# 2023 CBR Brave season

The 2023 CBR Brave season was the Brave's 8th season in the Australian Ice Hockey League since being founded and entering the league in 2014. Canberra won a fourth consecutive premiership title and lifted the H Newman Reid Trophy, by finishing top of the regular season standings. The Brave also finished top of the newly formed Rurak Conference and held aloft the inaugural Rurak Conference Cup. Canberra finished second in the AIHL Finals, being beaten by the Melbourne Mustangs in the championship grand final in Melbourne to miss out on the Goodall Cup.

## Season notes

Pre-season, the Brave organised exhibition games against the Brisbane Lightning in Brisbane and Canberra. Former Sydney Sirens head coach, Jeff Helbren, was signed to take on the role of assistant coach. Caribou Kingston became the first ever Brave naming rights sponsor, with the team to be known as the Caribou CBR Brave for 2023 and Peter Di Salvo was added to the coaching roster as a goaltender coach for Toivonen and Tétreault. During the season the Brave revealed special one-off jerseys for Caribou Kingston, Menslink and Hockey Fights Cancer. All special jerseys were auctioned with proceeds going towards the team, Menslink and Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. Off the ice, CBR Brave super-fan, Emma Easton, died in 2023. Before her death, the Brave faithful celebrated Emma's 35th birthday with a rendition of ‘happy birthday’ at a home game at the Brave Cave. Brave players and supporters then came together to produce a memorial video and give Emma a hockey guard of honour at her funeral.

## Roster

Team roster for the 2023 AIHL season.

## Transfers

All transfers in and out of the team since the last AIHL season. Kale Costa was announced as a signing in pre-season, but in May 2023 it was revealed he would not be joining the team, instead choosing to stay in the Czech Republic to play for HC Stadion Litoměřice in the Czech 1.liga. In July 2024, the Brave signed goaltender Curtis Villani to an affiliate contract. Villani was added to the roster as an emergency backup but was never dressed or used and was subsequently removed from the roster without playing a game.

### In

| Pos | Player | Transferred From | Local / Import |
| W | Austin Albrecht | Maine Mariners | Import |
| D | Lachlan Fahmy | The Coast | Local |
| G | Andrew Glass | Adelaide Tigers | Local |
| D/F | Matthew Harvey | No team | Local |
| D | Cameron Marks | Corsaires de Nantes | Import |
| F | Ricki Miettinen | Jokerit (ACT) | Local |
| C | Felix Plouffe | Corsaires de Nantes | Import |
| F | Jake Riley* | Melbourne Ice | Local |
| F | Christopher Stoikos | Waterloo Maroons | Import |
| D | Carson Vance | South Carolina Stingrays | Import |
    * Mid-season transfer

### Out

| Pos | Player | Transferred To | Local / Import |
| D | Declan Bronte | Salem State Vikings | Local |
| D | Garret Cockerill | Jacksonville Icemen | Import |
| F | Wehebe Darge | Newcastle Northstars | Local |
| F | Nicholas Doornbos | Steele County Blades | Local |
| G | Luke Fiveash | No team | Local |
| G | Wylie Hodder | No team | Local |
| D | Lynden Lodge | Perth Thunder | Local |
| D | Matthew Marasco | No team | Local |
| F | Brandon McNally | Sheffield Steelers | Import |
| F | Hamish Murray | No team | Local |
| D | Matthew Price | Newcastle Northstars | Local |
| D | Alastair Punler | Perth Thunder | Local |
| F | Christopher Stoikos* | Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan Jaguars | Import |
| F | Mario Valery-Trabucco | No team | Import |
| D | Jamie Woodman | Perth Thunder | Local |
    * Mid-season transfer

## Staff

Current as of 2023 AIHL season.

## Standings
### Regular season

Summary
| Season | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Season | P | W | L | OW | OL | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Finish | P | W | L | OW | OL | GF | GA | GD | P | W | L | OW | OL | GF | GA | GD |
| 2023 | 26 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 170 | 77 | +93 | 63 | 1st | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 88 | 37 | +51 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 33 | +49 |
Position by round
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Position | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | CBR Brave (P) | 26 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 170 | 77 | +93 | 63 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 2 | Sydney Bears | 26 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 132 | 81 | +51 | 60 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 3 | Newcastle Northstars | 26 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 162 | 112 | +50 | 56 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 4 | Melbourne Mustangs | 26 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 147 | 94 | +53 | 55 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 5 | Perth Thunder | 26 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 141 | 90 | +51 | 52 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 6 | Melbourne Ice | 26 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 144 | 165 | −21 | 30 | |
| 7 | Brisbane Lightning | 26 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 156 | 136 | +20 | 30 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 8 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 26 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 104 | 159 | −55 | 23 | |
| 9 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 26 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 90 | 162 | −72 | 13 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Rhinos | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 75 | 245 | −170 | 5 | |
Rurak Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | CBR Brave | 26 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 170 | 77 | +93 | 63 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 2 | Newcastle Northstars | 26 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 162 | 112 | +50 | 56 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 3 | Brisbane Lightning | 26 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 156 | 136 | +20 | 30 | 2023 Goodall Cup Finals |
| 4 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 26 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 90 | 162 | −72 | 13 | |
| 5 | Central Coast Rhinos | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 75 | 245 | −170 | 5 | |

