# AIHL All-Star Weekend

The Australian Ice Hockey League All-Star Weekend is an annual event showcasing the best talent from the AIHL in skills tests and an exhibition 'All-Stars' match.

## History

4 August 2015, the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) announced the formation of a new event in the Australian ice hockey calendar, the AIHL All-Stars Weekend. The event occurs two weeks following the conclusion of the AIHL Finals Weekend.
The maiden Australian Ice Hockey League All-Star Weekend, took place between 12 and 13 September 2015 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Newcastle, NSW.
Cash prizes are on offer for players for the breakaway challenge during the skills tests, the winner of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the All-Stars match and the team the MVP comes from. In 2015 the winner of the Breakaway Challenge received $1000, the winner of the MVP received $5000 and the MVP club received $4000.

## 2015 Rosters

Andrew Petrie and Joey Theriault of the Newcastle North Stars and Vlad Rubes and Ron Kuprowsky of the Sydney Bears were named as the coaching teams for the game.
Team Bales :
| # | Pos. | Player | Team |
| 1 | G | Kamil Jarina | Sydney Bears |
| 20 | G | Josh Broekman | Newcastle North Stars |
| 2 | D | John Kennedy | Newcastle North Stars |
| 3 | D | Robert Haselhurst | Perth Thunder |
| 4 | D | Paddy Ward | Sydney Bears |
| 5 | D | Shannon McGregor | Sydney Ice Dogs |
| 6 | D | Tomas Manco | CBR Brave |
| 7 | F | Matthew Lindsay | Newcastle North Stars |
| 8 | F | Wehebe Darge | Adelaide Adrenaline |
| 9 | F | Josef Rezek | Adelaide Adrenaline |
| 10 | F | Mitchell Humphries | Melbourne Ice |
| 11 | F | Brian Bales | Newcastle North Stars |
| 12 | F | Jordan Kyros | Perth Thunder |
| 13 | F | Andrew Cox | Perth Thunder |
| 14 | F | Kai Miettinen | CBR Brave |
| 15 | F | Luc Daigneault | Perth Thunder |
| 16 | F | Stephen Blunden | CBR Brave |
| 21 | F | Patrick Nadin* | Newcastle North Stars |
Team Schlamp :
| # | Pos. | Player | Team |
| 1 | G | Dayne Davis | Newcastle North Stars |
| 20 | G | Fraser Carson | Melbourne Mustangs |
| 2 | D | Bert Malloy | Newcastle North Stars |
| 3 | D | Jamie Woodman | Perth Thunder |
| 4 | D | Ric Del Basso | Perth Thunder |
| 5 | D | Daniel Pataki | Sydney Ice Dogs |
| 6 | D | Brian Funes | Sydney Ice Dogs |
| 7 | D | James Byers | CBR Brave |
| 8 | F | David Dunwoodie | CBR Brave |
| 9 | F | Matt Armstrong | Melbourne Ice |
| 10 | F | Tommy Powell | Melbourne Ice |
| 11 | F | Michael Schlamp | Sydney Bears |
| 12 | F | Pat O'Kane | Melbourne Mustangs |
| 13 | F | Tomas Landa | Sydney Bears |
| 14 | F | Joey Hughes | Melbourne Mustangs |
| 15 | F | Adrian Esposito | Sydney Bears |
| 21 | F | Matt Wetini | Newcastle North Stars |
| 22 | F | Vadim Virjassov* | Melbourne Mustangs |
* Denotes a player not originally selected in either All-Star team but played in the All-Stars match.

## Skills competition

The skills competitions selected for presentation by the respective coaches include a number of skills events the National Hockey League showcases at their All-Stars Weekend event. Each event is sponsored by one of the league's major sponsors and are performed on the Saturday afternoon.

### Air Canada Fastest Skater competition

In this event, pairs of skaters raced each other simultaneously on parallel courses on the rink. The fastest two skaters then had a final race.
| Heat | Team Bales | Verses | Team Schlamp |
| 1 | Kieren Webster | vs | Daniel Pataky |
| 2 | Mitch Humphries | vs | Tommy Powell |
| 3 | Rob Haselhurst | vs | Matt Wetini |
| 4 | Brian Bales | vs | Matt Armstrong |
| 5 | John Kennedy | vs | Tomas Landa |
| Final | Rob Haselhurst | vs | Matt Wetini |
| Event score: 3–3 Tied Overall score: 3–3 Tied ||||
* bold = Heat winner
* Red & bold = Event winner

### APA Group Breakaway Challenge

The breakaway challenge saw three shooters and one goalie from each team take to the ice. Each skater was given 3 shots, with full access to the offensive zone, to play out their routine and take a shot. The winner was judged on their presentation as well as scoring by a fan shout off. In goals for Team Bales was Kamil Jarina (SB) and for Team Schlamp Dayne Davis (NNS).
| Team Bales | Team Schlamp |
| Brian Bales | Brian Funes |
| Stephen Blunden | Michael Schlamp |
| Andrew Cox | James Byers |
| Event score: 1–0 Team Bales Overall score: 4–3 Team Bales ||
* Red & bold = Event winner

### Haigh and Hastings Shooting Accuracy competition

In this event, competitors were positioned in front of the net, and were passed the puck from two teammates situated behind the goal line. The players had to hit targets at the four corners of the net in the fastest time.
| Heat | Team Bales | Time (sec) | Time (sec) | Team Schlamp |
| 1 | Mitch Humphries | 43.6 | 21.5 | Matt Armstrong |
| 2 | Josef Rezek | 17.1 | 34.8 | Robert Malloy |
| 3 | Luc Daigneault | 51.4 | 34.8 | Adrian Esposito |
| 4 | Stephen Blunden | 19.5 | 30.2 | Michael Schlamp |
| Final | Josef Rezek | 20.37 | 29.97 | Matt Armstrong |
| Event score: 3–2 Team Bales Overall score: 7–5 Team Bales |||||
* bold = Heat winner
* Red & bold = Event winner

