Results

AIHL 08/27 03:55 1 [2] CBR Brave v Melbourne Mustangs [4] L 0-1
AIHL 08/26 08:30 2 [2] CBR Brave v Perth Thunder [5] W 4-1
AIHL 08/13 06:00 - [4] Newcastle North Stars v CBR Brave [2] L 7-5
AIHL 08/12 07:15 - Canberra Brave v Central Coast Rhinos W 12-1
AIHL 08/06 03:00 - [9] Adelaide Adrenaline v CBR Brave [2] W 2-6
AIHL 08/05 07:00 - [9] Adelaide Adrenaline v CBR Brave [2] W 3-13
AIHL 07/29 07:00 - [4] Newcastle North Stars v CBR Brave [1] W 2-6
AIHL 07/23 06:45 - [3] CBR Brave v Central Coast Rhinos [10] W 10-0
AIHL 07/15 07:15 - [1] CBR Brave v Perth Thunder [5] L 3-4
AIHL 07/09 06:45 - [1] Canberra Brave v Adelaide Adrenaline [9] W 8-1
AIHL 07/08 07:15 - [1] Canberra Brave v Adelaide Adrenaline [9] W 8-3
AIHL 07/02 06:30 - [6] Brisbane Lightning v CBR Brave [1] W 2-9

Wikipedia - CBR Brave

The CBR Brave is a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Canberra, ACT. The team is a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team was founded in 2014 to replace the defunct Canberra Knights in the AIHL. Their home venue is the Phillip Ice Skating Centre known as The Brave Cave. The Brave have claimed two Goodall Cup championships and four H Newman Reid Trophy premierships.

History

The CBR Brave was founded in March 2014 to replace the Canberra Knights in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL).

On 26 February 2014 Knights owner, John Raut, handed back his AIHL licence and folded the team after 33 years of existence citing financial costs, lack of a local player pool and sustained poor performances for the reason he came to this decision.

Immediately following the collapse of the Knights, a player group led consortium approached the AIHL with a proposal to take over the vacated licence and form a new team in Canberra. The AIHL was open to the idea, stating it was important for the development of the sport in Australia for there to be a Canberra team. The AIHL laid down three stipulations and requirements for the consortium to meet before granting the team entry. Firstly, a signed home venue agreement, secondly, ability to field a competitive team for the upcoming season and lastly, to prove the team would be financially viable. Upon meeting these requirements the league and teams voted to grant the consortium a provisional twelve-month licence to compete in the 2014 AIHL season.

On 6 March 2014, CBR Brave is born under the guidance of new owners Allinsure director Peter Chamberlain and advertising firm Coordinate's owner-director Jamie Wilson after the pair got in contact with Mark Rummukainen, head of the player consortium.

On 15 March 2014, The Brave management in conjunction with co-owner Jamie Wilson's design firm, Coordinate, revealed their team brand and logo, a stylised version of the word "Brave".

2014 inaugural season

On 31 March 2014, CBR Brave announced their first ever import signing with the acquisition of twenty-two-year-old Finnish goaltender Petri Pitkänen from Finnish third division champions KeuPa HT. Petri proved a huge success as the Brave's number one goaltender in the 2014 season alongside fellow successful imports Anton Kokkonen, Stephen Blunden and Mathieu Ouellette who finished 1, 2 and 3 in the Brave player statistics leader board, which equated to 2, 3 and 4 for the entire league.

On 12 April 2014, The Brave took to the ice in their maiden AIHL match at home in front of around 1000 fans against the Newcastle North Stars. The visitors won the match 2-0 but the match was described by the media as a major win for the city of Canberra as the CBR Brave did not exist a few weeks prior and it took a community led miracle of sorts to get the new team up off the ground and onto the ice thanks to a successful community and fan led fundraising campaign that raised over $27,000.

26 April 2014, Round 3, In their second match after a bye in round 2, the Brave registered their inaugural victory in the AIHL regular season with a 6–2 victory over the then reigning champions Sydney Ice Dogs with a break-out third period domination at home in front of a sold-out crowd of 1000 people.