### Finals

Summary
| Season | Finals weekend | Finals weekend | Finals weekend | Finals weekend | Finals weekend | Finals weekend | Finals weekend | Finals weekend | Finals weekend |
| Season | P | W | L | GF | GA | Result | Play-in final | Semi-final | Goodall Cup final |
| 2022 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | Silver | – | Won 4-1 (Thunder) | Lost 0-1 (Mustangs) |
Bracket
| Play-ins | Play-ins | Play-ins | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| | | | 26 August – Melbourne | 26 August – Melbourne | 26 August – Melbourne | | | |
| 20 August – Melbourne | 20 August – Melbourne | 20 August – Melbourne | 1 | Sydney Bears | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Melbourne Mustangs | 8 | | Melbourne Mustangs | 4 | 27 August – Melbourne | 27 August – Melbourne | 27 August – Melbourne |
| 6 | Brisbane Lightning | 3 | | | | Melbourne Mustangs | Melbourne Mustangs | 1 |
| | | | 26 August – Melbourne | 26 August – Melbourne | 26 August – Melbourne | CBR Brave | CBR Brave | 0 |
| 19 August – Newcastle | 19 August – Newcastle | 19 August – Newcastle | 2 | CBR Brave | 4 | | | |
| 4 | Newcastle Northstars | 1 | | Perth Thunder | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Perth Thunder | 4 | | | | | | |

## Schedule & results
### Exhibition games

2023 exhibition fixtures and results :
| Date | Time | Away | Score | Home | Location | Recap |
| 4 MAR | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 5–2 | Brisbane Lightning | Iceworld Boondal | Ref |
| 5 MAR | 15:30 | CBR Brave | 6–0 | Brisbane Lightning | Iceworld Boondal | Ref |
| 1 APR | 17:00 | Brisbane Lightning | 5–6 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | Ref |

### Regular season

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Arena | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | H | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | H | A | A | A | H | A |
| Result | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | L |
2023 fixtures and results :
| Date | Time | Away | Score | Home | Location |
| 16 APR | 15:30 | CBR Brave | 5–3 | Central Coast Rhinos | Erina Ice Arena |
| 22 APR | 17:15 | Sydney Ice Dogs | 2–3 (OT) | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 23 APR | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 2–8 | Sydney Bears | Macquarie Ice Rink |
| 29 APR | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 7–1 | Melbourne Ice | O’Brien Icehouse |
| 30 APR | 14:00 | CBR Brave | 2–3 (SO) | Melbourne Mustangs | O’Brien Icehouse |
| 06 MAY | 17:15 | Newcastle Northstars | 3–4 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 13 MAY | 15:30 | CBR Brave | 9–1 | Central Coast Rhinos | Erina Ice Arena |
| 20 MAY | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 4–1 | Sydney Ice Dogs | Macquarie Ice Rink |
| 27 MAY | 17:15 | Sydney Bears | 3–2 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 03 JUN | 17:15 | Brisbane Lightning | 5–9 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 04 JUN | 16:45 | Brisbane Lightning | 2–7 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 11 JUN | 16:45 | Melbourne Mustangs | 2–8 | CBR Brave | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium |
| 17 JUN | 17:15 | Newcastle Northstars | 4–5 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 18 JUN | 16:45 | Melbourne Ice | 7–9 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 24 JUN | 16:30 | CBR Brave | 7–4 | Perth Thunder | Perth Ice Arena |
| 01 JUL | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 7–3 | Brisbane Lightning | IceWorld Boondall |
| 02 JUL | 16:30 | CBR Brave | 9–2 | Brisbane Lightning | IceWorld Boondall |
| 08 JUL | 17:15 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 3–8 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 09 JUL | 16:45 | Adelaide Adrenaline | 1–8 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 15 JUL | 17:15 | Perth Thunder | 4–3 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 23 JUL | 16:45 | Central Coast Rhinos | 0–10 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 29 JUL | 17:00 | CBR Brave | 6–2 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium |
| 05 AUG | 16:30 | CBR Brave | 13–3 | Adelaide Adrenaline | IceArenA |
| 06 AUG | 12:30 | CBR Brave | 6–2 | Adelaide Adrenaline | IceArenA |
| 12 AUG | 17:15 | Central Coast Rhinos | 1–12 | CBR Brave | Phillip Ice Skating Centre |
| 13 AUG | 16:00 | CBR Brave | 5–7 | Newcastle Northstars | Hunter Ice Skating Stadium |

### Finals

Goodall Cup semi-final
Goodall Cup final

## Awards

No team awards announced by the Brave for 2023. No Canberra players or staff were awarded any AIHL season awards for the first time in team history.