The 2016 CBR Brave season was the Brave's 3rd season in the Australian Ice Hockey League since being founded and entering the league in 2014. The season ran from 23 April 2016 to 28 August 2016 for the Brave. CBR finished fourth in the regular season behind the Melbourne Ice, Perth Thunder and Newcastle North Stars.[1] The Brave qualified for the AIHL Finals in Melbourne and played in semi-final one. Canberra defeated the Ice 4–3 in overtime to qualify for the Goodall Cup Final for the first time in franchise history.[2][3] The Brave were defeated in the final by the North Stars 1–2.[4]

2016 CBR Brave
League4th AIHL
2016 record15–2–2–9
Home record9–0–1–4
Road record6–2–1–5
Goals for129
Goals against117
Team information
CoachUnited States Josh Unice
Canada Art Bidlevskii (Interim head coach)
Assistant coachUnited States David Rogina
CaptainAustralia Jordan Gavin
Alternate captainsUnited States Ryan Johnson
Australia Kai Miettinen
ArenaPhillip Ice Skating Centre
Team leaders
GoalsCanada Stephen Blunden (20)
Canada Geordie Wudrick
AssistsAustralia Casey Kubara (33)
PointsCanada Geordie Wudrick (50)
Penalty minutesAustralia Harrison Byers (108)
Goals against averageAustralia Alex Tetreault (4.72)

News

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In March 2016, Josh Unice was named as Brave head coach for the 2016 AIHL season. The inexperienced former goaltender was joined by experienced assistant coach Dave Rogina and strength and conditioning trainer Stuart Philps.[5]

In April 2016, The Brave announced their playing roster for the season. The bulk of the roster returned from 2015 but the team confirmed six imported players from overseas including the inter-league transfer of AIHL MVP Geordie Wudrick from the Newcastle North Stars.[6] The Brave also announced two new partnerships in the month of April. Firstly, a new marketing and supporter partnership with Canberra's national baseball team, the Canberra Cavalry.[7] And secondly, a promotional partnership with Australian Defence Force hockey team the Navy Tigersharks with the goal to help promote the sport in the ADF.[8]

Six matches into the 2016 season, import Canadian defenceman, Art Bidlevskii, was hospitalised after a freak accident in an ugly AIHL match in Newcastle between rivals the North Stars and Brave. Art's voice box was shattered, he lost his voice for a period of time, he was almost placed in a coma and he was told he could die if he played ice hockey again. The accident ended the twenty five year old's playing career.[9][10] Art took up a role as assistant coach with the team following his release from hospital.

In August, one week before the end of the regular season, the CBR Brave management announced the sudden departure of Josh Unice from the team for personal reasons. Art Bidlevskii was named as replacement head coach on an interim basis for the final match of the regular season and the finals series.[11] The CBR Brave finished the season in fourth place after a surprise 6–4 loss to last placed Sydney Ice Dogs in Liverpool, Sydney. The team qualified for the finals weekend in Melbourne where they would face league premiers, the Melbourne Ice in the first semi-final match.[12]

In September, post-finals, CBR Brave players took out a hat-trick of AIHL player awards for the 2016 season.[13] Czech import, Jan Safar, was named AIHL Defenceman of the season for the second straight year while Casey Kubara was awarded both the Local Player of the year as well as Rookie of the year awards.[14][15]

Roster

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Team roster for the 2016 AIHL season[16]

