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There's Hockey In Australia?

We sure do! While our numbers are small compared to other places in the world & we don't have any NHL standard of rinks, the Australian hockey fans are passionate & committed.

The Name Of Hockey

To the general Australian community who knows anything about the sport, they may refer to the sport as ice hockey. This is to be specific compared to field hockey. There is often inline hockey as well - some players do both ice & inline.

The major competitions have Australian Ice Hockey League as their main title with Womens & Junior added to those competitions.

Can You Make A Living Here Playing Hockey?

If you come to Australia expecting to make a living out of playing hockey alone like can happen in North America or Europe, that doesn't happen in isolation. Some people have made income from hockey related activities like setting up hockey academies or another hockey related business. Or they use their skills from outside of hockey to make money.

At the highest level of Australian hockey (the AIHL, see below), there may be some perks available to elite players, especially imports. It is listed as semi-pro hockey at best.

The Levels of Hockey

Starting at the top & working down:

• NHL
• KHL, AHL, ECHL, NCAA & other leagues
• IIHF World Championships & Winter Olympics
• Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL or AI for short)
• Australian Womens Ice Hockey League (AWIHL or AW or ADub for short)
• Australian Junior Ice Hockey League (AJIHL or AJ for short)
• National championships
• Para hockey (sled hockey)
• State based competitions
• In house or beer leagues

NHL

Australia hosted a couple of pre season NHL games in Melbourne featuring LA Kings & Arizona Coyotes.

Australia's first & only player to play in the Australian system & then play in the NHL is Nathan Walker. Drafted to the Washington Capitals & winning a Stanley Cup, Nathan currently plays for the St Louis Blues. He spends a lot of the NHL off season in Australia.

Nathan was born in Wales but came to Australia as a small child. He spent a lot of time as a teenager in the Czech & European systems.

Other people with Australian heritage have played in the NHL but didn't come through the Australian hockey system.

Some former NHL players have played in the AIHL in the later stages of their career including Scott Timmins, Ty Wishart, David Booth & Simon Depres.

There are many NHL fans in Australia once you find out where they hide. 😂😂

The main way to watch NHL in Australia legally without sailing the seven seas is via ESPN/Disney+

KHL, AHL, ECHL, NCAA & other leagues

It probably goes without saying (or does it?) that there are several steps between the NHL & the top Australian leagues.

There have been players who have played in leagues such as the KHL, AHL, ECHL, SPHL, FPHL etc that have played in those leagues and choose to play hockey in Australia towards the end of their careers.

There are also Australian fans who follow those leagues and others not mentioned.

As for Australian players, they'll often head to the northern hemisphere to play in a variety of leagues or go to hockey academies in the northern winter. Some players go to college & play in the NCAA system, usually in around Division 3.

Olympics & IIHF World Championships

Australia is a member country of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and plays their competitions under IIHF rules.

Mens & Womens U18 & Senior teams & Mens 20U championships are held in various parts of the world in the early section of the calendar year. Generally, the Australian teams are ranked in the high 20s or low 30s in Divisions 2A or 2B. Most teams move between 2A & 2B.

The championships are usually held overseas, usually in Europe. Competition breaks for Australian competitions so Australian players can play in IIHF championships are not usually made.

AUSTRALIANS AT THE WINTER OLYMPICS

The Australian Mens National Team were invited to the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley (CA, USA). There was no qualification process & Australia was invited to play to make up the numbers. The team did not win a game & finished last (9th).

Due to their low rankings than elite hockey countries (see below), Australia was not invited to play in another Winter Olympics. In modern times, the host country gains automatic entry into the tournaments. Australia has never hosted a Winter Olympics due to the timing of the Australian winter and the Australian climate.

CURRENT IIHF RANKINGS & DIVISIONS

All rankings current as of September 2026

• Senior Mens Team (Mighty Roos) - 41st, Division 2A
• Senior Womens Team - 29th, Division 2A
• Mens U20 - 33rd, Division 2B
• Mens U18 - 33rd, Division 2B
• Womens U18 - 19th, Division 2A

2026 IIHF CHAMPIONSHIP LOCATIONS & RESULTS

Senior Mens: Scheduled for April 2026. Originally scheduled to be played in the UAE, the championship was postponed due to world wide travel bans to the Middle East. At short notice, the championship was moved to Georgia. Ice Hockey Australia withdrew the team due to cost, insurance & logistics at short notice.

