Adelaide Adrenaline Explained

Current:2023 AIHL season
Team:Adelaide Adrenaline
Bg Color:background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#17243D 5px solid; border-bottom:#B7B16B 5px solid;
Text Color:
  1. 000000
Logosize:230px
City:Adelaide, South Australia
League:Australian Ice Hockey League
Founded:2008
Operated:2008–present
Arena:IceArenA
Colours:Blue, gold, red, white
Gm:Glen Foll
Benny Gebert
Coach:Stu Henly
Captain:Joey MacDougall
Affiliates:Adelaide Generals
Name1:Adelaide A's
Dates1:2008
Name2:Adelaide Adrenaline
Dates2:2009–present
Championships1 Type:H Newman Reid Trophies
Championships1:0
Championships2 Type:Goodall Cups
Championships2:1 (2009)

The Adelaide Adrenaline is a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team is a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team was founded in 2008 as the Adelaide A's to replace the defunct Adelaide Avalanche who folded mid-season. The team plays its home games at the IceArenA, located in the suburb of Thebarton. The Adrenaline are one time Goodall Cup champions from 2009.

History

The team was formed at the start of July 2008 to replace the Adelaide Avalanche after they folded in June. In a deal with the AIHL the A's picked up the Avalanche's team list and fulfilled the existing game schedule for the remainder of the 2008 season.[1] After the 2008 season the A's were renamed the Adelaide Adrenaline for the upcoming 2009 season. The Adrenaline's best result in the regular season came in the 2012 season when they finished second in their conference and second overall. The team have qualified for the playoffs on four occasions, winning the Goodall Cup in 2009 and finishing runners-up in 2010.

The 2009 season saw the newly named Adrenaline perform strongly in the regular season. Adelaide won 16 of 24 matches and finished third in the league table, qualifying for the finals weekend in Newcastle.[2] 29 August 2009, the Adrenaline played the Melbourne Ice in the semi-final at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium. Adelaide took an early lead in the first period thanks to a Sami Mantere goal and never looked back from that point. The Adrenaline ended up winning the match 6–1 with Sami Mantere, Jeremy Beirnes and Mike Werner all scoring braces.[3] 30 August 2009, the Adrenaline came up against the Newcastle North Stars in the AIHL Championship final in front of 950 people. It was a match where power plays provided the opportunities to break down stubborn defences with three of the four goals scored during regulation time coming with a man advantage. After a scoreless third period the two teams could not be separated on 2-2 and the match advanced to overtime. Cassian Delsar stepped up and scored the winner in overtime to claim the Adrenaline's first ever title and the finals MVP.[4] Adelaide was presented with the brand new H Newman Reid Trophy for winning the AIHL Championship. The trophy replaced the Goodall Cup, which had been withdrawn from the competition before the start of the season. The Goodall Cup returned the following season and the Adrenaline championship title win was backdated and Adelaide was awarded the Cup. The H Newman Reid Trophy became the premiership title prize instead.[5]

In the 2010 season, the Adrenaline again reached the AIHL finals weekend by finishing fourth in the league standings.[6] Adelaide drew the North Stars in the semi-finals in a reply of the previous season's final. In a vastly different kind of match compared to the final in 2009, the Adrenaline outshot the North Stars to beat Newcastle 7-6 to reach their second Goodall Cup final in a row. In the final Adelaide come up against home team, the Melbourne Ice. In front of a packed Melbourne Icehouse, Adelaide put up a good performance but ultimately fell short and lost the final 4–6.[7]

Ahead of the 2017 season, the Adrenaline announced a club re-brand with a new logo, uniform and digital design and assets. The re-brand was released with a new team hashtag ‘#OneBeat’.[8] The new logo was a stylised ‘A’ shaped by a heartbeat line presentation. In addition to the new primary logo, the Adrenaline revealed a new secondary logo to be used as shoulder patches on jerseys. The circular badge features the South Australian piping shrike emblematic bird at its heart on a white background. Surrounding piping shrike is the team name in full ‘Adelaide Adrenaline Ice Hockey Club’ on a navy background. The emblem is boarded by a red and yellow border to complete the team’s entire colour palette.[9] The new kits kept the traditional primary blue home colour and white away.[10]