On 10 August 2014, The Brave secured a top four finish in the AIHL regular season by coming third in the overall rankings, granting them a place in the 2014 AIHL Goodall Cup Finals Series held at Medibank Icehouse in Docklands, Victoria. It is the first time a Canberra team has made the finals series since the AIHL was formed in 2000 and the first time a Canberra team had a shot at securing the Goodall Cup since 1998.

On 23 August 2014, The Brave hosted their 2014 season presentation night at the Woden Tradies Club where Finnish goaltender Petri Pitkänen took out the inaugural MVP (Most Valuable Player) award, the top prize for the season. In other awards, Mathieu Ouellette was named best two-way player, Stephen Blunden was named best forward and Matt Harvey took out the best defender award. Aaron Clayworth clinched both players' player and coaches' award, Anton Kokkonen was named fan's choice while captain Mark Rummukainen took home the John Lewis Memorial Award. The final award for the night went to young gun Kai Miettinen who was named best u23 player. Petri Pitkänen and Mathieu Ouellette were also shortlisted for league awards, Mathieu missed out on the top honour but Petri was selected as the AIHL Goaltender of 2014.

30 August 2014, The Brave lost their semi-final match to the Melbourne Ice 6–1 in front of 1,500 fans, ending their inaugural season in the process.

2015 season

On 30 January 2015, Brave announce the appointment of Brad Hunt as the new head coach for the 2015 AIHL season. Brad was originally going to take on the assistant coach role for 2015 after hanging up the skates at the end of the 2014 season but with former head coach Matti Louma leaving the club to take on a development coaching position in Perth, Hunt was promoted to head coach instead.

On 9 February 2015, 2015 AIHL season draw changes, originally released 4 December 2014, affected the CBR Brave with an additional three games to be played in Canberra for the 2015 season after the Sydney Bears and Sydney Ice Dogs opted to play their home games against the Brave in Canberra instead of Sydney. This resulted in 17 home games for the Brave in 2015 as opposed to the standard 14.

On 31 March 2015, CBR Brave in conjunction with Ice Hockey ACT announced the formation of the Junior Brave to compete in the 2015 NSW Midget League. The team is coached by former AIHL player and Australian representative Andrew Brunt. The Junior Brave are the first Canberra-based team to compete in the NSW Midget League since 2011 when Canberra Phoenix left the league. In their inaugural year, the Junior Brave were runners up, beating the Canterbury Eagles 3–2 in the semi-final and losing the final to defending champions, the Liverpool Saints 3–1. Three of the Junior Brave players made their debut with the CBR Brave in the AIHL – goalie Alexandre Tetrault, and forwards Jayden Lewis and Jordon Brunt. Alexandre Tetrault was also selected to represent Australia in the Under 20 World Championships in Serbia in 2016.

On 14 July 2015, CBR Brave Chairman Peter Chamberlain confirmed the mutual separation between the team and head coach Brad Hunt with immediate effect. On ice performances during the 2015 AIHL regular season and future planning were cited as the main reasons for the decision. In the same statement the Board confirmed current first choice import goaltender, Josh Unice, would take over as head coach on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2015 AIHL season including finals. Veteran defenceman, Aaron Clayworth, would join Josh in moving from the player roster to the coaching staff by taking over as assistant coach. A committee was established to oversee the selection process of a permanent head coach for the 2016 AIHL season.

On 16 August 2015, The CBR Brave officially secured fourth place in the AIHL regular season to give the team a birth in the 2015 AIHL Finals and a second shot at the Goodall Cup in as many seasons. This came about as a result of a shootout victory over the top team Newcastle North Stars 6–5 at the Brave Cave, Canberra, ACT, when Jordan Gavin slotted home in sudden death as well as other results going the Brave's way.