### Rifle Media Stickhandling competition

The stickhanding competition saw two skaters positioned in a head on head contest on identical obstacle courses that would test different styles of stick handling, first one to the finish line wins. There are four skaters in total selected by each team to compete.
| Heat | Team Bales | Verses | Team Schlamp |
| 1 | Brian Bales | vs | Jamie Woodman |
| 2 | Shannon McGregor | vs | Tommy Powell |
| 3 | Kai Miettinen | vs | Daniel Pataky |
| 4 | Mitch Humphries | vs | Adrian Esposito |
| Final | Kai Miettinen | vs | Tommy Powell |
| Event score: 1–4 Team Schlamp Overall score: 8–9 Team Schlamp ||||
* bold = Heat winner
* Red & bold = Event winner

### Skaters Network Hardest Shot competition

In this competition, four players from each team skate in from the blue line one at a time, and slap a puck as hard as possible into the net with a speed camera positioned behind the net to register the impact speed. Each player gets two attempts in the heats and the top two players face off in the final and get one attempt to win the event.
| Heat | Team Bales | Speed (mph) | Speed (mph) | Team Schlamp |
| 1 | Stephen Blunden | 83 & 83 | 79 & 83 | Brian Funes |
| 2 | John Kennedy | 85 & 85 | 96 & 85 | Matt Armstrong |
| 3 | Shannon McGregor | 85 & 74 | 84 & 81 | Robert Malloy |
| 4 | Rob Haselhurst | 83 & 79 | 83 & 76 | Michael Schlamp |
| Final | John Kennedy | 81 | 88 | Matt Armstrong |
| Event score: 3–2 Team Bales Overall score: 11–11 Tied |||||
* bold = Heat winner
* Red & bold = Event winner

### Ryzer Elimination Shootout

In this competition, players attempt to score on the opposing team's goalie. Players who score earn a point for their team for each goal they score. Players are eliminated from the competition if they fail to score.
| Team Bales | Result | Result | Team Schlamp |
| Round 1 ||||
| Brian Bales | Save | Goal | Adrian Esposito |
| Andrew Cox | Save | Save | Jamie Woodman |
| Kai Miettinen | Save | Save | Brian Funes |
| Stephen Blunden | Save | Goal | Daniel Pataky |
| John Kennedy | Save | Goal | James Byers |
| Josef Rezek | Goal | Save | Matt Armstrong |
| Luc Daigneault | Goal | Save | Tommy Powell |
| Robert Haselhurst | Save | Save | Michael Schlamp |
| Mitch Humphries | Save | Goal | Matt Wetini |
| Kieren Webster | Save | Save | Robert Malloy |
| Round 2 ||||
| Josef Rezek | Save | Save | Adrian Esposito |
| Luc Daigneault | Save | Save | Daniel Pataky |
| | | Save | James Byers |
| | | Goal | Matt Wetini |
| Event score: 2–5 Team Schlamp Final overall score: 13–16 Team Schlamp ||||
* bold = Goal scorer
* Red & bold = Event winner
| Final Individual Winners Overview |||
| Event | Winner | Team |
| Air Canada Fastest Skater Competition | Rob Haselhurst (Perth Thunder) | Team Bales |
| APA Group Breakaway Challenge | Brian Bales (Newcastle North Stars) | Team Bales |
| Haigh & Hastings Shooting Accuracy Competition | Josef Rezek (Adelaide Adrenaline) | Team Bales |
| Rifle Media Stickhandling Competition | Tommy Powell (Melbourne Ice) | Team Schlamp |
| Skaters Network Fastest Shot Competition | Matt Armstrong (Melbourne Ice) | Team Schlamp |
| Ryzer Elimination Shootout | Matt Wetini (Newcastle North Stars) | Team Schlamp |

## Game summary

The All-Star game sees a selection of the best players from the AIHL pitted against each other under than banner of two captains. The match is played on the Sunday afternoon.
| Team Schlamp | 7 – 3 (4–1, 2–1, 1–1) | Team Bales | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium (att) Newcastle |
| | First period |
| Virjassov (Schlamp, Pataky) 11:21 | | | Referees: |
| | | 4:49 Blunden (Bales, Humphries) | Jeff Scott |
| Funes (Schlamp) 3:24 | | | Linesmen: |
| O'Kane (Powell, Armstrong) 1:55 | | | Grainge Phillips |
| O'Kane (2) (unassisted) 1:25 | | | Official scorer: |
| | Second period | | Michelle Rutherford |
| | | 10:14 Bales (Humphries, Nadin) | MVP: O'Kane (MM) |
| O'Kane (3) (Armstrong, Powell) 2:13 | | | |
| O'Kane (4) (Pataky) 1:49 | | | |
| | Third period |
| Powell (O'Kane) 10:57 | | | |
| | | 10:09 Nadin (Rezek, Webster) | |
* Shots on Goal:
** Team Schlamp: 13 – 11 – 10 – Total: 34
** Team Bales: 7 – 11 – 17 – Total: 35
Source: AIHL

## Broadcasting

Television: Fox Sports (part of the entire AIHL TV deal with Fox Sports). The AIHL released information that Fox Sports would broadcast the All-Stars Weekend event on their pay-television platform the following Thursday (17 September 2015).