Brisbane Blitz

The Brisbane Blitz are an Australian junior ice hockey team based in Brisbane, Queensland playing in the second tier of the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League referred to as AJIHL Tier 2. They represent the first junior ice hockey team from Queensland as part of the proposed 2nd expansion of the AJIHL, which is the most elite level for ice hockey at a national level for ages between 16–20 years old.

Brisbane Blitz
2016–17 AJIHL season
CityBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
LeagueAustralian Junior Ice Hockey League
Founded2 September 2015
Home arenaIce World Acacia Ridge
Colours(2015–16)
   
(2016–present)
     
Owner(s)Ice Hockey Queensland
General manager Jacinta Santilli
Head coachDarryl Dunsford
Franchise history
2015–presentBrisbane Blitz
Championships
Regular season titles0
AJIHL Championships0

Team history

At the beginning of the 2015–16 AJIHL season, a proposal for the next expansion in the AJIHL was made by Ice Hockey Australia to include teams from the Australian states of Queensland and South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. A Wild Card entry was created in the AJIHL playoffs structure but no further public information would be made available for months but plans to form junior teams in each of these states was underway.[1]

On 2 September 2015 a public announcement was made via the Southern Stars Ice Hockey of the decision to include a Queensland team as part of a new AJIHL Tier 2 competition. The first proposed games were to take place in Sydney on 5–6 December 2015. The team would undergo a 4-week training and development clinic, at the Acacia Ridge ice rink, run by Con Dionissiou (Ice Hockey Queensland President) and Darryl Dunsford (Southern Stars President) in September 2015.

The Brisbane Blitz began by playing their first exhibition game under the name Brisbane AJIHL at 5:15 pm on 12 December 2015 against a Brisbane All Stars team consisting of Southern Stars Ice Hockey players and Boondall Buccaneers players. The game was played at Iceworld Olympic Ice Rink in Boondall.[2]

The Brisbane Blitz played in Canberra at the first AJIHL Tier 2 tournament in January 2016 against Canberra Junior Brave and Adelaide Generals. The Blitz won this tournament and therefore were selected as a Wild Card in the Tier 1 Finals which are being held 27–28 February 2016.

On 20 November 2016 the Brisbane Blitz team was selected for the 2016-17 AJIHL season, where the team would join regular season competition for the first time. Blitz goaltender Imogen Perry became the first female to play in the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League on 17 December 2016. The 16-year-old faced 38 shots on goal against the previous years champion Sydney Sabres, winning 7 – 1 in her debut.

The first team in club history:

#NatNamePosShootsDate of BirthAcquiredReference
3Mitchell HenningFRight2 November 19972015
4Nick ScanlanDLeft17 January 19972015
8Lachlan TrippDLeft6 February 19992015
10Conar PeaceFRight30 November 19992015
11Damon de RyckFRight11 September 19972015
12Matthew de BeerFRight30 November 19992015
13Leon ColemanFRight30 November 19992015
14John KenderdineFRight30 November 19992015
15Luke MooreDRight30 November 19992015
20Harley AndersonFRight30 November 19992015
21Vaughan Lok ChristieFRight30 November 19992015
22Brandon BrottonFRight30 November 19992015
33Matthew WrayFRight30 November 19992015
35Henri Mousset FRight21 June 19992015
76Isaac NorrisDLeft21 April 19982015
58Luke MurphyFRight3 June 19962015
97Anthony SantilliFRight6 May 19972015
98Matt GilpinFRight30 November 19992015
1Joe MooreGRight25 January 19972015

Players

Captains
  • 2015–16 Mitchell Henning (C), Luke Moore (A), Harley Anderson (A)
  • 2016–17 Mitchell Henning (C), Matthew Gilpin (A), Harley Anderson (A)

Head coaches

The first Head Coach for the Brisbane Blitz was Con Dionissiou.

See also

References
  1. "League Schedule". Ice Hockey Australia. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  2. "ATTN: Registered players born from 1995 – 1999". Ice Hockey Queensland. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
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