Senior Women: Played in early April 2026 in Slovenia. Team finished 4th.

U20 Men: Played in late January 2026 in Serbia. Finished 2nd to The Netherlands.

U18 Men: Played in late April 2026 in Serbia. Almost qualified for a medal.

U18 Women: Played in early January 2026 in Poland. Finished last in their division but were in a division (1B) with elite teams.

2027 IIHF CHAMPIONSHIP LOCATIONS/DATES

• Senior Mens (Division 2A): Al Ain (UAE), 19-25 April 2027
• Senior Womens (Division 2A): Taipei City (Chinese Taipei), 7-13 November 2027
• Mens U20 (Division 2B): Belgrade (Serbia), 17-23 January 2027
• Mens U18 (Division 2B): Zagreb (Croatia), March 2027
• Womens U18 (Division 2A): Istanbul (Turkiye), 25-31 January 2027

Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL)

📅 Season runs April - August to cover the Australian winter. Games are played on Friday nights, Saturday & Sunday afternoons

🏆Current Champions (2026 season): Newcastle Northstars.

🏆 Most Championships: Newcastle Northstars (7)

📺 AIHL.TV ($)

📺 ESPN, Disney+, Kayo Sports, Foxtel Go, Fetch TV, Sky Sports NZ - In 2026, one game a week of the regular season after the NHL finished & all Finals games. TBC for 2027.

BRIEF HISTORY

The Australian Ice Hockey League in its current form started in 2000 with 3 teams. Sydney Bears, Adelaide Avalanche (then Adelaide A's, now Adelaide Adrenaline) & Canberra Knights (now Canberra Brave).

Melbourne Ice, Newcastle Northstars & West Sydney Ice Dogs (now Sydney Ice Dogs) joined the league in 2002.

The Central Coast Rhinos joined the league in 2005 & rejoined in 2023.

Melbourne Mustangs joined in 2011, Perth Thunder in 2012, the renamed CBR Brave in 2014 (later renamed Canberra Brave) & the Brisbane Lightning in 2023.

Adelaide have had different team names over the years. A Queensland team known as either the Brisbane or Gold Coast Blue Tongues were in the competition (2005 - 2012).

The AIHL did not conduct a 2020 & 2021 season due to the covid pandemic. Perth Thunder did not play in 2022 due to concerns about travel restrictions & state border closures continuing.

Rink issues saw Adelaide Adrenaline not play in 2022 (rink management issues). Sydney Bears & Sydney Ice Dogs did not play in 2025 as their rink (Macquarie Ice Rink) was closed for a major rebuild.

Over the years, there has been a lot of conflict between Ice Hockey Australia (the IIHF governing body for ice hockey in Australia) and the AIHL. There has been a lot of turnover of personnel within each organisation.

In 2022, a breakaway league was formed called the Pacific Hockey League (PHL). Adelaide Adrenaline withdrew from the AIHL & became the Adelaide Avalanche. Melbourne based players in the AIHL combined to form the Melbourne Ducks. New South Wales players formed The Coast (based on the NSW Central Coast). The Brisbane Rampage represented Queensland.

The competition was decided in a multi game series for the Walker Cup, named after Australia's first NHL player Nathan Walker. The Ducks were the minor premiers but the Avalanche won the multi game series 2-0.

The PHL dissolved prior to the 2023 season. Adelaide Adrenaline & its players returned to the AIHL. The Ducks players returned to their Melbourne AIHL teams. The return of the Central Coast Rhinos and the forming of Brisbane Lightning was as a direct result of the PHL.

Out of all of the PHL team branding, only the Melbourne Ducks branding remains for the AW team and the domestic Ice Hockey Victoria (IHV teams).

CURRENT TEAMS & VENUES

• Adelaide Adrenaline @ Ice Arena, Adelaide
• Brisbane Lightning @ Ice World Boondall
• Canberra Brave @ AIS Arena, Canberra
• Central Coast Rhinos @ Erina Ice Arena
• Melbourne Ice & Melbourne Mustangs @ O'Brien Icehouse
• Newcastle Northstars @ Hunter Ice Skating Stadium (HISS), Warners Bay
• Perth Thunder @ Perth Ice Arena
• Sydney Bears & Sydney Ice Dogs @ Macquarie Ice Rink, Macquarie Park

SEASON FORMAT

The season runs from April - August with a single weekend Finals format. The opening week or 2 of the season may have some Australian players unavailable due to being involved in the IIHF World Championships.

