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Adelaide Avalanche

The Adelaide Avalanche was a semi-professional ice hockey club based in the Adelaide suburb of Thebarton, South Australia. The Avalanche, founded in 1999, was a founding member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The team's home venue was the Snowdome Adelaide (now known as IceArenA). The Avalanche competed in the AIHL for eight years, from its inaugural season in 2000 until 17 June 2008, when the club was replaced with the Snowdome's own team, Adelaide A's (later rebranded Adelaide Adrenaline), after its AIHL licence was revoked due to financial issues. During the club's lifetime, the Avalanche won four AIHL premierships and two AIHL championships.

Adelaide Avalanche
CityThebarton, Adelaide, South Australia
LeagueAustralian Ice Hockey League
Founded15 May 1999 (25 years ago) (15 May 1999)
Operated2000–2008
Dissolved17 June 2008 (16 years ago) (17 June 2008)
Home arenaSnowdome Adelaide
ColoursBlue, bronze, black and white
       
General managerAustralia Alan Yarrow
Head coachAustralia Corey Smith
CaptainAustralia Greg Oddy
Championships
Premierships4 (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007)
AIHL Championships2 (2000, 2001)

History

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Foundation and ECSL (1999–00)

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The Adelaide Avalanche was founded in May 1999 by the Oddy and Thilthorpe families to secure national ice hockey competition for South Australia and their sons. Steve Oddy and James Thilthorpe headed the fledgling club as owners and directors, Steve Oddy taking on the role of club chairman.[1]

The Avalanche appointed John Botterill as inaugural head coach. He would be assisted by Neil Boyle.[2] Australian international defenceman, Pavel Bohacik, was appointed the club's maiden captain.[3]

Adelaide quickly joined the de facto national league, East Coast Super League (ECSL) in 1999, in what would prove to be the NSW administered ECSL's last season.[4] The Avalanche's first ever competitive game was on the road in Sydney against the Canterbury Eagles. Adelaide defeated the Eagles 7-5 to register the club's inaugural victory. Steve's son Greg Oddy led the South Australian outfit's opening performance, registering two goals. Oddy and Thilthorpe personally arranged and paid for the travel of east coast teams to Adelaide in 1999. On 15 May 1999, Adelaide hosted its first competitive home game at the Snowdome in Thebarton.[1]

AIHL era (2000–08)

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Along with the Sydney Bears and Canberra Knights, the Avalanche were one of the founding members of the AIHL in 2000. They finished first out of the three teams that year and claimed the inaugural AIHL championship. In 2001, the club enjoyed the same success in winning their second consecutive title.

In 2002, the Melbourne Ice, Western Sydney Ice Dogs, and Newcastle North Stars joined the AIHL, expanding it to six teams. The Goodall Cup, Australia's top prize in ice hockey, also became part of the AIHL that year. Adelaide again finished second in the overall standings and lost to the Bears in the Goodall Cup final.

 
Adelaide Avalanche's original logo used between 1999–06.

The Avalanche finished the 2003 season with their fourth straight minor premiership but lost to the Ice Dogs in the first round of a newly introduced four-team playoff system. They would lose in the semifinals again in 2004 to the North Stars in double overtime.

As two more teams—the Brisbane Blue Tongues and Central Coast Rhinos—entered the league in 2005, the Avalanche returned to dominance by finishing first overall in the regular season standings. The "curse of the minor premiers" again haunted the team. Despite winning through to the Goodall Cup final for the first time in three years, they were defeated 3–1 by the North Stars in that game.

The Avalanche have retooled for 2006 in the quest for their first-ever Goodall Cup, with their current roster boasting Mighty Roos players Greg Oddy and brothers Ben & Luke Thilthorpe. They finished second after the regular season and hosted the finals series, beating the Ice Dogs 5–2 to reach the final but losing the final 0-4 to the North Stars.

Members of the Adelaide Avalanche were featured on episode 11 of Network Ten's Cyber Shack TV on 10 October 2006. Both David Huxley and Brad Wanchulak played and reviewed the new NHL 2K6 on Xbox 360.

The Avalanche came into financial difficulties in 2008, and after being able to host several game at the start of the season, could not meet its road commitments, forcing the team to withdraw from the remainder of the season on 17 June. The team's players were transferred to the newly formed Adelaide A's, who in a deal with the AIHL was allowed to play the remainder of the Avalanche's season.

