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Sydney Bears
Sydney Bears logo
City: Macquarie Park, NSW
League: Australian Ice Hockey League
Founded: 1982 (42 years ago) (1982)
Home Arena: Macquarie Ice Rink
General Manager: Flag of Australia Nathan Graham
Head Coach: Flag of Australia Ron Kuprowsky
Captain: Flag of Australia Brian Funes
Affiliates: Sydney Bears IHC (IHNSW)
Penrith Raptors (ECSL)
Sydney Sting (ECSL)
Sydney Bombers (ECSL)
Reach Rebels (ECSL)
Franchise history
1982–1997: Macquarie Bears
1997–2007: Sydney Bears
2007–2009: AIHL Bears
2010–present: Sydney Bears
Championships

The Sydney Bears (formally Macquarie Bears) is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1982, the Bears are the only remaining founding member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) still operating. The Bears are based at Macquarie Ice Rink, within the Macquarie Centre, in the northern suburbs of Sydney. The Sydney Bears have claimed three Goodall Cups in 2002, 2003 and 2019.

History[]

Prior to AIHL[]

The Sydney Bears was founded on 1 July 1982 as the Macquarie Bears Ice Hockey Club Incorporated. The team was formed concurrently to the non-incorporated local ice hockey club sharing the same name.[1] The Bears were based out of the Macquarie Ice Rink. The club competed in the NSW Super League (NSWSL) and then the East Coast Super League (ECSL).[2] In 1989 the Bears claimed the NSWSL championship with star defenceman Glen Foll claiming top points scorer for the season.[3] In 1997 the club decided to change its name to the Sydney Bears Ice Hockey Club in preparation for a new national competition.[4] In September 1999, the Bears won the East Coast Super League after defeating the Canberra Knights in a two match grand final series held at Phillip Ice Skating Centre, Canberra. In game one, on 18 September, the Bears fought their way to a close a 6–5 victory over the hosts. In game two, on 19 September, Sydney's golakeeper Alan Becken claimed a shutout as the Bears won 5–0.[5]

AIHL era[]

150px earlier logo as Sydney Bears

2000–10[]

In 2000, the Australian Ice Hockey league (AIHL) was established.[6] The league adopted a franchise arrangement for competing teams so the Sydney Bears set up their incorporation as The Bears AIHL Inc. and were granted an AIHL licence.[7]

The Sydney Bears claimed the inaugural AIHL season premiership by finishing top of the round-robin season involving the Bears, Adelaide Avalanche and Canberra Knights. The Bears were defeated by the Avalanche, 6–5 in a shootout in the single match championship final.[8]

The Sydney Bears backed up this performance and made the championship final in 2001. They were again defeated by the Adelaide Avalanche, 10–7.[9] The Bears did find success in the Goodall Cup tournament in 2001. Held in Newcastle, it was the last Goodall Cup tournament held independently to the AIHL.[7]

In 2002, the Bear's had a breakout AIHL season. The team left Macquarie and moved to the new Sydney Ice Arena in Baulkham Hills. The league doubled in size to six teams and the Bears finished the season first in the table to claim their second premiership. They faced a familiar foe, Adelaide Avalanche, in the first Goodall Cup Final for the AIHL.[6] In Blacktown Ice Arena, the Bears defeated Adelaide 5–4 in a shootout to clinch the Goodall Cup and claim their first AIHL Championship.[10]

In 2003, the AIHL adopted a new finals format that involved the top four teams from the regular season.[6] The Sydney Bears were involved in and won the one and only third place play-off in an AIHL finals weekend. The Bears continued their rivalry with Adelaide and defeated them 10–5 in the match to claim third. From 2004 the AIHL tweaked the finals format to remove this match.[11]

The Bears next found success in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, the Sydney Bears changed their name to the AIHL Bears (or simply the Bears) as the team left Sydney for Penrith.[12] The team played out of the Penrith Ice Palace. The Bears won their second championship and Goodall Cup by defeating the Newcastle North Stars 3–2 in overtime in the final.[13] The Bears also won the inaugural Wilson Cup in 2007.[14] In 2008, the Bears claimed the H Newman Reid Trophy for the first time by finishing top of the league table ahead of the Western Sydney Ice Dogs.[15] The Bears also claimed back-to-back Wilson Cup's after defeating the Ice Dogs in the pre-season tournament's final 6–4.[14]

2010–20[]