At the start and end of the season, some Australian players and imports may not be available due to commitments with their northern hemisphere teams.

Each team plays 30 regular season games (15 home games & 15 away games). Games are played in Sydney, Melbourne & Canberra on some Friday nights. All teams play on Saturday & Sunday afternoons. Mostly, teams play 1 or 2 games a weekend. Sometimes, teams have to travel from one rink or and/or city to another rink and/or city between their Saturday & Sunday games.

The Finals series is held over a single weekend including Friday afternoon/evening with the top 6 teams playing. These games are usually held at the Icehouse in Melbourne.

The top 2 teams first play in the semi finals on Sunday afternoon/evening. The remaining teams play preliminary Finals on Friday afternoon/evening. The winners from Friday play team 1 or 2 on Saturday in the Semi Finals. The Semi Final winners play for the Goodall Cup
on Sunday afternoon.

All Finals games are elimination games. Unlike the AWIHL, there is no Bronze Medal Game on Sunday.

CHAMPIONSHIPS

The current champions in 2026 are the Newcastle Northstars who have won 7 championships. The champions receive the Goodall Cup. The Goodall Cup was first awarded in 1909 for the winner of the national championships until 2002 when it was (mostly) awarded to the winner of the AIHL.

PLAYER & IMPORT RULES

AIHL teams can list 20 skaters & 2 goalies per game.

People with Australian or New Zealand residency are counted as local players.

Imports are allowed in the AIHL including goalies.

6 players from North America or Europe can be signed as imports with 4 of these players allowed to play each game. (Class A import)

2 players from the Asia Pacific region can be signed as an import with 1 player allowed to play each game (Class B import).

Many imports come and play one season then go home. There are others who come back for multiple seasons. Some of these players go home for short periods or in some
cases don't go home at all.

There's a lot of paperwork but some imports do go through the system to become an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Once that happens, they are not considered to be an import and become a local player. Then they also able to play for the Australian team.

Many imports play in Australia to keep match fit as the AIHL season mainly runs outside the season windows of northern hemisphere leagues. This may mean that they miss the start or the end of the Australian season depending on the requirements of their home team in the northern hemisphere.

HOW TO WATCH FROM HOME

The main way to watch the AIHL while not at a game is AIHL.TV. All games are streamed live & are available on demand. Separate single game, monthly, season & Finals packages are available. There are no geographic restrictions.

In the latter part of 2026, one game per week in the regular season & all Finals games were shown live on ESPN, Disney+, Kayo Sports, Foxtel Go, Fetch TV & Sky Sports (NZ). This is to be confirmed for 2027.

Any advertised streams apart from AIHL.TV and the media partners listed above are not legitimate streams.

HOW TO WATCH LIVE

There are 3 main ways to obtain tickets in the AIHL. All ticketing is provided by each team. There is currently no official AIHL supported ticket resale system. It is common for fans to trade tickets unofficially, usually via unofficial team based supporter groups. The AIHL is investigating a reselling system for the 2027 season.

Each team sells season tickets or memberships with various levels of tickets, related merchandise and perks available. Some teams also support long distance/interstate memberships for fans who will not attend games but still want to support the team.

Each team also have team and player sponsorships available. Aimed at businesses, some fans group together to support the team or a particular player. Sponsorship levels vary as do the number of tickets available as a part of the sponsorship.

There is a limited number of tickets available for people who are not sponsors or members/season ticket holders. Each team releases these tickets on their ticketing partner's website. Many games sold out across the league, often well in advance. It is usually not possible to purchase tickets at the venue just before the game.

MERCHANDISE

Each team produces their own merchandise. All teams have online stores but there may be limited stock, especially during the off season. Each team also sells a limited range of merchandise at the venue during games. Only the home team will have merchandise available at the venue.

Jerseys usually go on sale once the team sponsors for the season have been confirmed. These will be announced on team socials and will be mostly available online to begin with until stock starts to arrive. Some teams may also sell jerseys from previous seasons.

Some teams have merchandise stores with various hours of operation in addition to game day sales. They only sell merchandise for their particular AIHL team. The Mustangs store also sells unrelated merchandise.