2016 AIHL CBR Brave Roster
# Nat Name Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
4   Art Bidlevskii D R 25 2016 Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
73   Stephen Blunden LW L 27 2014 Gloucester, Ontario, Canada
10   Zachary Boyle D L 20 2016 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
8   Nicola Brandi LW R 22 2016 Wetzikon, Hinwil, Switzerland
21   Jordan Brunt F L 16 2015 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
22   Harrison Byers C R 23 2014 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
17   James Byers D R 22 2014 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
23   Timothy Cox D R 28–29 2016 Australia
38   Nickolas Eckhardt G L 26 2014 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
19   Jordan Gavin (C) F R 33–34 2014 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
14   Matt Gilpin F R 20 2016 Queensland, Australia
2   Mathieu Guertin LW L 24 2016 Repentigny, Quebec, Canada
86   Matthew Harvey D R 30 2014 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
18   Mitchell Henning F R 18 2016 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
3   Ryan Johnson (A) F R 41–42 2014 Amesbury, Massachusetts, United States
15   Casey Kubara RW R 20 2016 Wombarra, New South Wales, Australia
16   Tyler Kubara F R 21 2015 Wombarra, New South Wales, Australia
77   Tom Letki F R 27 2014 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
28   Matti Louma RW R 36 2016 Helsinki, Finland
64   Kai Miettinen (A) F L 20 2014 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
27   Luke Moore D R 20 2016 Belfast, United Kingdom
13   Luke Philps F R 33 2016 Australia
9   Neal Prokop C L 26 2016 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
12   Mark Rummukainen D R 34 2014 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
24   Jan Safar D R 29 2016 Praha, Czech Republic
20   Alexandre Tetreault G L 18 2015 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
5   Aleksi Toivonen G L 20 2015 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
88   Geordie Wudrick LW L 26 2016 Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

Transfers

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All the player transfers in and out by the CBR Brave for the 2016 AIHL season.

Pos Player Transferred From Local / Import
D   Art Bidlevskii   Kallinge-Ronneby IF Import
D   Zachary Boyle   Adelaide Adrenaline Local
W   Nicola Brandi   SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers Import
D   Timothy Cox No team Local
F   Matt Gilpin No team Local
W   Mathieu Guertin   Trois-Rivières Blizzard Import
F   Mitchell Henning No team Local
W   Casey Kubara   Atlanta Jr. Knights Local
W   Matti Luoma No team Local
D   Luke Moore No team] Local
F   Luke Philps No team Local
C   Neal Prokop No team Import
D   Jan Safar   Newcastle North Stars Import
W   Geordie Wudrick   Newcastle North Stars Import
Pos Player Transferred To Local / Import
D   Aaron Clayworth No team Local
D/F   David Dunwoodie   Sydney Ice Dogs Local
W   Kelly Geoffrey   Aigles de La Roche sur Yon Import
D/F   Mike Giorgi No team Import
F   David Lewis No team Local
F   Jayden Lewis No team Local
D   Tomas Manco   Sydney Ice Dogs Local
D   Kyle Mariani   Bouquetins de Val Vanoise Import
D   Ben Pagett No team Local
C   Jordan Peddle   Terrace River Kings Import
C   Scott Pitt   Braehead Clan Import
F   Alain Riesen No team Local
D/F   Peter Taylor No team Local
G   Josh Unice   CBR Brave (head coach) Import
G   Stuart Woodall No team Local

Staff

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Staff Roster for 2016 AIHL season[17]

2016 AIHL CBR Brave Staff
Role Staff
Head coach   Josh Unice
Assistant coach   David Rogina
Assistant coach   Art Bidlevskii
Strength and conditioning coach   Stuart Philps
Physiotherapist   Sportstec
Equipment manager   Adrian Miller
Bench official   Darren Sault
Bench official   Kelly Sault

Standings

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Regular season

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Summary

Season Overall Home Away
P W L OW OL GF GA GD Pts Finish P W L OW OL GF GA GD P W L OW OL GF GA GD
2016 28 15 9 2 2 129 117 +12 51 4th 14 9 4 0 1 70 56 +14 14 6 5 2 1 59 61 -2

Position by round

Round1234567891011121314151617
Position11244443444434434
Updated to match(es) played on Completed. Source: www.icehockeynewsaustralia.com