On 13 May 2018, Adelaide, AIHL and Australian ice hockey legend, Greg Oddy announced his retirement. Over the course of 19 years Oddy became a superstar of the local game. Upon his retirement, Oddy held four AIHL all-time records for appearances (615), goals (268), assists (347) and points (615). Greg held the points record for the Australian national team (118). Oddy was a leader for the Adrenaline and Adelaide Avalanche. He captained both teams for 11 seasons combined (2005-2016). He won 3 Goodall Cups (2 with the Avalanche and 1 with the Adrenaline) and 3 gold medals with the national team. Oddy was Adelaide's last remaining foundation player still playing in 2018. Oddy's family built the Adrenaline and Avalanche teams and his contribution to South Australian hockey, the AIHL, the national team and the Adrenaline will not be forgotten.[11] [12]

On 11 January 2020, The Adrenaline announced former player and head coach Sami Mantere had been re-appointed as head coach for the 2020 season. Sami replaced outgoing head coach, Jim Fuyarchuk, who held the position for the last two seasons.[13] However, due to the postponement and eventual cancellation of the 2020 AIHL season, Sami was never in charge of a game in his second stint as Adrenaline head coach.[14] [15] The 2021 season followed 2020 in being cancelled by the AIHL, the Adrenaline went a second year without playing a game.[16]

During the two season hiatus, in October 2021, the AIHL began an expression of interest process to find a new licensee for the Adelaide Adrenaline license, following former holders, the South Australian Ice Sports Federation, relinquishing the license at the conclusion of the 2019 season.[17] The process took five months, and in February 2022 the new license holder was announced as Benny Gebert and Glen Foll.[18] Foll and Gebert were then appointed directors of the club and took on the roles of Hockey Operations Manager and Club Operations Manager respectfully.[19]

The Adrenaline were all ready to return to the ice in 2022 following the announcement of the 2022 AIHL season going ahead in December 2021.[20] Games were slated for the Adrenaline in the official schedule release by the league in February 2022.[21] However, the Adrenaline made it publicly known that they were locked in ongoing negotiations with the new management of the Adelaide IceArenA and had not yet secured an ice time agreement for games and training. The IceArenA management released a signed letter making public a list of grievances with the AIHL and stated it would be difficult for the venue to support the league.[22] On 20 March 2022, the Adrenaline rejected the IceArenA’s offer, stating the offer was both unviable and non-equitable.[23] Following the collapse of the negotiation process and due to a lack of alternative rink facility options in South Australia, the Adrenaline confirmed the team would withdraw from the 2022 AIHL season and hoped to return to action in 2023.[24]

In 2023, ahead of the 2023 AIHL season the Adelaide Adrenaline released an updated version of their team logo with a modified colour scheme. The team's colours changed from navy blue, yellow, white and red to dark blue, red, gold and black. The new colour scheme brings the Adrenaline into line with two other Adelaide based sporting teams, baseball team Adelaide Giants and basketball team Adelaide 36ers. The logo promoted the colour red to become more prominent with the font changing, while the positioning of Adelaide and Adrenaline was switched.[25]

Season-by-season results

Adelaide Adrenaline all-time record
SeasonRegular seasonFinalsTop points scorer
PWTLOWOLGFGAGDPtsFinishPWLGFGAResultSemi FinalPreliminary FinalGoodall Cup FinalNamePoints
20081 28 6 14 6 2 90 107 −17 32 6th Peter Lindgren 29
24 15 8 1 117 75 +42 47 3rd 2 2 12 5 Champion Won 6–1 (Ice) Won 3–2 (North Stars) Sami Mantere 33
24 8 6 5 5 107 92 +15 39 4th 2 1 1 11 12 Runner-up Won 7–6 (North Stars) Lost 4–6 (Ice) Greg Oddy 41
28 12 9 5 2 117 94 +23 48 4th 1 1 3 8 Semi-finalist Lost 3–8 (Ice) Josef Rezek 36
24 13 8 1 2 96 76 +20 43 2nd, Easton 1 1 4 5 Semi-finalist Lost 4–5 (North Stars) Greg Oddy 46
28 8 12 3 5 125 124 +1 35 6th Greg Oddy 37
28 10 22 10 5 1 94 90 +4 43 5th Brett Liscomb 36
28 11 11 3 3 109 111 −2 42 5th Wehebe Darge 44
28 5 18 1 4 83 127 −44 21 8th Wehebe Darge 52
28 6 18 1 3 85 142 −57 23 8th Cameron Critchlow 43
28 3 20 2 3 62 151 −89 16 8th Ales Kratoska 36
28 0 26 0 2 71 188 −117 2 8th Ales Kratoska 31
2020 and 2021 AIHL seasons were cancelled and not contested
2021
Withdrew from 2022 AIHL season
Totals 324 97 2 160 33 32 1156 1377 bgcolor="#e8e8e8"-221 6 3 3 30 30

1 In a deal with the AIHL, previous games results and statistics for the Adelaide Avalanche were carried over to the A's for the 2008 season.

