The Australian women's national ice hockey team represents Australia at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team is controlled by Ice Hockey Australia. As of 2011, Australia has 313 female players.[2] Australia is ranked 30th out of 34 countries in the IIHF World Ranking. Kathy Berg took the team to its highest point, being ranked 20th. She was the longest serving coach. Richo Padjen took over and the team started slipping down the rankings and hadn't been able to recover its former glory. In September 2015, an announcement was made on the Ice Hockey Australia website that Canadian Lindsay McAlpine will be the new coach. Replacing Lee Brown.[3] Lindsay McAlpine is expected to join the team for their first training camp in December.[4]
 | |
| Nickname(s) | Mighty Jills |
|---|---|
| Association | Ice Hockey Australia |
| General manager | Alicia Kelly |
| Head coach | Marcus Wong |
| Assistants | Terrance Kiliwnik Jaden Pine-Murphy |
| Captain | Stephanie Cochrane |
| Most games | Shona Green (66) |
| Top scorer | Michelle Clark-Crumpton (32) |
| Most points | Sharna Godfrey (54) |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | AUS |
| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | 31  2 (28 August 2023)[1] |
| Highest IIHF | 21 (2004) |
| Lowest IIHF | 33 (2022) |
| First international | |
Netherlands  2–0  Australia(Hungary; 22 March 2000) | |
| Biggest win | |
Australia 19–0  Croatia(Cape Town, South Africa; 23 February 2023) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Denmark  12–1 Australia(Vierumäki, Finland; 29 March 2008) | |
| World Championships | |
| Appearances | 20 (first in 2000) |
| Best result | 20th (2004) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 59–51–2 | |
History edit
In 2000 Australia first competed in the qualification tournament held for the right to participate in the 2001 Division I championships. Australia lost all three of their group matches and finished seventh out of eight after beating South Africa in the seventh place game.[5] The following year Australia again played in the qualification tournament in order to be promoted to Division I for the 2003 championships. Australia finished third in the group of five which saw Slovakia promoted to Division I for 2003.[5]
In 2003 the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) introduced a new format for the World Championships with the inclusion of second and third division. Australia was placed in the third division and gained promotion to the 2004 Division II tournament after winning four of their five games and finishing on top of the standings. The 2004 World Championships saw Australia relegated along with Great Britain from Division II to Division III for the 2005 tournament.[5]
At the 2005 World Championships Australia competed in Division III and narrowly avoided relegation to Division IV after finishing fifth out of six teams, beating only South Africa.[5] The next World Championship in 2007, Australia improved, again gaining promotion to Division II for the next years tournament.[6] Promotion to Division II however was again short as Australia finished last in the 2007 tournament and were relegated back to Division III.[7]
Olympic record edit
Australia's ice hockey team has never qualified for an Olympic tournament.
World Championships record edit
- 2000 – 23rd place
- 2001 – 21st place
- 2003 – 21st place (1st in Division III, Promoted to Division II)
- 2004 – 20th place (5th in Division II, Demoted to Division III)
- 2005 – 25th place (5th in Division III)
- 2007 – 22nd place (1st in Division III, Promoted to Division II)
- 2008 – 21st place (6th in Division II, Demoted to Division III)
- 2011 – 21st place (2nd in Division III)
- 2012 – 23rd place (3rd in Division IIA)
- 2013 – 23rd place (3rd in Division IIA)
- 2014 – 26th place (6th in Division IIA, Demoted to Division IIB)
- 2015 – 31st place (5th in Division IIB)
- 2016 – 27th place (1st in Division IIB, Promoted to Division IIA)
- 2017 – 26th place (6th in Division IIA)
- 2018 – 25th place (4th in Division IIA)
- 2019 – 28th place (6th in Division IIA, Demoted to Division IIB)
- 2020 – 29th place (1st in Division IIB, Promoted to Division IIA)
- 2021 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[8]
- 2022 – 28th place (2nd in Division IIB)
- 2023 – 29th place (2nd in Division IIB)
- 2024 – 30th place (2nd in Division IIB)
Team edit
Current roster edit
For the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II Group B[9][10]
| # | Name | Pos | S/G | Age | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Ashlie Aparicio | F | L | 30 | Melbourne Ice |
| 23 | Georgia Carson | D | L | 32 | Melbourne Ice |
| 19 | Michelle Clark-Crumpton | F | L | 39 | Perth Inferno |
| 15 | Stephenie Cochrane | F | R | 33 | Melbourne Ice |
| 6 | Emily Davis-Tope | F | L | 22 | Ontario Tech University |
| 20 | Rylie Ellis (C) | D | L | 36 | Melbourne Ice |
| 25 | Tina Girdler | G | L | 35 | Sydney Sirens |
| 22 | Jaimi Goonan | D | L | 31 | Brisbane Goannas |
| 10 | Shona Green | F | R | 37 | Melbourne Ice |
| 2 | Remi Harvey | D | L | 29 | Sydney Sirens |
| 3 | Lindsey Kiliwnik | F | R | 21 | Brisbane Goannas |
| 1 | Olivia Last | G | L | 19 | RoKi Rovaniemi |
| 16 | Molly Lukowiak | D | L | 18 | Perth Inferno |
| 5 | Courtney Mahoney | F | R | 18 | Ontario Hockey Academy |
| 7 | Isla Malcolm | F | R | 23 | Perth Inferno |
| 12 | Georgia Moore (A) | D | R | 37 | Melbourne Ice |
| 8 | Matilda Pethrick | D | R | 18 | Mid Fairfield CT Stars |
| 18 | Marnie Pullin | F | L | 20 | Melbourne Ice |
| 24 | Sara Sammons | F | R | 23 | Anna Maria College |
| 11 | Nikki Sharp | F | L | 19 | A21 Academy |
| 21 | Kate Tihema (A) | F | R | 25 | Adelaide Rush |
| 13 | Kristelle Van Der Wolf | F | L | 27 | Melbourne Ice |
Staff edit
For the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II Group B[9]
- Head coach: Stuart Philps
- Assistant coach: Paul Graham
- General Manager: Bronwyn Lukowiak
- Team Leader: Donald Reddish
- Equipment Manager: Jaden Pine-Murphy
- Physiotherapist: Shannon Spencer
References edit
- ^ "IIHF Women's World Ranking". IIHF. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ IIHF, http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/countries/australia.html
- ^ "NWT - Momentum gaining for first training camp". 21 September 2015.
- ^ "Lindsay McAlpine".
- ^ a b c d Müller, Stephan (2005). International Ice Hockey Encyclopaedia 1904–2005. Germany: Books on Demand. pp. 215–223. ISBN 3-8334-4189-5.
- ^ "2007 IIHF World Womens Championship Div III". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "2008 IIHF World Women's Championship Div. II". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Australia". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Australian women's national team 2022 captains". Ice Hockey News Australia. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
External links edit