League table

Team GP W SOW SOL L GF GA GDF PTS
Melbourne Ice 28 19 3 3 3 127 71 +56 66
Perth Thunder 28 16 4 1 7 96 73 +23 57
Newcastle North Stars 28 15 1 5 7 105 74 +31 52
CBR Brave 28 15 2 2 9 129 117 +12 51
Melbourne Mustangs 28 11 2 0 15 89 102 −13 37
Sydney Bears 28 5 5 3 15 77 95 −18 28
Sydney Ice Dogs 28 7 1 1 19 92 139 −47 24
Adelaide Adrenaline 28 5 1 4 18 83 127 −44 21
Qualified for the Goodall Cup playoffs H Newman Reid Trophy winners

Source

Finals

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Summary

Season Finals weekend
P W L GF GA Result Semi-final Goodall Cup final
2016 2 1 1 5 5 Runners-up Won 4-3 (OT) (Ice) Lost 1-2 (North Stars)

Bracket

Semifinals Final
      
1 Melbourne Ice 3
4 CBR Brave 4*
CBR Brave 1
Newcastle North Stars 2
3 Newcastle North Stars 3*
2 Perth Thunder 2

* denotes number of overtime periods

Schedule & results

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Regular season

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Matchday12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728
ArenaHAAAHAHHAHHAAHHHAAAHHHAHHAAA
ResultWWWLLWLLLWWLLWWLWLWWWWWLWWWL
Updated to match(es) played on Completed. Source: AIHL
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; L = Loss
2016 fixtures and results
Date Time Away Score Home Location Recap
23 April 17:00 Sydney Ice Dogs 2–5 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [1]
24 April 17:00 CBR Brave 6–3 Sydney Bears Penrith Ice Palace [2]
30 April 17:00 CBR Brave 4–2 Melbourne Mustangs O'Brien Group Arena [3]
1 May 16:00 CBR Brave 1–7 Melbourne Mustangs O'Brien Group Arena [4]
7 May 17:00 Sydney Bears 3 – 2 (SO) CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [5]
8 May 17:00 CBR Brave 4 – 3 (SO) Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [6]
14 May 17:30 Perth Thunder 6–2 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [7]
15 May 17:00 Perth Thunder 7–6 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [8]
22 May 17:00 CBR Brave 2–7 Newcastle North Stars Hunter Ice Skating Stadium [9]
28 May 17:30 Newcastle North Stars 3–5 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [10]
29 May 17:00 Sydney Bears 4–6 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [11]
4 June 17:00 CBR Brave 5–7 Melbourne Ice O'Brien Group Arena [12]
5 June 16:00 CBR Brave 3–6 Melbourne Ice O'Brien Group Arena [13]
18 June 17:30 Melbourne Mustangs 2–5 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [14]
19 June 17:00 Melbourne Mustangs 1–4 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [15]
2 July 17:30 Newcastle North Stars 3–1 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [16]
3 July 17:00 CBR Brave 6–1 Sydney Ice Dogs Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink [17]
9 July 16:30 CBR Brave 3 – 4 (SO) Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [18]
10 July 16:30 CBR Brave 4–2 Perth Thunder Perth Ice Arena [19]
16 July 17:30 Sydney Ice Dogs 5–6 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [20]
23 July 17:30 Adelaide Adrenaline 2–7 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [21]
24 July 17:00 Adelaide Adrenaline 5–8 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [22]
31 July 17:00 CBR Brave 6–4 Sydney Bears Penrith Ice Palace [23]
6 August 17:30 Melbourne Ice 10–9 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [24]
7 August 17:00 Melbourne Ice 3–4 CBR Brave Phillip Ice Skating Centre [25]
13 August 16:30 CBR Brave 5 – 4 (SO) Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Ice Arena [26]
14 August 16:00 CBR Brave 6–5 Adelaide Adrenaline Adelaide Ice Arena [27]
20 August 17:00 CBR Brave 4–6 Sydney Ice Dogs Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink [28]

Finals

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Goodall Cup semi-final All times are UTC+10:00