Penrith Bears logo

To start the new decade, in 2010, the team rebranded and renamed back to the Sydney Bears.[12] The team switched between Penrith and Sydney ice Arena over the course of seven seasons.[16][17] In 2017, Macquarie Ice rink, at a cost of $3 million, had been upgraded to AIHL standards providing the Bears the opportunity to return to their spiritual home.[1] The Bears, along with the Ice Dogs, moved into the newly renovated arena located within the Macquarie Centre.[18] The upgrade of Macquarie Ice Rink also brought back the Sydney Bears (IHNSW) club to Macquarie. Since the move in 2017, the AIHL team and the IHNSW club have increased cooperation and support between the two clubs. Ex AIHL Bear's players have been taking up coaching roles within the IHNSW club while the IHNSW Bears provides the AIHL team a pathway for local players.[19] In 2018, prior to the season starting, the Bears unveiled a new team logo to signify their return home to Macquarie.[20]

On the ice, the Bears struggled to find form. The team spent seven consecutive seasons failing to reach the AIHL finals weekend between 2011 and 2017. In 2018 the team's fortunes began to improve. The Bears finished second in the league and made their first appearance in the Goodall Cup final in eleven years.[21] They were defeated 4–3 in overtime by the CBR Brave but their display and spirit was praised.[22] In 2019, the Sydney Bears surprised many and went one better and clinched their third Goodall Cup. It was their second Cup success after finishing the regular season in fourth place. The Bears defeated the Perth Thunder, 5–2 in the final.[23]

Season-by-season results[]

Champions Runners-up Third Place
Sydney Bears all-time record
Season Regular season Finals weekend Wilson Cup Top points scorer
P W T L SW SL GF GA GD Pts Finish P W L GF GA Result Semi-final Goodall Cup final Name Points
2000 Information not available 1 0 1 5 6 Runner-up Lost 5–6 (SO) (Avalanche) Information not available
2001 16 7 1 8 70 74 −4 15 2nd 1 1 10 7 Runner-up Lost 7–10 (Avalanche) Information not available
2002 20 16 1 3 126 69 +57 33 1st 1 1 1 0 Champion Won 5–4 (SO) (Avalanche) Flag of Australia Murray Wand 27
2003[lower-alpha 1] 6 1 5 23 34 −11 2 3rd[lower-alpha 2] 2 1 1 14 12 Third[lower-alpha 3] Lost 4–7 (North Stars) Flag of the Czech Republic Vladimir Rubes 14
2004 20 8 1 6 1 4 68 71 −3 31 3rd 1 1 4 5 Semi-finalist Lost 4–5 (Ice Dogs) Flag of Canada Trent Ulmer 24
2005 26 11 12 2 1 96 100 −4 38 4th 1 1 3 6 Semi-finalist Lost 3–6 (Avalanche) Flag of the United States Andy Luhovy 33
2006 28 15 11 1 1 133 101 +32 48 5th Flag of the Czech Republic Vladan Stransky 57
2007 28 14 8 4 2 112 84 +28 49[lower-alpha 4] 4th 2 2 7 3 Champion Won 4–1 (Avalanche) Won 3–2 (OT) (North Stars) Winner Flag of the Czech Republic Tomas Landa 62
2008 28 20 7 1 134 118 +16 61 1st 1 1 5 7 Semi-finalist Lost 5–7 (North Stars) Winner Flag of the Czech Republic Vladan Stransky 63
2009 24 1 20 3 66 140 −74 9 7th Group Flag of the Czech Republic Vladimir Rubes 36
2010 24 12 8 1 3 82 90 −8 41 3rd 1 1 1 2 Semi-finalist Lost 1–2 (Ice) Flag of the Czech Republic Vladimir Rubes 34
2011 28 2 21 2 3 83 151 −68 13 8th Flag of Canada Michael Schlamp 45
2012 24 9 12 2 1 92 93 −1 32 3rd, Bauer Flag of the Czech Republic Tomas Landa 58
2013 28 7 20 0 1 73 120 −47 22 7th Flag of the Czech Republic Tomas Landa 33
2014 28 6 1[lower-alpha 5] 19 1 1 88 125 −57 22 8th Group Flag of Canada Hamilton Steen 31
2015 28 11 14 1 2 110 110 +0 37 7th Runner-up Flag of the United States Joe Harcharik 52
2016 28 5 15 5 3 77 95 −18 28 6th Winner Flag of the Czech Republic Tomas Landa 33
2017 28 6 14 3 3 101 121 −20 33 6th Winner Flag of the United States Jackson Brewer 45
2018 28 15 7 3 3 104 72 +32 54 2nd 2 1 1 6 4 Runner-up Won 3–0 (Thunder) Lost 3–4 (OT) (Brave) Runner-up Flag of the United States Charlie Adams 54
2019 28 15 11 2 0 121 102 +19 49 4th 2 2 0 11 6 Champion Won 6–4 (Brave) Won 5–2) (Thunder) Winner Flag of Canada Danick Gauthier 53

