Canberra Knights The Canberra Knights are a semi - professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League . The team plays its home games at the Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre in Phillip , a suburb of Australia ' s capital city , Canberra . The Knights have only been premiers once , in 1998 , in the now defunct ECSL , and have not made the finals since the formation of the AIHL . History . 1980 - 1993 . The Phillip Ice Skating and Swimming Centre opened in 1980 , and in 1981 the Canberra Knights were formed by a group of former hockey players , many who had not played in years , and they played in various exhibition match es against international and Australian teams . In 1982 the Knights were a founding member of the New South Wales Superleague , which was a Sydney based competition , taking on some of the best teams in Australia . In this first year the Knights were coached by Stuart Wright , and although it was unsuccessful for the Canberra Knights , they gained invaluable experience . In 1983 , the Canberra Knights were again entered into the NSW Superleague . Chuck Naish and Jim Fuyarchuk , formerly of the Macquarie Bears and the now defunct Warringah Bombers respectively , had been brought in as player / coaches . This was a big year and the combined talents soon became evident as the Canberra Knights proved they were a winning team . Ably assisted by some promising young players and the proven skills of the imported players , the Canberra Knights finished a close second to the Warringah Bombers in the playoffs . 1984 continued with the same team lineup , with the addition of two players , Dean Pollock ( from the Macquarie Bears ) , and Canadian import Bill Rose . The 1992 Knights featured Jason Elliott , a 16 year old Canadian goalie who migrated to Australia with his parents a year before . Jason , after representing Australia internationally in both senior and junior categories would later return to Canada to play Junior A Tier II hockey with Kimberley of the RMJHL . Jason was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 205th overall in 1994 directly from the RMJHL , and then went on to star for Cornell in NCAA Division 1 hockey . After a brief stint with Detroit in 2002 where he was third string goalie in the Red Wing ' s Stanley Cup victory , Jason went on to a long minor league career in both the USA and Europe before retiring following the 2006 - 07 season . 1994 - 1999 . While lasting for thirteen seasons , the NSW Superleague struggled to gain stability and could not continue . The league was reborn in 1994 , as the East Coast Super League . It continued with the same number of teams but was still largely based in the NSW area . Canberra ' s maiden ECSL championship came in 1998 when they won the premiership for the first time ever . The East Coast Super League has since been reformed as a junior ( under 23 ) competition which serves as a bridge between local league hockey and the national level . 2000 - 2007 . The Canberra Knights , along with the Sydney Bears and Adelaide Avalanche , founded the AIHL as a three - team competition following the disbanding of the ECSL in 2000 . 2002 saw the introduction of the Melbourne Ice , the Newcastle Northstars and the West Sydney Ice Dogs , increasing the number of teams in the league to 6 . The team finished just above the Melbourne Ice in 5th place , ending the season with 12 points and a fourth placed goaltender , Brad Hunt . In 2003 David Lewis , and import Saku Martakainen were both top scorers , but the Knights did not perform very well , ending the season in last place , not winning a single game . Since a playoff format was introduced to the AIHL in 2003 ( prior to this , minor premiers were champions ) , the Knights have not made the postseason . In 2005 , with new imports , such as Canadian goaltender Dylan Smart , the Knights were able to enter the 5th AIHL season stronger than ever , and nearly made the play - offs . With two new teams joining the league , the Brisbane Blue Tongues and Central Coast Rhinos , the Knights were one of the stronger and more stable teams of the league , winning 11 of 24 games and finishing in 5th place with 35 points . Coached by former player Laing Harrow , 2005 has been the strongest Canberra Knights AIHL season ever . In 2006 the Knights acquired Finnish player / coach Tommi Suutari , and they began the season relatively strong , winning a few games , but failed to continue this streak and ended up losing 25 out of 28 regular season games , one of the wins being a miraculous triumph over the Sydney Bears later in the season , finishing them off in a shoot - out at their home venue in Phillip . Despite this the Knights still finished in last place . This was also the season where an Australian ice hockey record was set , when Canberra lost 21 - 2 in a game against the Newcastle Northstars . The Knights lost head coach Tommi Suutari prior to the commencement of the 2007 season , as he had to return to Finland . Mike Harrow , who also played forward for the club , was appointed as head coach . Goaltender s were also changed , as Luke Fiveash became the Canberra Knights primary goalie , with Brad Hunt as a secondary . This season also saw the addition of Finnish imports Ari - Pekka Hakala , who went on to become the second highest scorer for the season , and Antti Teisala . During previous seasons the Knights were notorious for having very outdated and old away jerseys , but half way through the season there was a redesign , with the introduction of their current away jerseys . The team won their opening game of the 2007 season against the Brisbane Blue Tongues , but did not follow up their performance , losing the next 3 games . On Saturday the 5th of May the Knights had a compelling 5 - 3 win against a strong West Sydney side . Since this win , the Knights only won four more games , including the 9th of June against the Central Coast Rhinos , defeating them 7 - 0 . 2007 saw the Knights only winning two away games , including their last match of the season , against the Brisbane Blue Tongues , which eliminated them from the playoffs . The season also saw the exit of two veteran Knights players , long time goalie Brad Hunt , and Mike Harrow who served the team for many years in various roles , as coach and captain . The Canberra Knights finished the 2007 season on 20 points , in 7th place . 2008 . With the loss of Brad Hunt and Mike Harrow , the 2008 season will open the doors to new imports and junior players moving up to the AIHL . With goal tender Nick Eckhardt will getting more ice time with the team , and the likely return of Finnish imports Hakala and Teisala , the Canberra Knights are set to be a strong team in the 2008 AIHL season . Team Colours . Logo . The Canberra Knights logo shows a teal colored Knight wielding a hockey stick . Behind him is a silver shield , with the words Canberra Knights below him , and the entire logo is outlined in white . Prior to the 2005 season , the Knights had a logo which is now used on the away jerseys . It is simply a picture of a puck , with the words " Canberra Knights " printed across the front . Jerseys . The teams colours are teal , silver , black and white . The home jerseys for the Canberra Knights are black , and have the logo on the front , with the old logo on the shoulder , with white numbers and names . They are based on the San Jose Sharks alternate jerseys . The away jerseys are white and have the old logo on the front , with the new logo on the shoulder , and have black numbers and names . Prior to the 2005 season the Knights wore Teal colored jerseys , with the old logo on the front , and white numbers and names . Season - by - season record . Current Squad .