27 August 2016
15:00
CBR Brave4 – 3 OT
(1–1, 1–1, 1–1, 1–0)
Melbourne IceO'Brien Group Arena
Game reference
Aleksi ToivonenGoaliesTroy DavenportReferee:
Jeff Scott
Linesmen:
Fraser Ohlson
Casper Russell-Huber
2:43 – Safar (PP) (T. Kubara, Miettinen)1 – 0
1 – 113:27 – Lassen (PP) (Graham, Armstrong)
1 – 226:01 – Hughes (Baclig, Yule)
29:47 – Wudrick (PP) (Safar, Brandi)2 – 2
44:31 – Wudrick (PP) (Prokop, Kubara)3 – 2
3 – 348:35 – Lassen
58:47 – Safar (Wudrick and Rummukainen)4 – 3
12 minPenalties35 min
34Shots35

Goodall Cup final

28 August 2016
15:00
CBR Brave1–2
(0–1, 0–1, 1–0)
Newcastle North StarsO'Brien Group Arena
Game reference
Aleksi ToivonenGoaliesDayne DavisReferee:
Cory Ross
Linesmen:
Fraser Ohlson
Casper Russell-Huber
0 – 113:02 – McLaughlin (Nadin)
0 – 219:44 – Harris (Taylor)
32.51 – Wudrick (Safar, Blunden)1 – 2
8 minPenalties8 min
29Shots31

Player statistics

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Skaters

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Regular season
Nat Player Pos M G A P PIM
  Artem Bidlevskii D 6 0 3 3 2
  Stephen Blunden F 14 20 17 37 99
  Zach Boyle D 27 1 8 9 10
  Nicola Brandi F 10 8 6 14 14
  Jordon Brunt F 6 0 0 0 0
  Harrison Byers F 19 1 2 3 108
  James Byers D 28 1 4 5 36
  Timothy Cox D 4 0 0 0 0
  Jordie Gavin F 13 0 1 1 20
  Matthew Gilpin F 4 0 0 0 0
  Mathieu Guertin F 20 18 31 49 86
  Matthew Harvey D 15 0 9 9 18
  Mitchell Henning F 26 1 3 4 6
  Ryan Johnson F 19 1 1 2 70
  Casey Kubara F 27 16 33 49 24
  Tyler Kubara F 22 8 14 22 14
  Thomas Letki F 10 0 0 0 0
  Matti Luoma F 10 2 5 7 2
  Kai Miettinen F 28 5 6 11 32
  Luke Moore D 20 0 0 0 0
  Luke Philps F 17 0 0 0 0
  Neal Prokop F 20 16 14 30 8
  Mark Rummukainen D 25 2 6 8 18
  Jan Safar D 17 7 25 32 61
  Geordie Wudrick F 20 20 30 50 34
Finals
Nat Player Pos M G A P PIM
  Artem Bidlevskii D 0 0 0 0 0
  Stephen Blunden F 1 0 1 1 2
  Zach Boyle D 2 0 0 0 0
  Nicola Brandi F 2 0 1 1 0
  Jordon Brunt F 0 0 0 0 0
  Harrison Byers F 2 0 0 0 0
  James Byers D 2 0 0 0 4
  Timothy Cox D 0 0 0 0 0
  Jordie Gavin F 2 0 0 0 2
  Matthew Gilpin F 0 0 0 0 0
  Mathieu Guertin F 0 0 0 0 0
  Matthew Harvey D 2 0 0 0 2
  Mitchell Henning F 0 0 0 0 0
  Ryan Johnson F 0 0 0 0 0
  Casey Kubara F 2 0 1 1 2
  Tyler Kubara F 2 0 1 1 0
  Thomas Letki F 0 0 0 0 0
  Matti Luoma F 2 0 0 0 0
  Kai Miettinen F 2 0 1 1 0
  Luke Moore D 0 0 0 0 0
  Luke Philps F 0 0 0 0 0
  Neal Prokop F 1 0 1 1 0
  Mark Rummukainen D 2 0 1 1 0
  Jan Safar D 2 2 2 4 2
  Geordie Wudrick F 2 3 1 4 6

