Cathy Freeman Sydney 2000. Mark Bradbury Salt Lake City 2002. Shane Warne’s ‘ball Of the Century. Canberra Brave opening AIS Arena.
People might scoff at the thought of putting the Braves opening Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) game at AIS Arena on that list, however in Australian ice hockey it was a landmark moment.
It was the unachievable dream, one even I had my reservations about and whether it would work.
Would the ice hold up? Is there a dehumidifier? How would the viewing experience be?
After watching two games and seeing ice hockey fans share clips and photos from the weekend, AIS Arena passed with flying colours.
Three thousand people packed into AIS Arena, well 2,964 to be exact, to watch the first full bowl ice hockey game between the Brave and Adelaide Adrenaline.
It was the first time the fans would experience a setup that we only see in North America and Europe for an AIHL game.
After the two games across the weekend were run and done, with the Brave and Adrenaline splitting results with a win each, it got me thinking about the journey to get here.
Past players who had called the Phillip Ice Skating Centre – affectionately known as Brave Cave, home for over 40-years, from the Canberra Knights days and now the Brave. Coaches battling to get the most out of a Canberra club that deserved better facilities.
Then there are the Brave owners and administrators, tirelessly working hard to build a club from scratch after the demise of the Knights in 2014.
If you asked anyone associated with the Brave brand you would probably get a similar response each time, a long hard road but the results are inside AIS Arena.
Of course, without fans buying season tickets, travelling to away days and packing out the Brave Cave regularly, we might not have seen this venture into AIS Arena come to fruition.
After reflecting on all of this and thinking about how many people have impacted the road to AIS Arena, I couldn’t help but think this is bigger than just the Canberra Brave.
I first started my media journey in 2010, launching On the Fly Hockey, a media platform covering the sport of ice hockey in Australia. When the Knights dissolved, I was there covering it, when the CBR Brave were launched I was there writing about it.
As the images emerged from our amazing AIHL photographers, a smile came across my face bigger than Luna Park looking across Sydney Harbour.
Not just because of how many new ice hockey fans this will bring into the AIHL, but the fact that everyone has had a chance to pull on the rope for AIS Arena to be realised.
Sometimes I wonder why I continually push the media ball up the hill each season, often for no financial reward, but to just see the sport grow. Hoping that one day I might reach the top, and see it roll down the other side arriving at ice hockey wonderland.
I started out as an ice hockey fan, I felt I could do more than just sit in the stands, so I started writing about the AIHL.
When I wrote my first paragraph 15-years-ago I never thought I would see a sold-out AIS Arena in my lifetime, Australian Prime Minster Anthony Albanese doesn’t know the sport exists here so why would I?
Along with the past players, coaches, owners and administrators a little piece of me felt a sense of pride. From media to volunteers and fans across Australia, we all played a role in the journey.
We all might not be kitted out in tartan as part of the Brave family; however, this is an ice hockey community effort.
The Brave have shifted the needle in the AIHL, it’s time for ice hockey to be adventurous, push the boundaries, we now know the bar can be raised that little bit higher.
Full bowl arenas are now the benchmark for the AIHL, and hopefully the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) will follow suit in the future.
Furthermore, it’s now time for Canberrans to talk with their feet and continue packing out AIS Arena, the blueprint is there and the standard set. I have no doubt the people of Canberra will support it.
It’s what ice hockey in Australia deserves, what we all deserve.
AIS Arena might just be that wonderland I am looking for.
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