chris Brlecic 119 Australia Chris Brlecic 115 Australia Ben Thilthorpe 346
5 Australia Trevor Walsh 100 Australia Luke Thilthorpe 113 Australia Chris Brlecic 341
6 Australia Eric Lien 84 Australia John Oddy 111 Australia Luke Thilthorpe 231
7 Australia Josh Harding 77 Canada Dylan Martini 86 Canada Tanner Shultz 154
8 Australia Glen Foll 68 Australia Glen Foll 73 Australia Cass Delsar 133
9 Australia Daniel George 68 Canada Brad Wanchulak 53 United States Ryan Clauson 107
10 Australia James Keane 65 Canada Darcy Corcoran 47 Canada Dylan Martini 104

Season

Category Record Season Held by
Most Points 53 2006 Canada Brad Wanchulak
Most Goals 26 2006 Canada Brad Wanchulak
Most Assists 33 2006 Australia Greg Oddy
Most Points (Defenceman) 36 2003 Canada Dylan Martini
Most Penalty Minutes 154 2005 Canada Tanner Shultz
Best Goaltender Save % 91.8% 2005 Australia Olivier Martin
Best Goaltender G.A.A 2.24 2005 Australia Olivier Martin
Most Goaltender Wins 15 2006 Canada Nigel Ward
Most Goaltender Shutouts 1 1999 / 2006 Australia Eric Lien / Canada Nigel Ward
Most Game Winning Goals 6 2003 / 2006 Australia Greg Oddy / Canada Brad Wanchulak
Most Power Play Goals 7 2006 Australia Greg Oddy
Most Shorthanded Goals 4 2001 Australia Trevor Walsh
Most Hatricks 4 2002 Australia Greg Oddy
Most Consecutive GP with a point 17 2006 Australia Greg Oddy

Single game

Category Record Date Held by Opponent
Most Points 9 19 Aug 2006 Australia Greg Oddy Canberra Knights
Most Goals 5 19 Aug 2006 Canada Brad Wanchulak Canberra Knights
Most Assists 6 19 Aug 2006 Australia Greg Oddy Canberra Knights
Most Penalty Minutes 52 22 Jul 2006 United States Ryan Clauson Newcastle North Stars
Most Goaltender Saves 58 28 May 2000 Australia Eric Lien Sydney Bears
Fastest Goal (Start of Game) 14 secs 7 Jan 2000 Australia Luke Thilthorpe Penrith Phantoms
Fastest Two Goals 6 secs 7 Aug 2000 Australia Greg Oddy Canberra Knights
Fastest Hatrick 5.01 mins 22 Jun 2003 Australia Trevor Walsh Western Sydney Ice Dogs

Leaders

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Team captains

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The Avalanche had three captains in the team's known history.[37] The captain in 1999 and between 2002-03 are currently unknown.

No. Name Term
1 Australia Pavel Bohacik 1999–01
2 Australia Chris Brlecic 2004–05
3 Australia Greg Oddy 2006–08

References:[3][38][39][40][41]

Further information on team captains in ice hockey: Captain (ice hockey)

Head coaches

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The Avalanche had four head coaches in the team's history.[42]

No. Name Term
1 Australia John Botterill 1999–06
2 Canada Brandon Williams 2007
3 Canada Steve McKenna 2008
4 Australia Corey Smith 2008

References: [43][44][39][45][11][46][47]

Further information on head coaches in ice hockey: Coach (ice hockey)

General managers

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The Avalanche had two general manager groups (GMs) in the team's history.[42]

No. Name Term
1 Australia Steve Oddy
Australia James Thilthorpe		 1999–06
2 Australia Alan Yarrow 2007–08

References:[43][44][39][45][11][48][49]

Further information on general managers in ice hockey: General manager (ice hockey)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Adelaide Avalanche: The Franchise that changed Australian hockey forever". Adelaide Adrenaline. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. ^ "2000 Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 23 January 2001. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b Carpenter, Ross. "Bohacik, Pavel (1969 - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  4. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "A League of Their Own: The AIHL and the fight for the Big League". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Pacific Hockey League announces teams". Ice Hockey News Australia. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  6. ^ "2003 AIHL Draw". Newcastle North Stars. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Championnat d'Australie 2003 (French)". hockeyarchives.info. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  8. ^ "AIHL History". hockeywise.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Awards". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Adelaide Avalanche/A's 2007-2008 Roster". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "Roster 2008". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Steve McKenna". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Mel Angelstad". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Glen Foll". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Greg Oddy". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Ben Thilthorpe". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Joshua Harding". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  18. ^ "David Huxley". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Luke Thilthorpe". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Pavel Bohacik". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Daniel George". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Andrew Brunt". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Trevor Walsh". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Chris Brlecic". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  25. ^ "John Oddy". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Mitchell Villani". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Ross Howell". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Sean Greer". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  29. ^ "James Keane". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Cass Delsar". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  31. ^ "Matthew Wegener". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Ari Pullinen". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Dusan Ocenas". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  34. ^ "Olivier Martin". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  35. ^ "Paul Cracknell". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  36. ^ "Records". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  37. ^ "Adelaide Adrenaline - Team Captaincy History". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  38. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "Brlecic, Chris (1976 - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  39. ^ a b c "2006 Avalanche Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  40. ^ "Undermanned Av's start season off with a win". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 16 August 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  41. ^ "Av's jump to third place - Defeat Ice Dog's 6-3". Adelaide Avalanche. 12 July 2004. Archived from the original on 23 January 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  42. ^ a b "Adelaide Adrenaline - Team Staff History". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  43. ^ a b "Adelaide Avalanche Ice Hockey Club: Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 24 November 2004. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  44. ^ a b "Adelaide Avalanche Ice Hockey : Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 8 May 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  45. ^ a b "Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  46. ^ "Avalanche announce new coach [07/03]". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  47. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "Smith, Corey (1976 - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  48. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "Oddy, Steve ( - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  49. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "Thilthorpe, Jim ( - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
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