In 2022 the name of the Adelaide Avalanche was revived by a new team competing in the Pacific Hockey League.[5]

Season-by-season record

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Champions Runners-up Third Place
Adelaide Avalanche all-time record
Season Regular season Finals weekend Top points scorer
P W T L SW SL GF GA GD Pts Finish P W L GF GA Result Semi-final AIHL final Name Points
2000 Information not available 2nd 1 1 0 6 5 Champions – Won 6-5 (SO) (Bears)   John Oddy 34
2001 16 15 1 0 – – 120 60 +60 31 1st 1 1 0 10 7 Champions – Won 10-7 (Bears)   Paul Lawson 38
2002 20 13 0 7 – – 120 67 +53 26 2nd 1 0 1 4 7 Runners-up – Lost 4-7 (Bears)   Greg Oddy 39
2003[a] 18 15 0 3 – – 98 52 +46 30 1st[b] 2 0 2 5 14 Fourth[c] Lost 1-4 (Ice Dogs) –   Greg Oddy 47
2004 20 7 1 9 1 1 64 68 -4 29 4th 1 0 1 2 3 Semi-finalist Lost 2-3 (2OT) (North Stars) –   Greg Oddy 30
2005 26 19 1 4 0 2 133 77 +56 60 1st 2 1 1 7 6 Runners-up Won 6-3 (Bears) Lost 1-3 (North Stars)   Darcy Corcoran 47
2006 28 19 – 9 0 0 134 84 +50 57 2nd 2 1 1 5 6 Runners-up Won 5-2 (Ice Dogs) Lost 0-4 (North Stars)   Brad Wanchulak 53
2007 28 17 – 7 1 3 124 99 +25 56 1st 1 0 1 1 4 Semi-finalist Lost 1-4 (Bears) –   Greg Oddy 43
2008 15[d] 3 – 8 2 2 32 53 -21 15 DNF –   Peter Lindgren 29[e]

Notes:

  1. ^ 2003 AIHL season statistics are incomplete. No one source has all the information and the AIHL has not published official statistics on www.theaihl.com.
  2. ^ Based on the most complete information available, the Avalanche finished the 2003 season in first place and qualified for the first four team finals weekend.
  3. ^ 2003 was the one and only season where a third place play-off was contested as part of the finals format for the AIHL. The Sydney Bears defeated the Adelaide Avalanche 10-5 in the third place play-off so the Avalanche finished fourth.
  4. ^ Only completed 15 of the 28 matches in the 2008 season before withdrawing and forfeiting two games. All points, players and fixtured were transferred to the Adelaide A's when the licence was transferred.
  5. ^ top point scorer over entire season including matches for both the Avalanche and Adelaide A's.

Notes References: [6] [7] [8]

Honours

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Championships

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  • AIHL Championships (2000–01)1
  Champions (2): 2000, 2001
  Runners-Up (0):
  Champions (0):
  Runners-Up (3): 2002, 2005, 2006
  Premiers (4): 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
  Runners-Up (2): 2002, 2006
1 The first two season's of the AIHL did not have the Goodall Cup as the Championship prize. The Adelaide Avalanche is the only AIHL team to win the AIHL and not be crowned Goodall Cup Champions.
2 This list also includes Premierships won prior to the first trophy (VIP Cup) for Premiers came into existence in 2004.

Franchise Awards

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Each season, between 1999 and 2007, the Avalanche held an annual awards night where the team awarded a number of player awards.[9]

Season MVP BR FC BD LS BDF CA
1999   Glen Foll   Eric Lien   Trevor Walsh   Pavel Bohacik   John Oddy – –
2000   Greg Oddy   Shane Wouters   Greg Oddy   Pavel Bohacik   John Oddy – –
2001   Charlie Lawson   Charlie Lawson   Paul Lawson   Glen Foll   Paul Lawson   Chris Brlecic –
2002   Eric Lien   Jamie Lever   Trevor Walsh   Glen Foll   Greg Oddy   Chris Brlecic –
2003   Dylan Martini   Josh Harding   Trevor Walsh   Dylan Martini   Greg Oddy   Duane Gera –
2004   Trevor Walsh   Cass Delsar   Greg Oddy   Chris Chant   Greg Oddy   Luke Thilthorpe –
2005   Greg Oddy   Olivier Martin   Steve McKenna   Steve McKenna   Darcy Corcoran   Tanner Shultz –
2006   Greg Oddy   David Huxley   Brad Wanchulak   Kevin Clauson   Brad Wanchulak   Chris Brlecic   Nigel Ward
2007   Olivier Martin   Sean Greer   David Huxley   Josh Harding   Greg Oddy   Mike Van Den Bosch   Ryan Remillard

Players

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Last roster

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Team roster for the 2008 AIHL season [10][11]