2 Despite there being no ties in the AIHL, since the introduction of the shootout in 2006, the Adrenaline were awarded two ties against the Brave and Bears for game cancellations due to a bus crash involving the traveling Adrenaline players and coaching staff en route to Canberra.[26] [27]

Championships

Champions (1): 2009

Runners-Up (1): 2010

Premiers (0):

Runners-Up (1): 2012

Players

Current roster

Team roster for the 2023 AIHL season[28] [29] [30]

Retired numbers

Throughout the history of the Adrenaline, one jersey number has been retired in honour of a former club legend. The Adrenaline has already indicated they will retire Greg Oddy's jersey in the future.[31]

Player records

All-time totals

These are the top-ten all-time player records in franchise history for the following categories: Appearances,[32] Goals,[33] Assists,[34] Points,[35] Penalty minutes[36]
(Figures are updated after each completed AIHL regular season)

All-time Apperiences
Name
1 Greg Oddy F 383
2 David Huxley D 261
3 Joshua Harding D 250
4 James Keane F 207
5 Sean Greer D 200
6 Darren Corstens F 173
7 Josef Rezek F 171
8 Luke Thilthorpe F 157
9 Wehebe Darge F 147
10 Cass Delsar F 147
All-time Goals
Name
1 Greg Oddy F 268
2 Trevor Walsh F 118
3 Wehebe Darge F 98
4 Ben Thilthorpe F 86
5 Josef Rezek F 75
6 James Keane F 73
7 Luke Thilthorpe F 55
8 John Oddy F 51
9 Joshua Harding D 50
10 Chris Brlecic F 48
All-time Assists
Name
1 Greg Oddy F 347
2 Joshua Harding D 135
3 Josef Rezek F 132
4 Wehebe Darge F 112
5 Trevor Walsh F 93
6 Luke Thilthorpe F 84
7 Ben Thilthorpe F 76
8 Chris Brlecic F 74
9 David Huxley D 73
10 James Keane F 71
All-time Points
Name
1 Greg Oddy F 615
2 Trevor Walsh F 211
3 Wehebe Darge F 210
4 Josef Rezek F 207
5 Joshua Harding D 185
6 Ben Thilthorpe F 162
7 James Keane F 144
8 Luke Thilthorpe F 139
9 Chris Brlecic F 122
10 John Oddy F 111
All-time Penalties
Name
1 Greg Oddy F 938
2 Trevor Walsh F 604
3 Cass Delsar F 508
4 Ben Thilthorpe F 406
5 Sean Greer D 393
6 Chris Brlecic F 379
7 John Oddy F 350
8 Luke Thilthorpe F 349
9 Joshua Harding D 329
10 David Huxley D 284
Legend:

By season totals

These are the top-ten season by season all-time player records in franchise history for the following categories: Points,[37] Penalty minutes[38] and Save Percentage[39]
(Figures are updated after each completed AIHL regular season)

By Season Points
NameSeason
1 Wehebe Darge 2016 F 52
2 Greg Oddy 2012 F 46
3 Wehebe Darge 2015 F 44
4 Cameron Critchlow 2017 F 43
5 Brett Liscomb 2012 F 43
6 Greg Oddy 2010 F 42
7 Cameron Dion 2010 F 38
8 Tyler Grove 2005 F 38
9 T.J. Battani 2016 F 37
10 Greg Oddy 2013 F 37
By Season PIM
NameSeason
1 Jeremy Beirnes 2009 F 148
2 Kyle Neuber 2019 F 146
3 Sean Greer 2013 D 123
4 Cass Delsar 2011 F 112
5 Donny Grover 2009 D 112
6 Greg Oddy 2008 F 110
7 Tyler Grove 2015 F 108
8 Andrew White 2015 D 101
9 Cass Delsar 2008 F 97
10 Alexandre Gauthier 2019 D 94
By Season Save Percentage
NameSeason
1 Matt Murphy 2017 G .911%
2 Aaron Barton 2012 G .905%
3 Michael Will 2014 G .895%
4 Charlie Smart 2015 G .894%
5 Seb Andersson 2018 G .886%
6 Peter King 2016 G .885%
7 Olivier Martin 2009 G .883%
8 Olivier Martin 2011 G .878%
9 Olivier Martin 2010 G .871%
10 Jesse Gordichuk 2019 G .869%