Notes:

  1. 1.0 1.1 Our History. sydneybears.com.au.
  2. Carpenter, Ross. Hellyer, Wayne(1963 – ). Legends of Australian Ice.
  3. Carpenter, Ross. Foll, Glen(1962 – ). Legends of Australian Ice.
  4. Carpenter, Ross. Hulme, Tim (1967 – ). Legends of Australian Ice.
  5. The Superleague Team. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 1 March 2000. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 History of the Australian Ice Hockey League. Australian Ice Hockey League.
  7. 7.0 7.1 About the Bears. Sydney Bears.
  8. Adelaide Avalanche: The Franchise that changed Australian hockey forever. Adelaide Adrenaline (3 August 2017).
  9. Championnat d'Australie 2001 (fr). hockeyarchives.info.
  10. Meltzer, Bill (28 May 2008). Australia celebrates hockey centennial with gold. National Hockey League.
  11. Championnat d'Australie 2003 (fr). hockeyarchives.info.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Team History. Sydney Bears.
  13. 2007 AIHL Grand Final Boxscore. theaihl.com (2 September 2007).
  14. 14.0 14.1 Hungry Bears have done it again!. AIHL Bears.
  15. Minor Premiership an ice hockey curse. theroar.com.au (2 July 2009).
  16. Lambert, Peter (19 February 2012). Bears in the Hills. Australian Ice Hockey League.
  17. Brook, Eric (2015-01-08). Sydney Bears Move To Penrith In 2015. Hewitt Sports.
  18. Musico, Bianca (17 January 2017). #TheHomecoming: The Bears Finally Return Home to Macquarie Ice Rink. Sydney Bears.
  19. Darnley, Ryan (22 June 2017). Bears Mentor Next Generation. Sydney Bears.
  20. Bears unveil new logo. icehockeynewsaustralia.com (26 December 2017).
  21. Australian Ice Hockey League 2018 Standings. eliteprospects.com.
  22. Tiernan, Eamonn (2018-09-02). Canberra Brave win first Goodall Cup in overtime epic. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  23. Allen, Trevor (9 September 2019). Bears shock rivals to claim Goodall Cup. International Ice Hockey Federation.

Notes References: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Championships[]

1 Champions (3): 2002, 2007, 2019
2 Runners-Up (1): 2001
1 Premiers (1): 2008
2 Runners-Up (1): 2018
1 Winners (5): 2007, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2019
2 Runners-Up (2): 2015, 2018
1 Premiers (1): 2002
2 Runners-Up (1): 2001
  • East Coast Super League
1 Champions (1): 1999
  • NSW Super League
1 Champions (1): 1989
1 This list includes Premierships prior to the first trophy for Premiers in 2004.

Team facilities[]

The Sydney Bears current home venue is the Macquarie Ice Rink, located within the Macquarie Shopping Centre in Macquarie, Sydney. The Macquarie facility consists of an Olympic sized rink (60m x 30m) with seating for approximately 2,000 people.[6]

Macquarie is the spiritual home of the Bears as the team called Macquarie home from foundation in 1982 till 2002. In 2002 the team moved to the recently constructed Sydney Ice Arena in Baulkham Hills, Sydney. After five years the team moved out of Sydney and into the Penrith Ice Palace, Penrith, New South Wales, out west of the city.[7] In 2012 the Bears returned to Sydney and to the Sydney Ice Arena. In late 2013 / early 2014 it was announced that the ownership of the Sydney Ice Arena, Hillsong, had lodged a development application with the NSW Government to re-develop the site into a residential complex, removing the twelve year old ice rink.[8][9] The Bears moved back to Penrith for the 2015 and 2016 AIHL seasons.[10] In 2017 it was announced that the Bears would return home to Macquarie to play out of the newly upgraded Macquarie Ice Rink, which now met AIHL standards.[11][12]

Stadium history
Rink Location Term
Macquarie Ice Rink Macquarie 1982–01
Sydney Ice Arena Baulkham Hills 2002–06
Penrith Ice Palace Penrith 2007–11
Sydney Ice Arena Baulkham Hills 2012–14
Penrith Ice Palace Penrith 2015–16
Macquarie Ice Rink Macquarie 2017–Present

Leaders[]

Team captains[]

The Bears have had six captains in the team's known history.[13]

No. Name Term
1 Flag of Australia Tyler Lovering 2001
2 Flag of Australia Don Burke 2002
3 Flag of Australia Tyler Lovering 2003–04
4 Flag of Australia Murray Wand 2005–08
5 Flag of Australia Vladimir Rubes 2009–10
6 Flag of Australia Michael Schlamp 2010–19
7 Flag of Australia Brian Funes 2022–Present

References:[14][15][16][17][18][19]

For more details on this topic, see Captain (ice hockey).