The following weekend, 22 August 2015, the CBR Brave played their final match of the 2015 AIHL regular season away to the last placed Sydney Ice Dogs at the Phillip Ice Skating Centre, as the Ice Dogs moved their home match to Canberra. With the Brave guaranteed to finish fourth and the Ice Dogs to finish last the match was a dead rubber. Both Stephen Blunden and Kelly Geoffrey finished the match with six points as Blunden fired in 4 goals and 2 assists with Kelly achieving the opposite. Veteran forward, Ryan Johnson, grabbed the buzzer beating final goal in the third period with seventeen seconds to go to send the Brave into the Finals on the back of a 7–2 victory. The win also officially cemented the Brave's fourth-place finish in the 2015 AIHL season. One place and two points behind their inaugural season's finish, an amazing finish considering before Josh Unice took over the team was second last and after Unice took over the team won six of seven games.

On 23 August 2015, the Brave hosted their annual 'Brave Ball' gala evening at the Woden Tradies Club at which the 2015 season team awards were handed out. Stephen Blunden headed the awards night with three awards (Bravest of the Brave, Best Forward, Highest Point Scorer) with Jimmy Byers following closely behind with two awards (Emerging Brave, Fans Choice). Rounding out the awards Ryan Johnson won the John Lewis Memorial Award for the most dedicated player of the season on and off the ice, Best Defender went to Kyle Mariani, Mark Rummukainen won the Player's Player while Kai Miettinen and Peter Taylor shared the Coaches' Award. At the same event the Brave announced the formation of the CBR Brave Foundation to better connect the team to the local community and charities.

On 29 August 2015, in front of 1,200 passionate fans, the CBR Brave took on the league premiers, Newcastle North Stars, in game one (semi-final one) of the 2015 AIHL Finals. The Brave controlled the first two periods of the match that produced two shorthanded goals to Kelly Geoffrey and Stephen Blunden before Blunden got his second of the match in the second period to put the Brave up 3–0. The North Stars finally got on the score sheet in the second period on the power play as the Brave continued to get into penalty strife. The third period saw a complete change in the match with Newcastle dominating and league MVP Geordie Wudrick coming out and scoring a hat trick to send the premiers through to the grand final and knock the Brave out of the Finals at the same stage as the season before. Aleksi Toivonen and Stephen Blunden were selected as 2nd and 3rd Stars of the game.

2016 season

The Brave were sufficiently impressed with Josh Unice’s interim stint to hand him the permanent head coaching role with a three-year contract on 9 March 2016. The experienced Dave Rogina was retained as assistant coach and Stuart Philips was brought in as strength and conditioning coach. Six imports were confirmed in the 2016 Brave roster, which was released on 12 April 2016. The core group of Australian players were retained from 2015. The headline addition to the roster was Canadian forward Geordie Wudrick, who joined from rivals Newcastle Northstars. Wudrick joined the Brave as current AIHL MVP after he broke the league’s points and goals records in 2015 with Newcastle. A few days later, on 18 April 2016, the Brave announced a new cooperative partnership with Canberra’s Australian Baseball League team, the Canberra Cavalry. Member benefits would extend between fans of the two teams and joint marketing opportunities between the two organisations would be explored. Further expanding the Brave’s local partnership program, the team further agreed to a mutually beneficial partnership with the Australian Defence Force hockey team the Navy Tigersharks. Announced pre-game on 23 April 2016, the new partnership looked to promote ice hockey within the Australian Defence community and assist in establishing a development pathway for emerging talent.

Canberra opened the 2016 season with a 5-2 victory over the Sydney Ice Dogs at the Brave Cave. The Brave’s new imports, Wudrick, Brandi and Prokop, made instant impacts for the team, scoring four goals. Australian rookie, Casey Kubara, also scored his first AIHL goal. Unice reserved special praise post-game for the debut defensive display of Adelaide-born youngster, Zach Boyle. In the first game of the season between the Brave and North Stars, Canadian import Art Bidlevskii suffored a freak accident that left him in hospital with a broken throat. Bidlevskii was advised to never play hockey again or risk being placed in a coma and losing his life. He retired as a player and took a position as assistant coach for the Brave. With the Brave fighting for the league premiership in the top half of the standings, it surprised the Canberra hockey community when the Brave announced the immediate departure of head coach Josh Unice, one week out from Finals on 17 August 2016. ‘Personal reasons’ was given for the sudden departure. CBR Brave director, Warren Apps, announced ex-player and current assistant coach, Art Bidlevskii, would take on the head coaching role on an interim bases for the remainder of the season. The Brave suffered a surprise 4–6 defeat to last placed Ice Dogs in the final game of the regular season at Liverpool, Sydney on 20 August 2016. The result was enough for Canberra to secure a top four finish and qualify for the AIHL Finals for the third year running.

