Melbourne Ice The Melbourne Ice are a semi - professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League . The team plays its home games at the Olympic Ice Skating Centre ( OISC ) in Oakleigh South , a suburb of Monash which in turn is part of the Melbourne metropolitan area , but is set to move to the newly constructed Icehouse in Docklands for the 2010 season . History . The Ice first entered the league for the 2002 season , and during their first two seasons they split their home games between Oakleigh South and Bendigo . From 2004 onwards , all home games were played at the OISC , noted for being the smallest rink in the league , with its width about two - thirds that of a regulation Olympic - sized rink . Furthermore , loose netting replaces the high transparent boards associated with top - level hockey , and the puck is prone to leaving play with annoying frequency . Melbourne did not reach the playoffs in its first four seasons in the AIHL . Its first two seasons were coloured by several crushing defeats ; its second season combined a strong , low scoring home record with a poor away record , again containing many big losses . However , in 2005 , the Ice were competitive almost every week , both home and away , finishing 5 points out of the playoffs , and left rueing several third period fade - outs . Attendances for Ice games have increased markedly over the past seasons , with the small crowd area often packed to capacity towards the end of the 2005 season . Away teams from the north will almost always play Melbourne and the Adelaide Avalanche on consecutive days during a weekend - long road trip to the south ; however , the Ice play more double - points games than most teams due to these travel hassles for others . Melbourne ' s strongest rivalty exists with the Adelaide Avalanche , on the basis of southern location . The Ice are also one of many teams who have somewhat of a rivalry with the Newcastle North Stars , who along with Melbourne also entered the AIHL in 2002 , and who ultimately defeated the Ice in its first playoff game in 2006 . Fans have become accustomed to entertaining , high quality ( and often high scoring ) games when these teams meet . 2006 season . The season got off to a shaky start when the Ice lost its first three games , all at home , including both legs of its traditional double - header against the Adelaide Avalanche . Their form recovered , and they won the next six games , including three double - points games , to move to the top of the ladder , a position from which they continued to build . On 5 August 2006 , the Ice mathematically clinched the franchise ' s first minor premiership and guaranteed themselves a spot in the 2006 playoffs with a 5 - 3 win over Central Coast . On 2 September 2006 , they played their first ever playoff game against the fourth - placed Newcastle North Stars in Adelaide . Despite having swept the North Stars during the regular season , the Ice were exposed on the larger Adelaide rink and lost the game 6 - 1 . The following night , after the final , president Josh Puls and captain Brad Vigon were presented with the V . I . P . Cup , rewarding the Ice ' s minor premiership . 2007 season . The 2007 season again began with the traditional double - header against Adelaide , and home games against the Rhinos and Knights in the following weeks , yielding four consecutive regulation wins ( 6 - 1 , 5 - 4 , 5 - 3 , 4 - 1 ) . The following month featured four road games : a 3 - 4 a shoot - out loss and a 2 - 1 victory , against Adelaide ; a 3 - 0 victory against the Knights in Canberra for double points , and ; a 2 - 3 loss , the team ' s first in regulation , to the Bears in Penrith . The team then returned to Oakleigh for a string of three home games , with a 5 - 1 win over the Knights , and 5 - 4 and 4 - 3 shoot - out wins over the Bears and Northstars ( the first and second in club history ) . The following weekend , a high - scoring road trip to Brisbane saw a 7 - 3 win and a 5 - 8 loss to the Blue Tongues . Returning to Oakleigh the following weekend , Melbourne beat the Western Sydney Ice Dogs 6 - 4 . The ensuing road trip saw a 6 - 3 victory over the Rhinos for double points , and a disappointing 0 - 3 loss to the Bears . Back at Oakleigh , the Ice were underwhelming in a 3 - 2 win over the Rhinos , and were soundly beaten 3 - 6 by the Bears once again . After a week off , the Ice returned with a dominant 8 - 2 home win against the Ice Dogs . The following weekend a road trip saw a 5 - 4 shootout win against the Northstars for double points , clinching a playoffs berth for the Ice , and a 4 - 3 shootout loss against the Ice Dogs , again for double points . The Ice were disappointing in their final two games , home losses against Newcastle ( 0 - 1 ) and Brisbane ( 2 - 4 ) , giving them poor momentum heading into the finals . After results failed to fall their way in the final weekend , during which they were idle , the Ice lost the V . I . P . Cup to the Adelaide Avalanche . Drawn to face third placed Newcastle in another semi - final , the Ice were again unable to reach the final game , losing 3 - 6 . Forward Tommy Powell was awarded the inaugural AIHL MVP award . Powell was forced to be the Ice ' s offensive focal point during the first half of the season after Lliam Webster sustained a jaw injury in the first game , and he did so with great success . Stu Denman narrowly defeated Bears ' goaltender Pekka Kankaanranta to claim the best G . A . A . in the league of 2 . 