Adelaide Avalanche roster - 2008 AIHL season
Active Roster Coaching staff
Goaltenders
  • 87   Christopher Elf
  •  1   Peter King
  • 35   Eric Lien
  • 39   Olivier Marton

Defencemen

  • 13   Nathan Brown
  • --   Scott Chandler
  •  2   Nick Clark
  • 44   Sean Greer (A)
  • 22   Joshua Harding (A)
  • 23   David Huxley
  • 33   Bob Sannemo
  •  8   Brad Van Camp
  •  4   Brandon Williams
  • 45   Andrey Zolotarev
 Forwards
  • --   Blair Bourgeault
  • 40   Darren Corstens
  •  7   Kevin Crowder
  • 11   Cass Delsar
  • 76   Luke Harding
  • 18   James Keane
  •  9   Chase Kinch (A)
  • 27   Peter Lindgren
  • 19   David Manning
  • 10   Greg Oddy (C)
  • --   Dean Peterson
  • 42   Tristan Reese
  •  3   Ben Thilthorpe
  • 15   Mitchell Villani
  • --   Trevor Walsh
  • 16   Matthew Wegener
 Head Coach

Coaches

  •   Steve Wise


Legend
(C) Captain
(A) Alternate Captain
(I) Import player

Statistics
Average age: 22.1
Average height: 179.9 cm
Average weight: 82.4 kg
Win%: 33%

Last updated on: 28 May 2022
Elite ProspectsAdelaide Avalanche Legends of Australian Ice

NHL players

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A list of players that have played at least one game for the Avalanche and who have also played at least one game in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Name Year(s) NHL team(s)
  Steve McKenna 2005 Los Angeles Kings; Minnesota Wild; Pittsburgh Penguins; New York Rangers
  Mel Angelstad 2007 Washington Capitals

References:[12][13]

International players

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A list of players that have played at least one game for the Avalanche and who have also played at least one game for an international team at the World Championships organised by the IIHF.

Name Caps Points PIM Medals Notes
  Glen Foll 80 72 32 1   4   Australian captain for 15 tournaments (1990 to 2006)
  Greg Oddy 72 118 131 2   3   3   Australian captain for 4 tournaments (2010 to 2014)
  Ben Thilthorpe 32 20 51 1   1   3  
  Joshua Harding 31 8 16 1   1   1   Australian alternate captain for 1 tournament (2014–15)
  David Huxley 28 10 8 2   1   Australian alternate captain for 1 tournament (2015–16)
  Luke Thilthorpe 24 17 10 1   1   2  
  Pavel Bohacik 24 3 8
  Daniel George 20 2 6 1   1  
  Andrew Brunt 16 6 8
  Trevor Walsh 15 26 93 1   2  
  Chris Brlecic 14 10 20 2   1  
  John Oddy 14 28 36
  Mitchell Villani 10 5 8 1  
  Ross Howell 10 5 2 1  
  Sean Greer 10 0 4
  James Keane 9 4 2 1   1  
  Cass Delsar 9 4 8 2  
  Matthew Wegener 5 0 4
  Ari Pullinen 5 0 2
  Dusan Ocenas 4 2 2
  Olivier Martin 1 0 0
  Paul Cracknell 1 0 0

References:[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]

Player records

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Avalanche all-time, season and game player records.[36]

All-time

No. Appearances Points Penalty Minutes
# Name GP Name P Name PIM
1   Greg Oddy 133   Greg Oddy 280   Trevor Walsh 505
2   Ben Thilthorpe 126   Trevor Walsh 201   Greg Oddy 426
3   Luke Thilthorpe 122   Ben Thilthorpe 153   John Oddy 350
4   Chris Brlecic 119   Chris Brlecic 115   Ben Thilthorpe 346
5   Trevor Walsh 100   Luke Thilthorpe 113   Chris Brlecic 341
6   Eric Lien 84   John Oddy 111   Luke Thilthorpe 231
7   Josh Harding 77   Dylan Martini 86   Tanner Shultz 154
8   Glen Foll 68   Glen Foll 73   Cass Delsar 133
9   Daniel George 68   Brad Wanchulak 53   Ryan Clauson 107
10   James Keane 65   Darcy Corcoran 47   Dylan Martini 104

Season

Category Record Season Held by
Most Points 53 2006   Brad Wanchulak
Most Goals 26 2006   Brad Wanchulak
Most Assists 33 2006   Greg Oddy
Most Points (Defenceman) 36 2003   Dylan Martini
Most Penalty Minutes 154 2005   Tanner Shultz
Best Goaltender Save % 91.8% 2005   Olivier Martin
Best Goaltender G.A.A 2.24 2005   Olivier Martin
Most Goaltender Wins 15 2006   Nigel Ward
Most Goaltender Shutouts 1 1999 / 2006   Eric Lien /   Nigel Ward
Most Game Winning Goals 6 2003 / 2006   Greg Oddy /   Brad Wanchulak
Most Power Play Goals 7 2006   Greg Oddy
Most Shorthanded Goals 4 2001   Trevor Walsh
Most Hatricks 4 2002   Greg Oddy
Most Consecutive GP with a point 17 2006   Greg Oddy