On 27 August 2026, the Brave commenced their Goodall Cup tilt with a win over home team favourites Melbourne Ice, defeating the Ice 4–3 in overtime. The game was marked with dramatic goals by both teams. First, the Ice sent the game into overtime with a dramatic last-minute goal by Lasse Lassen. His shot was first deemed to have hit the bar and the game continued, but the referees and linespeople then conferred together and decided it was a goal. Lastly, the game winning goal in overtime was scored by Brave defender Jan Safar as he stepped back into the ice from the penalty box to give the Brave a quick breakaway and a golden goal. This was the first time the Brave had won an AIHL Finals game or progressed to the Goodall Cup Final. The following day, on 28 August 2016, the Brave lined up against bitter rivals Newcastle North Stars for a shot at winning the AIHL Championship title and lifting the historic Goodall Cup. A slow start to the game for the Brave cost the team dearly, as they could not claw back from 2-0 down. A third period goal to Wudrick against his old team proved nothing more than a consolation for Canberra. Newcastle claimed the title and hoisted the Goodall Cup for the second year in a row.

Following the end of the season, on 12 September 2016, two Brave players claimed three AIHL season awards. Jan Safar was named AIHL Defenceman of the year. Casey Kubara was named both local player and rookie of the year. In November, the Brave were named finalists for the innovation award at the inaugural CBR Sports Awards alongside Tennis ACT, Ginninderra Athletics Club and Touch Football ACT. The Brave then narrowly lost the innovation award to Ginniderra Athletics Club at the award ceremony on 11 November 2016.

2017 - 2021

The CBR Brave commenced a new direction in 2017. On 23 January 2017, the team appointed a new head coach. Former Newcastle Northstars player Rob Starke took the reins for his first coaching position since retiring as a player at the end of 2016. It was a controversial appointment given the fierce rivalry and animosity between the two teams. The Brave qualified for Finals again in 2017, finishing third in the regular season behind the Melbourne Ice and Perth Thunder. Canberra then defeated the Thunder 6–2 in the semi-finals in Melbourne. However, they were defeated 1–4 in the Goodall Cup Final by the Melbourne Ice in front of a packed arena of Ice fans. It was the Brave’s second straight grand final loss. Following the conclusion of the season, on 3 September 2017, CBR Brave’s all-time leading points scorer, Stephen Blunden, announced his departure from the team to return to his native Canada.

Canadian import goaltender, Matt Hewitt, hoists the Goodall Cup trophy in 2018 after helping the CBR Brave beat the Sydney Bears 4–3 in overtime in the final at the Icehouse, Melbourne

The 2018 AIHL season saw the CBR Brave break AIHL records for most wins and points in a single season on their way to topping the league standings. The Brave secured top spot in the league with five games remaining in the regular season and ended the season with twenty four wins from twenty eight matches for a return of seventy two points. The Brave ended the regular season eighteen points ahead of the Sydney Bears in second place to clinch the franchise's first title, the H Newman Reid Trophy. In the 2018 Finals Weekend the CBR Brave defeated the Melbourne Mustangs 5–1 in the first semi-final on Saturday 1 September 2018 to qualify for the Goodall Cup Final the following day. On 2 September 2018, the Brave faced-off against the Sydney Bears in the final and were victorious in overtime with a 4–3 victory. The Brave led the match 2-0 after the first period but the Bears fought back in the second period and took the lead into the second break 3–2. The Brave levelled the match in the third period before scoring the golden goal winner in overtime. The Brave became the first Canberra based ice hockey franchise to lift the Goodall Cup and the second Canberra based team overall, following the ACT representative team's victory in 1998. Canberra Brave's Dave and Jayden Lewis became the first father-son duo in Australian Ice Hockey League history to lift the Goodall Cup. American import forward, Trevor Gerling, finished equal top points scorer in the league. Canadian import goaltender, Matt Hewitt, finished top in the league goaltender standings and Australian international, Wahebe Darge, won the AIHL best local player award for 2018. Foundation player, Jordie Gavin who was instrumental in building the CBR Brave following the collapse of the Canberra Knights, retired after the 2018 AIHL final, his first Goodall Cup success.