87 . Five Ice players ( Tommy Powell , Lliam Webster , Brad Vigon , Joseph Hughes and Stu Denman ) were selected in the Australian squad of 22 . 2008 season . Melbourne , and goaltender Stu Denman , opened the 2008 season with two shut - outs : a clinical 2 - 0 win against the Canberra Knights at home , and a 3 - 0 road win in the first of the back - to - back games against the Adelaide Avalanche , the other game yielding a 6 - 5 shooutout win . They then lit up the scoreboard with a 7 - 2 win over Newcastle at home , and again the following weekend with a 6 - 1 win over Canberra on the road for double points . A home - and - home series over two weekends against the Bears yielded the first two losses for the season : 1 - 3 in Penrith for double points , and 3 - 4 at home . The following day , they defeated the Central Coast Rhinos 6 - 4 at home . In the two weeks that followed , they lost 2 - 3 in a shootout against the Knights , then beat the Western Sydney Ice Dogs 4 - 2 , both at home . A disastrous road trip following the departure of long - term defensemen Vinnie Hughes and Steve Laforet saw the Ice lose a double - points game 3 - 8 to the Northstars and a single - points game to the Ice Dogs 4 - 5 . They recovered two weeks later at home in the double - header weekend against the newly founded Adelaide A ' s winning 8 - 4 on Saturday and 4 - 0 on Sunday , for Denman ' s third shut - out of the year , then continued the following weekend with a 5 - 2 win over Newcastle and a 6 - 3 penalty - filled win over Gold Coast . Still at home the following weekend , the Ice fought out an 8 - 7 victory against the league - leading Bears . The Ice clinched a place in the finals the following week , scoring a goal with 9 . 2sec remaining to beat the Central Coast Rhinos in a road double points game by the score of 3 - 2 , however they were thumped by the Western Sydney Ice Dogs 2 - 8 the following day . Two weeks later , the Ice Dogs beat the Ice 1 - 3 in Oakleigh . The following week , a double - header in the Gold Coast saw a 4 - 6 loss and a 9 - 1 win against the Blue Tongues . In their final game of the regular season , the Ice beat the Central Coast Rhinos 8 - 1 at home . The Ice finished third behind Western Sydney on countback after finishing equal on points , and were drawn to play them in the semi - final in Newcastle . In a very tight game with excellent goaltending on both sides , the Ice and Ice Dogs finished regulation time tied at 1 - 1 , both teams scoring goals in the first period ; eventually , the Ice Dogs prevailed with a goal 30sec into overtime , consigning the Ice to a 1 - 2 loss . Lliam Webster was awarded with the league MVP award for 2008 . 2008 roster . 1 . Stu Denman : Starting goaltender , Australian representative < br > 2 . Lliam WebsterForward . Alternate Captain . Australian representative < br > 3 . Lee McLauchlan : Forward < br > 4 . Igor Skenderija : Defense , Import ( Sweden ) < br > 5 . Dylan Moore : Defense < br > 7 . Mark Howell : Backup goaltender < br > 9 . Jamie Bourke : Forward < br > 10 . Shane Hardy : Forward < br > 11 . Peter Matus : Defense , Former Australian representative < br > 12 . Thomas Powell : Forward , Australian representative < br > 13 . Thomas Zoeschg : Forward , Import ( Italy ) < br > 14 . Todd Graham : Defense < br > 15 . Sean Jones : Forward < br > 17 . Greg Sturrock : Forward , < br > 18 . Glen Mayer : Forward , Alternate Captain , < br > 19 . Doug " Bubba " Ferguson : Defense , Captain , Import ( Canada ) < br > 20 . Kyle Teague : Forward , Import ( Canada ) < br > 21 . Michael Beaton : Forward < br > 22 . Ryan Tremblay : Forward , Import ( Canada ) < br > 24 . Alain Giauque : Goaltender < br > 24 . Dahlen Phillips : Goaltender < br > 25 . Andrew Taylor : Forward Paul Watson : Head Coach < br > Roy Sargent : Assistant Coach < br > Rob Knesaurek : Assistant Coach Joshua Puls : President < br > Ian Webster : Vice President / Team Manager < br > Mark Weber : Founding President / Inaugural Life Member Radio and media . In an Australian first , Melbourne Ice home matches are broadcast live on Melbourne radio station DOUBLE X 1611 AM , and its internet site www . radio1611 . com . au Away games are covered on radio through Match Reports , presented after conclusion of the away fixtures .