Team Staff

Current as of 2023 AIHL season [30]

Adrenaline staff
Role Staff
Head coach Stu Henly
Assistant coach Eric Lien
Assistant coach Jim Fuyarchuk
Team manager Jamie Taylor
General manager Glen Foll
Trainer Adam Downey
Source:[40]

Leaders

Team captains

The Adrenaline have had three captains in the team's history.[41]

No. Name Term
1 Greg Oddy 2008–16
2 David Huxley 2017
3 Josef Rezek 2018–19
4 Joey MacDougall 2023–Present
References:[42] [43] [44]

Head coaches

The Adrenaline have had six head coaches in the team's history.[45]

No. Name Term
1 John Botterill 2008–09
2 Mike Gainer 2010–11
3 Ryan O'Handley 2012–14
4 Trevor Walsh 2015–16
5 Sami Mantere 2017
6 Jim Fuyarchuk 2018–19
7 Sami Mantere 2020
8 Stu Henly 2023–Present
References:[46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [13]

Broadcasting

Current:

Former:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ice ArenA Media Release . . 2008-07-10.
  2. Web site: AIHL 2008-2009 Standings . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  3. Web site: Adrenaline vs Ice 2009 Semi-Final Boxscore . . 29 August 2009 . 27 February 2020 .
  4. Web site: Champion with Adrenaline . . Martin . Merk . 14 September 2009 . 27 February 2020 .
  5. Web site: AIHL Welcomes Back Goodall Cup . . Peter . Lambert . 31 March 2010 . 23 September 2018.
  6. Web site: AIHL 2009-2010 Standings . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  7. Web site: Melbourne grabs Aussie title . . Martin . Merk . 22 September 2010 . 27 February 2020 .
  8. Web site: Adrenaline reveal new logo . Adelaide Adrenaline . 1 December 2016 . 1 March 2020 .
  9. Web site: Adrenaline unveil new logo . www.icehockeynewsaustralia.com . 1 December 2016 . 1 March 2020 .
  10. Web site: 2017 Adelaide Adrenaline Jersey revealed . Adelaide Adrenaline . 19 March 2017 . 1 March 2020 .
  11. Web site: Oddy steps away from the AIHL . Adelaide Adrenaline . 13 May 2018 . 27 February 2020 .
  12. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline great Greg Oddy retires after 19 years in Australian Ice Hockey League . . Rob . Greenwood . 18 May 2018 . 27 February 2020 .
  13. Web site: Sami Mantere Appointed As Head Coach . Adelaide Adrenaline . 11 January 2020 . 14 February 2020 .
  14. Web site: AIHL Statement on the AIHL Season and the Coronavirus . . David . Turik . 12 March 2020 . 16 March 2020 .
  15. Web site: 2020 Update: 2020 AIHL season cancelled . . 29 July 2020 . 3 August 2020 .
  16. Web site: 2021 Season Update . . 2 February 2021 . 10 December 2021 .
  17. Web site: AIHL seeks new license holder for the Adrenaline . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . 13 October 2021 . 20 March 2022 .
  18. Web site: AIHL announces new licensee for the Adrenaline and future expansion plans . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . 13 February 2022 . 3 April 2022 .
  19. Web site: AIHL announces new licensee for the Adrenaline and future expansion plans . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . 13 February 2022 . 3 April 2022 .
  20. Web site: AIHL to return in 2022 . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . 6 December 2021 . 20 March 2022 .
  21. Web site: 2022 AIHL schedule released . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . 8 February 2022 . 20 March 2022 .
  22. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline yet to reach agreement with Adelaide Ice Arena . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . 15 February 2022 . 20 March 2022 .
  23. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline deem draft arena agreement as unviable . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . 10 March 2022 . 20 March 2022 .
  24. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline withdraw from 2022 AIHL season . Adelaide Adrenaline . 27 March 2022 . 30 March 2022 .
  25. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline unveil updated logo . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . Lee . Collins . 7 February 2023 . 9 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230208133757/https://icehockeynewsaustralia.com/2023/02/07/adelaide-adrenaline-unveil-updated-logo/ . 8 February 2023 . live .
  26. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline team bus crashes forcing Canberra ice hockey game to be cancelled . . Tom . McIlroy . 19 July 2014 . 24 August 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140806092405/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/adelaide-adrenaline-team-bus-crashes-forcing-canberra-ice-hockey-game-to-be-cancelled-20140719-zuu6d.html . 6 August 2014 . live .
