Australian Ice Hockey League Will Stream Finals Matches

If you're desperate for hockey, the Australian Ice Hockey League will stream the 2013 Finals Series on September 7th and 8th as the top four teams in the league vie for The Goodall Cup. Game 1 of the semi-finals features the Melbourne Ice vs. the Sydney Ice Dogs, Game 2 pits the Perth Thunder against the Newcastle North Stars.

Melbourne finished 4th in the AIHL with a regular season record of 16-7-1-3 and 53 points (the AIHL uses the 3 point system like the NHL should), leading the league in goals for with 146. The Ice are led by Leamington, ON native Jason Baclig and Orleans, ON native Matt Armstrong.

Sydney finished 1st in the league with 58 points. Sydney's Christopher Sekura, a ten-year veteran of the AIHL and native of Taber, AB is a long-time member of Australia's National Team. Sydney is led by Ajax, ON native Simon Barg and Pittsburgh, PA native Matt Puntureri.

Newcastle and Perth ended the regular season in a tie for 2nd in the AIHL with 54 points each. Newcastle was the stingiest defensive team in the league, giving up just 69 goals, while Perth was 5th in goals against and 5th in goal differential. Newcastle is led by Fort McMurray-born Jeff Martens, an alumni of the Prince George Spruce Kings who led the AIHL in scoring during the regular season.

Perth was led by Michael Forney, a 3rd round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006, who totaled 47 points in just 16 games, but has since departed for Austria to play for VSV in 2013-14.

If you're interested in attending, buy tickets to the series at the Melbourne Icehouse.