AWIHL Game Day Program (14-15 January 2023)

Welcome Hockey Fans!

Thank you for your on-going support of the AWIHL - and of our Game Day Program.

We look forward to bringing you more editions of this publication. If you have any feedback - things you do (or don't) like, or additions or corrections - the contact email address is on the last page.

We have a huge two-game series this weekend in Melbourne - between the Ice and the Sydney Sirens.

Although the focus will be on the battle between the top two teams in the League, Sirens Goaltender Sera Dogramaci is in line to play her 100th AWIHL game. The Sirens' Sharna Godfrey also sits on 298 Career points, and could take this above the 300-point mark in the weekend's action.

After this weekend the AWIHL will take a short break - while the Australian Under 18 Women's team heads to Dumfries in Scotland for the IIHF Division II Group A World Championship The team will be in the thick of the action from January 21 to 27 - and we wish them well for their travels and in the tournament. Enjoy your Hockey!

The AWIHL would like to thank everyone who is giving their time, hard work and support to make this Season a success: our hard-working Players and Staff, our very dedicated Volunteers, our generous Sponsors and our wonderful Supporters.

Thank you all!

Previous Games

7-8 January - Ice Arena, Adelaide

Adelaide Rush 5 def Perth Inferno 3 Perth Inferno 10 def Adelaide Rush 7

7-8 January - Iceworld, Boondall Brisbane Lightning 7 def Sydney Sirens 3 dney Sirens 4 def Brisbane Lightning 3 (O/T)

Last weekend’s AWIHL action saw a whopping 42 goals scored over the four games played - an incredible 10.5 goals per game. However, there were still some noteworthy Goaltending performances.

17-year-old Madison Smith - who will be representing Australia at the IIHF Under 18 Women’s World Championships this month - earned her first career AWIHL victory on Saturday against the visiting Perth Inferno.

Imogen Perry also collected four out of six possible points for the Brisbane Lightning to deny the defending champion Sydney Sirens a chance to go to the top of the AWIHL standings. Perry has been impressive this season and will join the Inferno’s Sasha King as the Goaltending tandem for the Australian Senior Women’s team in South Africa next month.

Sera Dogramaci helped her team to an unlikely overtime victory on Sunday morning against the Brisbane Lightning. Trailing 3-0 entering the Third Period, Dogramaci shut the door in the final frame and extra time, and the Sirens came back to tie the game and dramatically win in overtime. It was Dogramaci’s 99th career AWIHL appearance.

Three players scored their first-ever AWIHL goals on the weekend. Sophie Reader found the back of the net for the Inferno on Saturday; fellow Inferno rookie Chrystina Acker scored her first career goal on Sunday, as did Matilda O’Brien for the Adelaide Rush.

Inferno forwards Elizabeth Scala and Michelle Clark-Crumpton each recorded hat-tricks in a back-and-forth 10-7 goal-fest Sunday against the Rush.

Ice

This Weekend

vs

O'Brien Icehouse, Melbourne Saturday 5:00pm; Sunday 1:30pm (Times AEST)

Tickets at the Door.

Sirens

It doesn’t get any bigger than the two elite teams of the AWIHL - the Melbourne Ice and Sydney Sirens - playing a double header weekend at O’Brien Icehouse Arena.

It is a top-of-the-table matchup in front of what should be a strong Melbourne crowd.

Ahead of the match-up, we look at five talking points that will make this double-header fixture so enticing.

First versus Second battle it out…

Melbourne and Sydney have been the standout teams in the early part of the 2022/23 season.

Melbourne comes into the weekend having not lost a game, winning their first six games and playing a solid two-way game. Sydney, who sits just below the Ice, has had another strong campaign winning four of their eight games while claiming two overtime wins

Sydney is the defending champion, but Melbourne has put together an impressive roster and will be looking to stamp itself as a championship contender.

Sharna Godfrey versus Danielle Butler…

Two out-and-out stars of the competition - all eyes will be on these pointscoring powerhouses. Both sit on 16 points across the season, with Butler (11 goals, 5 assists) and Godfrey (6 goals, 10 assists) highlighting their dominance in the AWIHL this season.

Ice

This Weekend

Sirens vs

O'Brien Icehouse, Melbourne

Saturday 5:00pm; Sunday 1:30pm (Times AEST) Tickets at the Door.

With a knack for goal, playmaking ability and sharp skating which enable them to get into dangerous areas, it will be must-watch Ice Hockey under the Saturday night lights in Melbourne.

Veteran versus Young Gun…

One of the intriguing parts of the weekend’s games will come in the form of the Goaltender duel.

The Sirens will have Turkish international Sera Dogramaci between the pipes - approaching 100 AWIHL games and having a .903 save percentage and four wins The Melbourne Ice will shift to young rising star Mikayla Peers, who has been outstanding this season with three wins and a .965 save percentage.

It’s a contrast in career trajectories as veteran Dogramaci will come up against Peers, who is looking to stake her claim in the league as the future of the competition.

Will the youngster be able to steal the limelight? Or will the experience of Dogramaci shine through?

10 years of dominance…

Over the past decade, two teams have lifted the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy: Melbourne Ice and Sydney Sirens. The Sirens are the most recent champions, although Melbourne has lifted the trophy six times since the 2012/13 season.