Goaltenders

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Regular season
Nat Player Pos M SO MP GA GAA SA SV SV% G A PIM
  Nickolas Eckhardt G 0 - - - - - - - - - -
  Alex Tetreault G 9 0 280 22 4.72 178 156 0.876 0 2 0
  Aleksi Toivonen G 24 0 1111 93 5.02 754 661 0.877 0 2 2
Finals
Nat Player Pos M SO MP GA GAA SA SV SV% G A PIM
  Nickolas Eckhardt G 0 - - - - - - - - - -
  Alex Tetreault G 0 - - - - - - - - - -
  Aleksi Toivonen G 2 0 108 5 2.79 66 61 0.924 0 0 0

Awards

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Team awards for 2016 season[18]

2016 Brave awards
Award Recipient
Bravest of the Brave   Jan Safar
  Mathieu Guertin
Best Forward   Mathieu Guertin
Best Defenceman   Jan Safar
Fans Choice   James Byers
Player's Choice   Kai Miettinen
Coach's Award *Not awarded
Emerging Brave   Casey Kubara
John Lewis Memorial Award   Andrew Deans
  Judy Deans

AIHL awards for 2016 season[19]

2016 AIHL awards
Award Recipient
Rookie of the Year   Casey Kubara
Local Player of the Year   Casey Kubara
Defenseman of the Year   Jan Safar

References

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  1. ^ "2016 AIHL season: Round 17". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. August 20, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  2. ^ Corrigan, Tom (August 27, 2016). "Canberra Brave into Australian Ice Hockey League with overtime win". The Canberra Times. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  3. ^ Scardetta, Jordan (August 27, 2016). "CBR Brave first to advance to Goodall Cup Final". theaihl.com. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  4. ^ Francis, Adrienne (August 29, 2016). "Australian Ice Hockey League grand final: 'Heartbreaking' loss for Canberra Brave against Newcastle North Stars". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "2016 Coaching Team Announcement". CBR Brave. March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  6. ^ "Brave Release 2016 Roster". icehockeynewsaustralia.com. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  7. ^ "Canberra Cavalry and CBR Brave partnership to offer fans extended benefits". brave.theaihl.com. April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  8. ^ "CBR Brave and Navy Tigersharks Announce new Partnership". brave.theaihl.com. April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  9. ^ Dutton, Chris (July 29, 2016). "Canberra Brave boss urges players to use blood and heartbreak as AHL motivation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  10. ^ Kroiter, Jon (August 10, 2016). "Canberra Brave's Art Bidlevskii breaks throat, almost placed in a coma". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Helmers, Caden (August 17, 2016). "Ice Hockey: CBR Brave coach Josh Unice stands down on the eve of the AIHL finals". The Canberra Times. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  12. ^ Helmers, Caden (August 20, 2016). "AIHL: CBR Brave's Goodall Cup ambitions take another hit against Sydney Ice Dogs". The Canberra Times. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  13. ^ "The AIHL's best recognised in Annual AIHL Awards". theaihl.com. September 12, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  14. ^ McNamara, Bernard (September 13, 2016). "Safar takes out second straight D-man honour". theaihl.com. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  15. ^ McNamara, Bernard (September 13, 2016). "Kubara takes out Rookie and Local Player of the Year". theaihl.com. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  16. ^ "2016 CBR Brave Team Roster". Elite Prospects. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  17. ^ "CBR Brave Coaching Staff". www.theaihl.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  18. ^ "CBR Brave 2016 Player Awards". www.icehockeynewsaustralia.com. August 19, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  19. ^ "The AIHL's best recognised in Annual AIHL Awards". www.theaihl.com. September 12, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2020.