AWIHL/Melbourne Ice Women Primer
*this is mostly going to about the Melbourne Ice Women bc they’re my team oops. If you have any questions/want any info on where to find teams or good league info please hmu! I love this league I will talk about it for hours.
If you aren’t watching women’s hockey, do it, it’s literally so good. I’m a recent convert and it was the best hockey decision I’ve ever made.
Also Australian leagues are really good for learning hockey rules and getting better at looking at the game with a little more depth!
The Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) is Australia’s top women’s hockey league. Its season runs from October to February and there are five teams. Each team plays 12 regular season games and four teams qualify for finals. The finals consist of two semi final games and then a bronze medal and a gold medal match where they play for the Joan McKowen trophy. They play IIHF rules and play full 60 minute games (unlike the men RIP AIHL)
Imports! Teams are allowed to have a total of three imports and are not allowed to have an import goalie (unlike the men’s league. Imagine being dedicated to goalie development in Australia, couldn’t be the AIHL). Imports are players from overseas (usually Canada) who come and play for Australian teams. There are Canadians in the league who aren’t imports because they have Australian citizenship.
Streaming: All games are streamed on Youtube! They’re also at super varying times on Saturdays and Sundays so some games are European/North American friendly!
All the games are played on weekends because the players have regular jobs! It’s a semi professional league so they aren’t paid and typically have sponsors who cover some of the cost of the season. These women are MULTI FACETED!
The league is really fun because everyone supports each other a lot and its way less disastrous than the men’s league. Also the age range on teams is huge because you can start playing for the league when you’re 14 and there are some 30+ year olds on teams.
Teams:
Adelaide Rush: PERFECT for the suffering Adelaide Adrenaline fan. Currently undefeated in regulation after finishing in last place last season. An amazing comeback narrative that is perfect for the hockey fan who loves an underdog and is being disrespected by their own awful teams. Adelaide friends please get around this team, who knows when you’ll see a winning hockey team again! They also have a really good social media presence (as do their men’s team).
Perth Inferno: The newest team in the league. Haven’t done that well this season but their imports are very good and their results aren’t indicative of their overall performance imo. Another underdog team who is totally worth seeing live if you’re from Perth! Honestly I’m a full believe in their ability to turn it around and be awesome. Unfortunately they suffer from being located in Perth and therefore can’t afford to fly a full lineup to their away games. This makes them even cooler imo because they’re still competitive despite having way less players.
Brisbane Goannas: The most neglected of hockey markets in Australia, the land of nonexistent hockey markets. They don’t have a men’s team anymore so QLD fans should totally get around them! Their jerseys are super sexy and imo this is the best team name in the league. They aren’t great but deserve more attention because they’ve managed to keep a team this long! I have a feeling one of the players runs some of their social media, its very fun (especially their Instagram stories)
Sydney Sirens: This is the big scary team of the season. Also undefeated in regulation, they’re kind of like the Canberra Brave or Tampa Bay Lightning of 18/19. Their imports are sisters, one of whom played for the CWHL, and a girl who played for them. I HATE this team they’re really hard to play against and are super skilled. Melbourne v Sydney games are GREAT because the rivalry is real and it’s a rematch of last year’s gold medal game (They play again this weekend 14 and 15 of December.) Their social media presence is also really good!
Melbourne Ice Women: This is my team brace yourself. The Melbourne Ice (MIW) are affiliated with the men’s team of the same name. They’ve won the most championships in the league. I’m telling you if you live in Melbourne and haven’t come to one of these games you’re missing out. The crowd is LOUD and ENTHUSIASTIC because there is a brigade of HABS (husbands and boyfriends) who come and go HARD for the team. They’re really skilled but have probably been underperforming this season. They also have a KILLER back half of the season because they’re playing Sydney and Adelaide. Now for some player info:
Christina Julien #91 F: One of the Ice imports and also the captain. She used to play soccer for team Canada and was nominated to their Olympic squad. A badass athlete who is basically a cheat code on the ice.
Megan Eady #44 D: The other Ice import. Literally such a beast. Said once that she had no idea what she was doing on the Ice which CAN’T be true she’s so good. The HABS sing a song when she scores to the tune of Evie by Steve Wright (Eady, Eady let your hair hang down)
Georgia Moore #12 F: Was the first Australian ever drafted into the CWHL (Nathan Walker eat your heart out). Has played for the team since it joined the league.
Shona Green #10 F: THE trailblazer for women’s hockey in Victoria. She was the first woman to play in a lot of the boys’ leagues growing up and has captained the Ice and Team Australia basically a hundred times.
Jenelle Carson #1 G: Absolutely bails out the team a heap. An amazing goalie whose sister (I think) plays on the team as well. Sings a lot during warmups. Literally just watch her games against Sydney this season she’s amazing.
Marnie Pullin #18 F: She’s 16 and had four points playing against grown women on Sunday. She’s already a beast and is only getting better. It’s just a coincidence her name sounds like Marie Philip Poulin but is it really? Go and watch her goals from the weekend (on the Melbourne Ice Women’s Twitter).
The Poutine Line: A fan favourite line made up of three Canadians: #7 Sarah Dash, #77 Nicole Jones and #19 Steph Conlon. Conlon and Dash are more or less in their first seasons on the team. This line is SO GOOD and FUN. Also Meika Yeo #86 D and Eady are totally honourary members of this line because they’re also Canadian and play at the same time as Poutine a lot.
Literally every player on this team is really fun and amazing and I could probably write heaps about all of them but I’m trying to keep it as short as possible.
Most of the teams have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so give them and the league a follow to keep up with them! Also Women’s Sports Highlights (@ Wsporthilights) on Twitter clips all the best moments of the games so give them a follow too!