Big changes in 2019 for the Brave. The team ownership changed for the first time on 28 March 2019. Inaugural consortium (Chamberlain, Wilson and Apps) reached agreement with Canberra Cavalry consortium (Amodio and McMichael) for the sale. The two franchises merged to create Canberra’s first single multi-sport organisation. Resources were pooled together, enabling a year-round professional administrative office, a first for an AIHL team. The ownership transition was staggered with the original consortium continuing to run the Brave for the remainder of 2019. On the ice in 2019, the Brave won 26 of 28 games to win the premiership and lift the H Newman Reid Trophy for the second time. In a dominant performance, the Brave finished 25 points ahead of second place Newcastle Northstars. Canberra broke many AIHL and team records in 2019, including: most wins (26), most points (79), largest winning streak (17 games), most goals scored (161), fewest goals conceded in a 28-game season (67) and least losses in a 28-game season (2). However, regular season dominance did not translate to success in Finals in 2019. The Brave were eliminated early with a 4–6 defeat to the Sydney Bears in the semi-finals.

The new ownership took control in 2020 with Amodio and McMichael taking prominent executive positions within the team. On 24 February 2020, Rob Starke left the Brave to return home to Canada. He left having guided the team to their first trophies and a win percentage of over 77%. A few days later, on 27 February 2020, the Brave announced Starke's successor, Stuart Phiilps would take the reins as head coach. Philips joined the Brave having spent time as assistant coach of the team previously and was current Australian women's national team head coach. Preparations for Season 2020 where then interrupted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league subsequently cancelled both the 2020 and 2021 AIHL seasons due to the state and international border shutdowns in Australia caused by the pandemic. In 2021, the Brave ownership collapsed owing debts to creditors of the Canberra Cavalry. Joint management with the Cavs ceased and ownership transitioned to new CEO, Sunny Singh. In September, the Brave were able to host an exhibition game to celebrate 40 years of ice hockey in the ACT. Current Brave and former Canberra Knights players participated in the event, which also marked the original retirement of then team captain Matt Harvey.

2022 - Present

The Brave next played hockey in 2022 with the return of a reduced six-team league season. The Brave were successful in 2022, claiming the premiership and championship double, lifting the Goodall Cup for the second time and completing a three-peat of H Newman Reid trophies. The CBR Brave were unsuccessful in their attempt at going back-to-back in lifting the Goodall Cup in 2023. They were beaten in the grand final by the Melbourne Mustangs, being shutout for the first time in Finals. Canberra did secure a fourth consecutive H Newman Reid Trophy in a new expanded 10-team two-conference AIHL league system. This result, also meant the Brave claimed the first ever Rurak Conference Trophy.

The Canberra Brave is a professional ice hockey team based in Canberra, Australia. The team was founded in 2014 and competes in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The Brave have quickly become one of the most successful teams in the league, winning the Goodall Cup in 2018 and 2019.

The team is known for its strong defensive play and physicality on the ice. The Brave have a talented roster of players from around the world, including Canada, the United States, and Europe. The team is led by head coach Andrew Petrie, who has been with the team since its inception.

The Brave play their home games at the Phillip Ice Skating Centre in Canberra, which has a capacity of 800 spectators. The team has a dedicated fan base and is known for its passionate supporters who create a lively atmosphere at home games.

Off the ice, the Brave are active in the community, participating in charity events and youth programs. The team also has a strong social media presence, engaging with fans and promoting the sport of ice hockey in Australia.

Overall, the Canberra Brave is a talented and successful ice hockey team that has quickly become a fan favorite in the AIHL. With a strong roster and dedicated fan base, the Brave are poised for continued success in the future.