Melbourne Ice (Women)

The Melbourne Ice is an Australian amateur ice hockey team from Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 2005, the Ice have been a member of the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) since inception in 2007. The Ice are based at the O'Brien Icehouse, located in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne. The team has won eight Joan McKowen trophies and are five time league premiers, making them the most successful national ice hockey team in Australia.
==History==
Founded in 2005 as the Melbourne Fire, the Melbourne Dragons were one of four founding teams of the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League (AWIHL). The Dragons participated in the National Women's Program Showcase Series in 2006 and 2006/07 before the formal national league, the AWIHL, started in 2007/08. The Dragons joined the new league along with the Adelaide Assassins, Brisbane Goannas and Sydney Sirens.
In 2010, the Dragons entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Melbourne Ice Hockey Club, who operate the Australian Ice Hockey League men's team. The agreement saw the Ice buy into the club as a minority partner, with the Dragons retaining majority share. The Dragons re-branded to the Melbourne Ice Women and started trading under the name Melbourne Ice. The team also moved into the Olympic sized Henke Rink at the Melbourne Icehouse within the Docklands precinct of Melbourne.
In 2011, the team won its first national championship and trophy. The Ice defeated the Sydney Sirens in the final to clinch the title and their maiden Joan McKowen Trophy. The Melbourne Ice placed second in the league standings at the end of the regular season with eight wins from twelve matches. In the finals, the Ice came up against the Sydney Sirens in a two match series for the Joan McKowen Trophy. In game one, the Ice shutout the Sirens and secured a 1-0 victory. In game two, the Ice maintained the goal difference to win 2-1 in a shootout and claim the national championship and the Joan McKowen Trophy.
The Ice became an AWIHL powerhouse in the 2010s. After their first title in 2011 the team went on to win another six championships and five premierships in the following eight years, including four straight premiership-championship doubles between 2013 and 2016. The last four Joan McKowen Trophy finals the Ice have contested, they have versed rivals Sydney Sirens. They have defeated the Sirens in every final match the two teams have faced each other. In 2019, the two teams met for the grand prize at the Adelaide IceArenA. The match was a tight affair with both teams locked at three-all with one minute left in regulation time. The Ice won the match and the trophy through a Bettina Meyers goal with 36.7 seconds left on the clock.
In 2019, the Melbourne Ice women were ranked 23rd in the Australasia Best Sporting Team (ABST) top twenty-five list. Produced by Platinum Asset Management and GAIN LINE Analytics, the list represents an analytical approach to measuring success in team sports in Australia and New Zealand within a rolling five-year period.
==Season by season results==
Champions	Runners-up	Third place
Melbourne Dragons all-time record	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record 	Melbourne Dragons all-time record
Season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	
Season 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2007-08 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	Information not available 	
2008-09 	12 	– 	3 	9 	– 	– 	3 	4th 	2 	– 	2 	Fourth 	Lost 1-5 (Sirens) 	– 	Lost 0-3 (Goannas) 	– 	
2009-10 	14 	5 	2 	7 	– 	– 	12 	3rd 	1 	– 	1 	Semi-finalist 	Lost 4-3 (Sirens) 	– 	– 	– 	
Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record 	Melbourne Ice all-time record
Season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	Finals weekend 	
Season 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2010-11 	12 	8 	– 	4 	– 	– 	24 	2nd 	2 	2 	– 	Champion 	Won 1-0 (Sirens) 	– 	– 	Won 2-1 (Sirens) 	
2011-12 	12 	7 	– 	5 	– 	– 	20 	2nd 	2 	1 	1 	Runner-up 	Won 7-3 (Adrenaline) 	– 	– 	Lost 5-7 (Adrenaline) 	
2012-13 	14 	12 	– 	2 	– 	– 	36 	1st 	2 	2 	– 	Champion 	Won 3-2 (Adrenaline) 	– 	– 	Won 3-2 (Adrenaline) 	
2013-14 	12 	10 	– 	1 	1 	– 	32 	1st 	2 	2 	– 	Champion 	Won 2-0 (Adrenaline) 	– 	– 	Won 2-0 (Adrenaline) 	
2014-15 	12 	10 	– 	– 	1 	1 	33 	1st 	2 	2 	– 	Champion 	Won 2-8 (Adrenaline) 	– 	– 	Won 6-0 (Sirens) 	
2015-16 	12 	8 	– 	2 	1 	1 	27 	1st 	3 	2 	1 	Champion 	Lost 2-8 (Sirens) 	Won 7-4 (Goannas) 	– 	Won 7-6 (SO) (Sirens) 	
2016-17 	12 	5 	– 	5 	1 	1 	18 	3rd 	2 	1 	1 	Third 	Lost 0-3 (Goannas) 	– 	Won 14-1 (Rush) 	– 	
2017-18 	12 	8 	– 	4 	– 	– 	24 	2nd 	2 	2 	– 	Champion 	Won 5-1 (Goannas) 	– 	– 	Won 4-2 (Sirens) 	
2018-19 	12 	10 	– 	1 	– 	1 	31 	1st 	2 	2 	– 	Champion 	Won 9-2 (Goannas) 	– 	– 	Won 4-3 (Sirens) 	
2019-20 	12 	7 	1 	3 	– 	1 	23 	3rd 	2 	1 	1 	Third 	Lost 2-4 (Rush) 	– 	Won 4-3 (Inferno) 	– 	
2020-21 	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Two seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	
2022-23 	12 	8 	– 	2 	1 	1 	27 	1st 	2 	1 	1 	Runner-up 	Won 5-2 (Inferno) 	- 	- 	Lost 2-5 (Sirens) 	
==Championships==
*Joan McKowen Trophy 
:Champions (7): 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
: Runners-up (2): 2012, 2023
*West Lakes Trophy (repurposed as league premiership trophy in 2010)
:Premiers (5): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019
: Runners-up (3): 2011, 2012, 2018
==References==
== External links ==
*Australian Women's Hockey League official site
*Adelaide Adrenaline official site
*Brisbane Goannas official site
*Melbourne Ice official Site
*Sydney Sirens
Category:Ice hockey teams in Australia