Canberra Knights

Hockey team
team = Canberra Knights

logosize = 125px
city = Phillip, ACT
league = AIHL
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founded = 1981
operated =
arena = Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre
colours = Teal, black, silver and white
coach = Mike Harrow
GM = Harry Moon
John Raut (owner)
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farmclub =
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The Canberra Knights are a semi-professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre in Phillip, a suburb of Australia's capital city, Canberra.

The Knights have only been premiers once, in 1998, in the now defunct ECSL, and have not made the finals since the formation of the AIHL.

History

1980-1993

The Phillip Ice Skating and Swimming centre opened in 1980, and in 1981 the Canberra Knights were formed by a group of former hockey players, many who had not played in years, and they played in various exhibition matches against international and Australian teams. In 1982 the Knights were a founding member of the New South Wales Superleague, which was a Sydney based competition, taking on some of the best teams in Australia. In this first year the Knights were coached by Stuart Wright, and although it was unsuccessful for the Canberra Knights, they gained invaluable experience.

In 1983, the Canberra Knights were again entered into the NSW Superleague. Chuck Naish and Jim Fuyarchuk, formerly of the Macquarie Bears and the now defunct Warringah Bombers respectively, had been brought in as player/coaches. This was a big year and the combined talents soon became evident as the Canberra Knights proved they were a winning team. Ably assisted by some promising young players and the proven skills of the imported players, the Canberra Knights finished a close second to the
Warringah Bombers in the playoffs.

1984 continued with the same team lineup, with the addition of two players, Dean Pollock (from the Macquarie Bears), and Canadian import Bill Rose.

The 1992 Knights featured Jason Elliot, a 16 year old Canadian goalie who migrated to Australia with his parents a year before. Jason, after representing Australia internationally in both senior and junior categories would later return to Canada to play Junior A Tier II hockey with Kimberley of the RMJHL. Jason was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 205th overall in 1994 directly from the RMJHL, and then went on to star for Cornell [cite web|url=http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/96/3.21.96/hockey.html|title=Jason Elliot stars in Cornell win|accessdate=02/03/2008|year=2008] in NCAA Division 1 hockey. After a brief stint with Detroit in 2002 where Jason was third string goalie in the Red Wing's Stanley Cup victory [cite web|url=http://www.detroithockey.net/multimedia/544.php|title=Jason Elliot waves to fans in Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Parade 2002|accessdate=02/03/2008|year=2008] , Jason went on to a long minor league career in both the USA and Europe before retiring following the 2006=2007 season. [cite web|url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=17906|title=Jason Elliot's HockeyDB career page|accessdate=02/03/2008|year=2008]

1994-1999

While lasting for thirteen seasons, the NSW Superleague struggled to gain stability and could not continue. The league was reborn in 1994, as the East Coast Super League. It continued with the same number of teams but was still largely based in the NSW area. Canberra's maiden ECSL championship came in 1998 when they won the premiership for the first time ever. The East Coast Super League has since been reformed as a junior (under 23) competition which serves as a bridge between local league hockey and the national level. [cite web|url=http://www.ecsl.com.au/home.php|title=ECSL Website|accessdate=2007-06-21|year=2007]

2000-2007

The Canberra Knights, along with the Sydney Bears and Adelaide Avalanche, founded the AIHL as a three-team competition following the disbanding of the ECSL in 2000. 2002 saw the introduction of the Melbourne Ice, the Newcastle Northstars and the West Sydney Ice Dogs, increasing the number of teams in the league to 6. The team finished just above the Melbourne Ice in 5th place, ending the season with 12 points and a fourth placed goaltender, Brad Hunt. In 2003 David Lewis, and import Saku Martakainen were both top scorers, but the Knights did not perform very well, ending the season in last place, not winning a single game. Since a playoff format was introduced to the AIHL in 2003 (prior to this, minor premiers were champions), the Knights have not made the postseason.

In 2005, with new imports, such as Canadian goaltender Dylan Smart, the Knights were able to enter the 5th AIHL season stronger than ever, and nearly made the play-offs. With two new teams joining the league, the Brisbane Blue Tongues and Central Coast Rhinos, the Knights were one of the stronger and more stable teams of the league, winning 11 of 24 games and finishing in 5th place with 35 points cite web|url=http://www.theaihl.com.au/|title=Official AIHL Website Statistics|accessdate=2007-06-20|year=2007] . Coached by former player Laing Harrow, 2005 has been the strongest Canberra Knights AIHL season ever.

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The Knights lost head coach Tommi Suutari prior to the commencement of the 2007 season, as he had to return to Finland. Mike Harrow, who also played forward for the club, was appointed as head coach. Goaltenders were also changed, as Luke Fiveash became the Canberra Knights primary goalie, with Brad Hunt as a secondary. This season also saw the addition of Finnish imports Ari-Pekka Hakala, who went on to become the second highest scorer for the season, and Antti Teisala. During previous seasons the Knights were notorious for having very outdated and old away jerseys, but half way through the season there was a redesign, with the introduction of their current away jerseys.

The team won their opening game of the 2007 season against the Brisbane Blue Tongues, but did not follow up their performance, losing the next 3 games. On Saturday the 5th of May the Knights had a compelling 5-3 win against a strong West Sydney side. Since this win, the Knights only won four more games, including the 9th of June against the Central Coast Rhinos, defeating them 7-0. 2007 saw the Knights only winning two away games, including their last match of the season, against the Brisbane Blue Tongues, which eliminated them from the playoffs. The season also saw the exit of two veteran Knights players, long time goalie Brad Hunt, and Mike Harrow who served the team for many years in various roles, as coach and captain. The Canberra Knights finished the 2007 season on 20 points, in 7th place.

2008

With the loss of Brad Hunt and Mike Harrow, the 2008 season will open the doors to new imports and junior players moving up to the AIHL. With goal tender Nick Eckhardt will getting more ice time with the team, and the likely return of Finnish imports Hakala and Teisala, the Canberra Knights are set to be a strong team in the 2008 AIHL season.

Championships

*1998 (ECSL)

Team Colours

Logo

The Canberra Knights logo shows a teal colored Knight wielding a hockey stick. Behind him is a silver shield, with the words Canberra Knights below him, and the entire logo is outlined in white. Prior to the 2005 season, the Knights had a logo which is now used on the away jerseys. It is simply a picture of a puck, with the words "Canberra Knights" printed across the front.

Jerseys

The teams colours are teal, silver, black and white. The home jerseys for the Canberra Knights are black, and have the logo on the front, with the old logo on the shoulder, with white numbers and names. They are based on the San Jose Sharks alternate jerseys. The away jerseys are white and have the old logo on the front, with the new logo on the shoulder, and have black numbers and names. Prior to the 2005 season the Knights wore Teal colored jerseys, with the old logo on the front, and white numbers and names.

eason-by-season record

"Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTW = Overtime Wins, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points"

Leaders

Team Captains

*Laing Harrow (1991-1992)
*Mike Harrow (2004-2006)
*Mark Persick (2007)

Head Coaches

*Stuart Wright (1982)
*Chuck Naish, Jim Fuyarchuk (1983-1985)
*Laing Harrow (2004-2005)
*Tommi Suutari (2006)
*Mike Harrow (2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.canberraknights.com.au Official website]
* [http://www.theaihl.com.au Australian Ice Hockey League]
* [http://www.iha.org.au Ice Hockey Australia]