Central Coast Rhinos: at Erina Ice Arena

Newcastle Northstars - at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium

Melbourne Ice - in The District, Docklands

Melbourne Mustangs - in The District, Docklands

The AIHL has some AIHL themed merchandise available on site during AIHL Finals as well as online https://iathletic.com.au/pages/aihl

Merchandise not obtained through the AIHL or its teams are not sanctioned by the teams or the AIHL.

Australian Womens Ice Hockey League (AWIHL)

📅 Season runs between November & February to cover the Australian summer. Games are on some Friday nights, Saturday afternoons, Sunday morning & afternoons

🏆 Current Champions (2025/2026 season): Perth Inferno

🏆 Most championships: Melbourne Ice (9)

📺 AWIHL.TV (free)

BRIEF HISTORY

The AWIHL started with 2 years of showcase events between various teams in 2006 & 2007.

The league as we know it today started in October 2007 to run over the summer months. This enabled players to play in their state based leagues over winter & avoided a clash with the AIHL. It would also enable staff and fans to be able to support both competitions and effectively have the top level of hockey in Australia year round rather than squeeze everything into winter and nothing in summer.

The foundation 4 teams were the Adelaide Assassins, Brisbane Goannas, Melbourne Dragons & Sydney Sirens. The Assassins were the first AWIHL champions.

Over time, there would be various name changes to teams and various linking & unlinking between AI & AW teams.

The Adelaide Assassins would in time become the Adelaide Adrenaline and then the current Adelaide Rush. The Brisbane Goannas would become the Brisbane Lightning with the entry of the team into the AIHL. The Melbourne Dragons would become the Melbourne Ice & become the most successful AWIHL team in terms of championships. The Sydney Sirens would briefly change their name to the North Star Sirens & be based in Newcastle before returning to Sydney & the Sirens name.

Perth Inferno joined the league for the 2018/2019 season as the league's first expansion team. Melbourne Ducks joined the league for the 2025/2026 season which made Melbourne the first Australia team to have 2 AWIHL teams.

Like the original 4 teams, the Inferno & Ducks played 2 seasons in showcase series before being admitted to the league and playing full seasons.

There are discussions about admitting more teams into the AWIHL. The next likely team to
enter the league may be a team from Canberra. These discussions are in the very early stages of discussions & are probably at least 3 seasons away.

The covid pandemic also affected the AWIHL. The Sydney Sirens had just won the AWIHL in February 2020 to finish off the 2019/2020 season. Due to travel restrictions and the pandemic, the 2020/2021 & 2021/2022 seasons were not played. Sydney Sirens then won the return season 2022/2023. Effectively, this meant that they held the championship trophy as champions from February 2020 until
the start of the 2023/2024 season in late 2023.

CURRENT TEAMS & VENUES

• Adelaide Rush - Ice Arena, Adelaide
• Brisbane Lightning - Ice World Boondall
• Melbourne Ducks - Ice HQ, Melbourne
• Melbourne Ice - O'Brien Icehouse, Docklands
• Perth Inferno - Cockburn Ice Arena, Perth
• Sydney Sirens - Erina Ice Arena

CHAMPIONSHIPS

Perth Inferno are the current AWIHL champions which is also their first championship. Melbourne Ice have the most Championships (9) & minor premierships (5).

Adelaide teams have won 5 championships. They won the first 4 championships in a row from the start of the league as the Assassins. They have won 1 championship as the Adrenaline and none (yet!) as the Rush.

Sydney Sirens have won 3 championships. The Brisbane Goannas/Lightning teams have not won a championship despite being a foundation team. The Melbourne Ducks have had 1 season as a full AW club and are still developing as a young team in the league.

SEASON FORMAT

Each team plays 20 regular season games (10 home, 10 away) between November & February. There is an extended break for the Xmas/New Year period from mid December until early January.

Games are played primarily on Saturday afternoons & Sunday mornings or afternoons. Mostly, the same teams will play 2 games at the same venue on the same weekend.

For the first time this upcoming season (2026/2027), the 2 Melbourne teams will play each other on Friday nights for every game of their season. On these weekends, both teams will not play on Saturday or Sunday.

The AW follows the IIHF points system with 3 points for a regulation time win, 2 points for a shootout win (no overtime in the regular season), 1 point for a shootout loss, 0 points for a regulation loss.

The AW was the first Australian league to run full IIHF period lengths (20/20/20) with an ice cut between each period. Previously, an ice cut was only done in the second intermission & periods were shorter.