Single game

Category Record Date Held by Opponent
Most Points 9 19 Aug 2006   Greg Oddy Canberra Knights
Most Goals 5 19 Aug 2006   Brad Wanchulak Canberra Knights
Most Assists 6 19 Aug 2006   Greg Oddy Canberra Knights
Most Penalty Minutes 52 22 Jul 2006   Ryan Clauson Newcastle North Stars
Most Goaltender Saves 58 28 May 2000   Eric Lien Sydney Bears
Fastest Goal (Start of Game) 14 secs 7 Jan 2000   Luke Thilthorpe Penrith Phantoms
Fastest Two Goals 6 secs 7 Aug 2000   Greg Oddy Canberra Knights
Fastest Hatrick 5.01 mins 22 Jun 2003   Trevor Walsh Western Sydney Ice Dogs

Leaders

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Team captains

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The Avalanche had three captains in the team's known history.[37] The captain in 1999 and between 2002-03 are currently unknown.

No. Name Term
1   Pavel Bohacik 1999–01
2   Chris Brlecic 2004–05
3   Greg Oddy 2006–08

References:[3][38][39][40][41]

Further information on team captains in ice hockey: Captain (ice hockey)

Head coaches

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The Avalanche had four head coaches in the team's history.[42]

No. Name Term
1   John Botterill 1999–06
2   Brandon Williams 2007
3   Steve McKenna 2008
4   Corey Smith 2008

References: [43][44][39][45][11][46][47]

Further information on head coaches in ice hockey: Coach (ice hockey)

General managers

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The Avalanche had two general manager groups (GMs) in the team's history.[42]

No. Name Term
1   Steve Oddy
  James Thilthorpe		 1999–06
2   Alan Yarrow 2007–08

References:[43][44][39][45][11][48][49]

Further information on general managers in ice hockey: General manager (ice hockey)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Adelaide Avalanche: The Franchise that changed Australian hockey forever". Adelaide Adrenaline. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. ^ "2000 Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 23 January 2001. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b Carpenter, Ross. "Bohacik, Pavel (1969 - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  4. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "A League of Their Own: The AIHL and the fight for the Big League". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Pacific Hockey League announces teams". Ice Hockey News Australia. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  6. ^ "2003 AIHL Draw". Newcastle North Stars. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Championnat d'Australie 2003 (French)". hockeyarchives.info. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  8. ^ "AIHL History". hockeywise.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Awards". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Adelaide Avalanche/A's 2007-2008 Roster". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "Roster 2008". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Steve McKenna". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Mel Angelstad". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Glen Foll". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Greg Oddy". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Ben Thilthorpe". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Joshua Harding". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  18. ^ "David Huxley". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Luke Thilthorpe". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Pavel Bohacik". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Daniel George". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Andrew Brunt". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Trevor Walsh". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Chris Brlecic". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  25. ^ "John Oddy". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Mitchell Villani". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Ross Howell". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Sean Greer". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  29. ^ "James Keane". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Cass Delsar". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  31. ^ "Matthew Wegener". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Ari Pullinen". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Dusan Ocenas". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  34. ^ "Olivier Martin". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  35. ^ "Paul Cracknell". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  36. ^ "Records". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  37. ^ "Adelaide Adrenaline - Team Captaincy History". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  38. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "Brlecic, Chris (1976 - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  39. ^ a b c "2006 Avalanche Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  40. ^ "Undermanned Av's start season off with a win". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 16 August 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  41. ^ "Av's jump to third place - Defeat Ice Dog's 6-3". Adelaide Avalanche. 12 July 2004. Archived from the original on 23 January 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  42. ^ a b "Adelaide Adrenaline - Team Staff History". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  43. ^ a b "Adelaide Avalanche Ice Hockey Club: Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 24 November 2004. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  44. ^ a b "Adelaide Avalanche Ice Hockey : Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 8 May 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  45. ^ a b "Roster". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  46. ^ "Avalanche announce new coach [07/03]". Adelaide Avalanche. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  47. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "Smith, Corey (1976 - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  48. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "Oddy, Steve ( - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  49. ^ Carpenter, Ross. "Thilthorpe, Jim ( - )". icelegendsaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
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