  27. Web site: Australian hockey's CBR Brave upset after game for first place canceled due to bus crash . Harrison . yahoo.com . Mooney . 1 August 2014 . 24 August 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305124940/http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/australian-hockey-s-cbr-brave-upset-after-game-for-first-place-cancelled-due-to-bus-crash-154649539.html . 5 March 2016 . live .
  28. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline 2022-2023 Roster . Elite Prospects . 23 July 2023 .
  29. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline . Australian Ice Hockey League . 23 July 2023 .
  30. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline 2023 roster . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . Lee . Collins . 10 April 2023 . 23 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230722235714/https://icehockeynewsaustralia.com/2023/04/10/adelaide-adrenaline-2023-roster/ . 22 July 2023 . live .
  31. Web site: Josh Harding's #22 to be retired on July 22 . Adelaide Adrenaline. 13 July 2018 . 27 February 2020 .
  32. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline - All Time Regular Season Player Stats - Games Played . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  33. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline - All Time Regular Season Player Stats - Goals . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  34. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline - All Time Regular Season Player Stats - Assists . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  35. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline - All Time Regular Season Player Stats - Points . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  36. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline - All Time Regular Season Player Stats - Penalty minutes . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  37. Web site: Per season all-time points . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  38. Web site: Per season all-time penalty minutes . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  39. Web site: Per season all-time save percentage . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  40. Web site: Adelaide Adrneline - Team Staff History . eliteprospects.com . 3 April 2022 .
  41. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline - Team Captaincy History . eliteprospects.com . 14 April 2022 .
  42. Web site: Greg Oddy . eliteprospects.com . 14 April 2022 .
  43. Web site: David Huxley . eliteprospects.com . 14 April 2022 .
  44. Web site: Josef Rezek . eliteprospects.com . 14 April 2022 .
  45. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline - Team Staff History . eliteprospects.com . 14 April 2022 .
  46. Web site: John Botterill staff profile . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  47. Web site: Mike Gainer staff profile . eliteprospects.com . 27 February 2020 .
  48. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline appoint new coach Trevor Walsh . . David . Penrose . 17 December 2015 . 27 February 2020 .
  49. Web site: Adrenaline announce Sami Mantere as new head coach . Adelaide Adrenaline . 11 October 2016 . 27 February 2020 .
  50. Web site: Fuyarchuk: The new man behind the bench . adrenaline.theaihl.com . 2018-04-07 . 2018-05-04 .
  51. Web site: AIHL.TV Launched . Australian Ice Hockey League . 5 April 2023 . 16 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230616021004/https://www.theaihl.com/leagues/newsletter.cfm?clientID=3856&leagueID=11464&page=113983 . 16 June 2023 . live .
  52. Web site: AIHL partners with Sportradar . icehockeynewsaustralia.com . Lee . Collins . 24 March 2022 . 8 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230130183838/https://icehockeynewsaustralia.com/2022/03/24/aihl-partners-with-sportradar/ . 30 January 2023 . live .
  53. Web site: 2022 season - locked, loaded and ready to play . Australian Ice Hockey League . 8 February 2023 . 12 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230208212241/https://www.theaihl.com/leagues/newsletter.cfm?clientID=3856&leagueID=11464&page=112263 . 8 February 2023 . live .
  54. Web site: Ice hockey gets pay TV boost . The Sydney Morning Herald . 8 February 2023 . Will . Brodie . 17 April 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230208210829/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/ice-hockey-gets-pay-tv-boost-20130417-2hze1.html . 8 February 2023 . live .
  55. Web site: Adelaide Adrenaline Game Day Live . mixlr.com/adelaide-adrenaline/ . 2018-05-03 .