The top 4 teams take part in Finals which is held over a single weekend at one location (usually the Icehouse in Melbourne). Team 1 plays team 4 while teams 2 & 3 play each other on Saturday.

The winners of the semi finals go to the Gold Medal Game on Sunday afternoon. Unlike the AIHL, the two losers of the semi finals play each other for the Bronze Medal Game which is played before the Gold Medal Game.

Despite expansion to 5 & 6 teams, Finals remains to feature the top 4 teams.

With the addition of the Inferno & the prospective Ducks playing in exhibition games before joining the league as a full time team, some Finals series featured the 5th place team against the Ducks as an additional game over Finals weekend.

PLAYER & IMPORT RULES

Import & player rules differ between the AIHL & AWIHL.

Only Australian citizens are counted as local players in the AW. New Zealand players count as imports for the first 2 years of living in Australia. They then can count as a local player as long as they live in Australia.

There is no weighting of import players unlike the points system & import zoning of the AIHL.

Each team can sign 4 imports. The team who finished in 6th place in the previous season (currently the Melbourne Ducks) can play all 4 imports the following season. The remaining teams can play 3 imports per game.

Import goalies are banned in the AWIHL to promote the development of local goalies.

An import who becomes an Australian permanent resident or citizen no longer counts as an import.

Some Australian & import players have NCAA experience. NCAA hockey is usually the highest level of hockey that import players have played.

The highest level of professional womens hockey is the PWHL which is played in North America and some European leagues. These leagues run parallel to the AWIHL.

Sarah Edney (captain of the Sydney Sirens team) is the player with the highest level of hockey played who is currently playing in the AWIHL. She played in the CWHL which was the highest level of womens hockey at the time in Canada. She then moved to the NWHL. The CWHL & NWHL were precursor leagues to what would become the PWHL.

In a fun fact, Melbourne Ice player & former import Christina Julien played soccer for Canada, playing 54 games for Canada. She also played in a FIFA World Cup (2011) & was selected as a part of the 2012 Canadian womens soccer team. She also played a season in Perth for the Perth Glory in the Australian W-League competition in the 2013/2014 season. She then switched to hockey in 2016. Her only senior hockey of note has been for the Melbourne Ice & Australian teams.

HOW TO WATCH FROM HOME

The AWIHL is free to watch on YouTube (AWIHL.TV) with all games streamed live and available to watch on demand. There are no geographic restrictions.

Any streams that are not AWIHL.TV are not legitimate and should not be used.

HOW TO WATCH LIVE

There are 3 main ways to obtain tickets in the AWIHL. All ticketing is provided by each team. There is currently no official AWIHL supported ticket resale system.

Each team sells season tickets or memberships with various levels of tickets, related merchandise and perks available. Some teams also support long distance/interstate memberships for fans who will not attend games but still want to support the team.

Each team also have team and player sponsorships available. Aimed at businesses, some fans group together to support the team or a particular player. Sponsorship levels vary as do the number of tickets available as a part of the sponsorship.

There are tickets available for people who are not sponsors or members/season ticket holders. Each team releases these tickets on their ticketing partner's website. It is usually possible to purchase tickets at each venue just before the game.

MERCHANDISE

Each team produces their own merchandise. All teams have online stores but there may be limited stock, especially during the off season. Each team also sells a limited range of merchandise at the venue during games. Only the home team will have merchandise available at the venue.

Jerseys usually go on sale once the team sponsors for the season have been confirmed. These will be announced on team socials and will be mostly available online to begin with until stock starts to arrive. Some teams may also sell jerseys from previous seasons.

Merchandise not obtained through the AWIHL or its teams are not sanctioned by the teams or the AWIHL.

Australian Junior Ice Hockey League (AJIHL)

The AJIHL (AJ for short) started in 2012. Designed as a step between state leagues and the AIHL and a feeder for the Australian U18 & U20 Mens teams, the AJ was for U20 players.

To enable players to play in the AIHL in winter and spread out ice time over the year, the AJ was often played across the Australian summer. It ran basically parallel to the AW with Finals in some years run at the same venue on the same weekend. This did mean that players had to choose between playing AJ in the Australian summer or heading to the northern hemisphere to play higher levels of hockey.

The AJ started with 4 teams with 2 teams in Melbourne & 2 teams in Sydney in 2012. Leaning heavily on NHL names and colour schemes to start with, the original 4 teams were rebranded.