Head coaches[]

The Bears have had three head coaches in the team's known history.[20]

No. Name Term
1 Flag of Australia Vladimir Rubes 2001–05
2 Flag of Canada Kelly Lovering 2006
3 Flag of Australia Vladimir Rubes 2007–15
4 Flag of Australia Ron Kuprowsky 2016–Present

References:[21][22][23]

For more details on this topic, see Coach (ice hockey).

General managers[]

The Bears have had two general managers/presedents in the team's known history.[20]

No. Name Term
1 Flag of Australia Wayne Hellyer 2000–19
2 Flag of Australia Nathan Graham 2022–Present

References: [24][25]

For more details on this topic, see General manager (ice hockey).

Broadcasting[]

Current:

  • Kayo Sports (2022 - present) – Domestic online video broadcasting in Australia as part of the league wide deal struck in the lead up to the 2022 AIHL season to show every AIHL game live.[26]
  • Sportradar (2022 - present) – International online video broadcasting in North America and Europe as part of a league-wide 3-year deal signed in March 2022 in the lead up to the 2022 AIHL season.[27]

Former:

  • Fox Sports (2013 – 2019) – Part of the entire AIHL domestic TV broadcasting deal with Fox Sports to show one game a round, normally on Thursday's at 4:30 pm or after NHL games during NHL season.[28]
  • Self-broadcast (2015 – 2019) – Between 2015 and 2019 the Sydney Bears self-broadcast all home matches with an online audio stream utilising the Mixlr platform. Eric Brook and Nicholas Kutnjak called the play by play with various co commentators joining the team during the season.[29]

References[]

  1. 2002 AIHL season: 2002 AIHL Grand Final – Unconfirmed. theaihl.com.
  2. Championnat d'Australie 2003 (French). hockeyarchives.info.
  3. AIHL History. hockeywise.com.au.
  4. McIlroy, Tom (2014-07-19). Adelaide Adrenaline team bus crashes forcing Canberra ice hockey game to be cancelled. The Canberra Times.
  5. Mooney, Harrison (2014-08-01). Australian hockey's CBR Brave upset after game for first place canceled due to bus crash. Yahoo!.
  6. About Macquarie Ice Rink. macquarieicerink.com.au.
  7. Sydney Bears relocate to Penrith Ice Palace. icehockeynewsaustralia.com (2015-01-08).
  8. Thomson, Warren (2013-12-10). Sydney Ice Arena could make way for a 20-storey development. The Daily Telegraph.
  9. Brodie, Will (2014-05-22). The Australian Ice Hockey League's recurring dilemma. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. Tarbert, Kristine (2015-04-16). Only way is up for Ice Hockey's Sydney Bears who will play in Penrith this season. The Daily Telegraph.
  11. Stavrinos, Anthony (2017-01-24). Ice Hockey returns to Macquarie Centre. weeklytimes.com.au.
  12. #TheHomecoming: The Bears Finally Return Home to Macquarie Ice Rink.. Sydney Bears (2017-01-18).
  13. Sydney Bears - Team Captaincy History. eliteprospects.com.
  14. Game Report: Sat 5th May, 20001. (AIHL Game 1). Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 16 December 2001. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  15. THE SYDNEY BEARS members of the 2002 AIHL Championship winning team. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 15 July 2004. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  16. THE SYDNEY BEARS 2003 Line-up. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 13 September 2004. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  17. THE SYDNEY BEARS 2004 Line-up. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 16 August 2004. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  18. Sydney Bears AIHL 2005. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  19. The 2006 Sydney Bears: Player Profiles. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Sydney Bears - Team Staff History. eliteprospects.com.
  21. Vlad Rubes. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  22. Lovering to Coach Bears. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 16 July 2006. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  23. The 2007 Sydney Bears. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  24. Club Information?. Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 1 March 2000. Retrieved on 26 June 2022.
  25. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named 22STAFF
  26. 2022 season - locked, loaded and ready to play. Australian Ice Hockey League (12 February 2022). Retrieved on 20 March 2022.
  27. AIHL partners with Sportradar. icehockeynewsaustralia.com (24 March 2022). Retrieved on 30 March 2022.
  28. Brodie, Will (2013-04-17). Ice hockey gets pay TV boost. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  29. Sydney Bears Game Day Live. mixlr.com.

External links[]


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