It took Liam Hughes 19 games to become a beloved figure at the Melbourne Mustangs, walking away with a Goodall Cup medal, and Australian Ice Hockey League Finals MVP award.
Hughes finished the season with a save percentage of .914, picking up 14 wins across the season, and back-toback shutouts to help guide the Mustangs to championship success.
Throughout his junior career Hughes had tasted success, but not on the scale of the Goodall Cup. It was the first trophy that Hughes had won on a national scale.
“Honestly, I’ve never won anything growing up,” Liam Hughes told Hockey Hype Australia.
“Well, I think I won a couple of things, but not nothing like crazy like this, where it’s like a true meaning and a national championship like the Goodall Cup.”
Of all the accolades that Hughes would receive from the 2023 AIHL season, it was watching veteran Mustangs players lift the cup that meant the most to the Kelowna, BC native.
Players who might not have been the most expressive throughout the season, were showing exactly how much winning the cup meant to them.
“I remember when the buzzer went, Scotty [Scott] Timmins, never seen him get too excited about scoring a goal or anything like that,” said Hughes.
“I turned and I’ve never seen this guy so excited and happy to win, and that was probably my favourite moment of winning one.
“He was super happy, and Vadim [Virjassov] and Jonesy [Sean Jones], all those guys that have been waiting so long to win it.
“Those are more special to me, honestly, seeing those guys be so happy winning something they’ve worked so hard for.
“For me, I guess, it’s kind of, I don’t have that same appreciation they do, that they might have. Just because it’s been so long for Vaddy and Jonesy, Brendy [Brendan McDowell], all those guys who have never really won it before besides the one in 2014.
“So, it’s cool for me to see those guys who took so long to win it get the excitement, it was so much fun to be a part of that.”
Now back in Canada, Hughes has been able to continue the celebrations with family and friends.
Thanks to modern technology, when it came to the AIHL Finals, Hughes’ loved ones back home were able to tune in and enjoy the cup winning run.
“I still feel the support and love from Australia, everybody keeping contact back from Melbourne,” Hughes said with a smile.
“Back home, everybody is excited for me, obviously for myself, never really winning before, so it was cool to come home.
“It’s fun to still be part of it and see all the stuff going on back in Melbourne, I think all my family was watching it actually, that was awesome.
“The AIHL.tv, the whole thing was very accessible for them.”
At a young age the Hughes family moved from Barrie, Ontario, Canada – where Liam was born – across to the west coast of Canada to Kelowna.
Although Hughes began to skate when growing up near the city of Toronto, once the family made the switch to British Columbia playing hockey came strongly into focus.
“I think I was still in Toronto at the time, and I was starting to skate,” continued Hughes.
“And then Kelowna, like I said, I moved so young, so I started playing ice hockey then and just kind of fell in love with it.”
A position that has taken Hughes around the world, goaltender wasn’t the first choice; Hughes was initially a goal scoring centreman.
It wasn’t until the later stages of Hughes’ junior playing career that making the switch between the pipes would come.
“Goalie, I didn’t start for a little later, I think I was like 12 maybe,” said Hughes.
“I think even young, I just drew the goalie masks, or the NHL goal masks on like a booklet when I was a kid.
“I love the pads, I like the gear and everything it gets, so I kind of fell in love with it and never really stopped playing.”
Following a junior career – that included being drafted by the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL, COVID would disrupt the WHL journey for Hughes, who was at the Winnipeg Ice at the time.
However, once the pandemic started to clear, a move to professional hockey came calling.
Hughes would play in the ECHL – for the Fort Wayne Komets, before making a life changing shift to the EIHL and the Guildford Flames.
“I had a short stint in the ECHL,” said Hughes.
“It’s a lot like junior hockey in the sense, for I guess us Canadians, except you are getting paid a little bit more.
“A little bit more stress, there is a lot going on, well, for a goalie especially.”
Each season the AIHL will see an influx of players coming from all around the world, and the ECHL is a happy hunting ground for many teams.
With Hughes getting first hand accounts of both leagues, according to the Mustangs stopper, the track that Australian ice hockey is on is a positive one.
“I think hockey Australia is on the right track,” continued Hughes.
“I think a lot of players have definitely got speed, skill, the shot, the IQ and all that. It’s a very competitive league.”
Like many players that find the AIHL to continue their careers – or fill in that North American summer gap – it was word of mouth that got Hughes to the Mustangs.
A message at the start of 2023 piqued interest for Hughes – who initially thought the call to play hockey in Australia was some sort of practical joke.
However, when the official word came through, Hughes jumped at the chance.
“One of my good friends played with Chris Lawrence in Fife,” said Hughes.
“My buddy messaged me and went ‘would you want to go?’, I thought it was a joke, I actually thought he was messing with me.
“Then a month later Chris [Lawrence] texted me, this is what the whole experience is like, didn’t hear back for a month, I heard from Wish [Ty Wishart] at that point, and this was early March.
“Month later I’m flying to Australia to play hockey, couldn’t believe it all, and then obviously turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything, it was unreal, it was the best hockey experience I have had to date so far.”
For many people, including Hughes, hockey in Australia is an unknown quantity, local sports fans wouldn’t even know the sport exists here.
Coming into a country that is known for its sunshine, beaches, and surf mad coastal towns, expectations on ice hockey wasn’t something Hughes thought about.
“I think I knew of the league; I think I knew there was hockey in Australia,” continued Hughes.
“’Aussies in hockey?’ that doesn’t sound right, there is no way that they would be any good.
“And then obviously leaving from where I am now, my viewpoint on it is extremely high.
“It will keep growing, there will be more guys coming, just because of how cool the experiences [are].
“It’s such a good competitive thing for you in the summer to do as an ice hockey player to come to Aussie.”
The 2023 finals run will go down in the Mustangs history books as one of the all-time great accomplishments, for Hughes though everything was kept simple, despite the star performance on the ice.
A pre-game meal, walk to the rink with Thomas Flack, and some death ball games were the routine for Hughes.
While there were games throughout the season where Hughes would look dialled in, with a steely resolve, and steal games for the Mustangs, a lot of the play comes down to trusting the process.
“Obviously, there is skill and it’s kind of like playing poker I guess,” said Hughes.
“You can be such a good poker player, but at the same time there is luck, obviously due to the cards being flopped down on the table right for you, and things got to go your way.
“You can prepare any way you want, but at the end of the day, the cards got to get dealt right to you.
“I would honestly say it’s 95 percent mental as well, and then the rest is physical skill and that sort of stuff.”
For the AIHL Finals weekend, and the Goodall Cup final, Hughes would be the first goaltender with back-toback shutouts to secure the championship.
“That weekend for the Grand Final, everybody is like ‘how did you do that?’ I have no idea,” Hughes said with a laugh.
“I just did the same thing I did the whole season.”
With a Goodall Cup championship season under his belt, Hughes’ love for the Mustangs organisation has continued to grow, and as a St Kilda FC supporter Hughes has become an honorary Melburnian.
After going to the MCG to watch the Saints in action with teammate Sean Jones and Mustangs superfan Nath Tanner, Hughes has not only fallen in love with the Mustangs, but the city of Melbourne.
And the biggest question on the lips of Mustangs supporters, will they see Hughes suit up in the orange and black in the future.
“I think I got asked that about one hundred times after the final game,” Hughes smiled and laughed.
“I really want to, I had such an amazing experience, I am going back to play hockey in North America this season.
“I don’t want to commit to anything as far as going back to Melbourne after the Stangs [Mustangs], and say I am coming to everybody, and then I am not.
“I want it to be a big surprise, the big reveal, we will see.”
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