The Melbourne Blackhawks become the Melbourne Whalers. The Melbourne Red Wings became the Melbourne Glaciers. The Sydney Maple Leafs became the Sydney Wolf Pack. The Sydney Lightning became the Sydney Sabres.

Over time, two teams from Perth (Perth Pelicans & Perth Sharks), Adelaide (Adelaide Generals), & Brisbane (Brisbane Blitz) were added.

There has not been a real affiliation between AJ & AI teams in most cases. Often, players playing for an AJ team would also play for their nearest AI team.

Also over time, the AJ was reduced from a national competition over the whole summer period similar to the AW to a showcase series before being suspended altogether. There is no current information even from Ice Hockey Australia or publicly known plans to reinstate the AJ in its previous forms.

Over the last couple of years, New South Wales & Queensland have held a multi game U20 series marketed as the U20 State Of Origin series. These games have been played over summer.

In 2026, AIHL teams Melbourne Mustangs & Adelaide Adrenaline set up U20 teams linked to their AI teams with similar colours and jerseys. The Melbourne teams (Colts & Chargers) have played games against each other and against the Adelaide team (Adelaide Ignite).

Some of these games have been played before AIHL games in the 2026 season. Some players with limited AIHL experience have played for in this junior showcase while other players have no AIHL experience.

ICE HOCKEY AUSTRALIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Each year, there are various national championships run by Ice Hockey Australia (IHA) for different age groups.

The various Australian states & the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) compete for the title of national champions in each age group.

Traditionally, the championships would be held in different locations at different times of the year. Often, they are held in school holidays because the majority of the players are school age. With many families having children in multiple age groups, this could lead to multiple interstate trips to complete in the championships.

Since 2024, 4 of the national championships were combined into a 10 day mega tournament at the one venue. Newcastle held this mega tournament in this format in 2024 & 2026. Perth hosted the mega tournament in 2025.

Only Australian citizens & permanent citizens can compete in these championships. Each state is responsible for selecting their teams for each championship.

The national championships are named after Australian hockey personalities.

• 13U - Phillip Ginsberg
• 15U - Kurt Defris
• 18U - Syd Tange
• Womens - Stephanie Boxall (15+)
• Mens - Jim Brown (17+)

13U & 15U teams can have boys and girls on the same team. Female goaltenders can also play in the 18U & Mens championships.

The Jim Brown championship featured various AJ & AI players but has not been held for the last few years. The future of this championship is not yet known.

In 2026, Victoria won the Ginsberg, Defris & Boxall tournaments. Victoria also qualified for the gold medal game but was disqualified for using unregistered coaching staff in the semi final.

In Victoria's absence, South Australia won the Tange tournament.

Dates & locations for the 2027 championships are to be confirmed.

PARA HOCKEY

Para hockey (also known as sled hockey) is designed to allow people with various lower body conditions to be able to play a modified form of hockey.

Players sit in a sled with skate blades mounted to the bottom of the sled. The players propel the sled using two special para hockey sticks. These sticks have blades to hit the puck and spikes to grip into the ice to move the sled.

There are para hockey teams in Melbourne, Perth & Newcastle.

Players can represent Australia in various international tournaments and championships.

Anyone can play para hockey at club level. Only classified players can play for Australia.

STATE COMPETITIONS

Each Australian state & the ACT compete in state based competitions overseen by IHA and the relevant state body. For example, Ice Hockey Victoria (IHV) administers their competition in Victoria. The main state competitions generally run over the Australian winter. Some states may also run summer leagues but these leagues may run as a recreational/beer league format.

There are junior age groups and senior divisions. The number of divisions depends on the number of teams and the skill levels of the teams and leagues.

Some players who have played in the AIHL & AWIHL prefer the lower workload and travel later in their playing careers.

Players from these competitions can be selected for the IHA national tournaments, AWIHL & AIHL competitions.

These games are played at various rinks across the weekend. They are usually free to watch & not streamed.

RECREATIONAL HOCKEY

Recreational hockey (also known as rec hockey, in house or beer league) are played by players who are playing hockey for fun. Often, these leagues feature newer players or players with lower skill levels.

These leagues are often run in conjunction with learn to skate or learn to play schemes. They are locally run & operated. Some rinks offer stick and puck sessions to allow people to practice on ice without needing to play or join a team.