2023 AIHL season

The 2023 AIHL season was the 22nd season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The season consisted of 130 regular season games from 15 April to 13 August 2023, with the Goodall Cup finals consisting of two play-in matches, two semi-finals, and a grand final, following the regular season on 26–27 August 2023.
==League Business==
The 2023 regular season fixture list was released publicly by the AIHL on 2 November 2022. The AIHL Finals would be altered from 2022, moving to a two weekend format for the first time in league history.League trophies would continue to be consistent with previous seasons, with the league champion awarded the historic Goodall Cup and league premier awarded the H Newman Reid Trophy. The League confirmed that the Adelaide Adrenaline and Perth Thunder would be returning to the league for 2023, after both teams pulled out of competing in 2022. The Adrenaline had secured a new venue agreement with the IceArenA, paving the way for their return. While Western Australia no longer had any border restrictions, paving the way for the Thunder's return. A new paid subscription streaming service named AIHL.TV was introduced by the AIHL for season 2023. This marked the first time the league had ever brought in a paid streaming service for the regular season. All 130 regular season games and finals would be available live and on demand with yearly, monthly and weekly payment options.
===Expansion===
Following a successful 2022 exhibition schedule, the AIHL announced the Brisbane Lightning and Central Coast Rhinos had both been successful in obtaining full AIHL licences and would be officially joining the league and regular season for 2023. The two team expansion increased the league membership to ten teams for the first time, previously the highest membership number was nine teams in 2012.
During pre-season, there had been discussions about the possibility for the Brisbane Rampage to join the league following the collapse of the Australian Pacific Hockey League, however the AIHL season schedule had already been organised and released publicly and season preparation had already advanced past the stage to accommodate a late addition. There was no public mention of exhibition games involving the Rampage and/or a pathway to obtaining a licence for the 2024 season.
===Exhibition games===
In the lead up to Season 2023, eight exhibition games were organised between different AIHL teams. The Mustangs and Ice organised a two game series for February and March 2023. The second of these games doubled as a charity event for The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. The Mustangs, Ice, O'Brien Icehouse and The District Docklands raised $30,109 for the hospital's Good Friday Appeal. The Brave and Lightning arranged a three game series to replace the missed series in August 2022 when the Brave pulled out due to prepartions for the AIHL Finals. Two games would be played in Brisbane and one in Canberra. The Central Coast Rhinos lined up three pre-season games. One against the Sydney Bears at Erina Ice Arena and two against the Newcastle Northstars, one at Erina and one in Newcastle. In additional to the eight games, on 4 March 2023, the Melbourne Mustangs organised a delayed 10 year team anniversary reunion tournament invlolving current and former players, staff and supporters. The event saw 3 teams play in a round-robun tournament at O'Brien Icehouse.
2023 AIHL exhibition games	2023 AIHL exhibition games	2023 AIHL exhibition games	2023 AIHL exhibition games	2023 AIHL exhibition games	2023 AIHL exhibition games	2023 AIHL exhibition games
Date 	Time 	Away 	Score 	Home 	Location 	Recap
25 Feb 2023 	17:00 	Melbourne Ice 	3–1 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O'Brien Icehouse 	Ref
4 Mar 2023 	17:30 	CBR Brave 	5–4 	Brisbane Lightning 	Boondall Iceworld 	Ref
5 Mar 2023 	16:30 	CBR Brave 	6–0 	Brisbane Lightning 	Boondall Iceworld 	Ref
25 Mar 2023 	15:30 	Sydney Bears 	12–0 	Central Coast Rhinos 	Erina Ice Arena 	Ref
31 Mar 2023 	19:30 	Melbourne Mustangs 	6–2 	Melbourne Ice 	O'Brien Icehouse 	Ref
1 Apr 2023 	17:15 	Brisbane Lightning 	5–6 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	Ref
1 Apr 2023 	15:30 	Newcastle Northstars 	6–4 	Central Coast Rhinos 	Erina Ice Arena 	Ref
2 Apr 2023 	16:00 	Central Coast Rhinos 	3–10 	Newcastle Northstars 	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	Ref
==Regular season==
===Fixtures and results===
The 2023 regular season consists of 130 games that are scheduled to run from 15 April 2023 to 13 August 2023. For the first time since 2012, the AIHL regular season sees teams split into two conferences. Teams will play a total of 26 regular season games, playing each team in their conference four times (two at home and two away) and playing teams outside their conference twice. In May 2023, the game between Brisbane Lightning and Newcastle Northstars, scheduled for Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, had to be postponed due to luggage issues with the airline. In June 2023, the Sydney Bears were found to have accidentally breached the AIHL player cap regulations and penalised three competition points. The postponed Northstars vs Lightning game from May was rescheduled for 30 July 2023.
====April====
April 	April 	April	April 	April 	April 	April 	April
Game #	Date 	Time 	Away 	Score 	Home 	Location 	Recap
1 	15 Apr 2023	15:30	Brisbane Lightning 	17–0 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
2 	15 Apr 2023	16:30	Adelaide Adrenaline 	2–6 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
3 	15 Apr 2023	17:00	Newcastle Northstars	0–11 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
4 	15 Apr 2023	17:00	Sydney Bears 	6–3 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
5 	16 Apr 2023	14:00	Newcastle Northstars	4–8 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
6 	16 Apr 2023	15:30	CBR Brave 	5–3 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
7 	16 Apr 2023	17:00	Brisbane Lightning 	5–8 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
8 	22 Apr 2023	16:30	Central Coast Rhinos	0–15 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
9 	22 Apr 2023	16:30	Sydney Bears 	6–3 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
10 	22 Apr 2023	17:00	Perth Thunder 	4–2 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
11 	22 Apr 2023	17:30	Sydney Ice Dogs 	2–3 (OT)	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
12 	23 Apr 2023	14:00	Perth Thunder 	4–5 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
13 	23 Apr 2023	16:30	Central Coast Rhinos	0–6 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
14 	23 Apr 2023	17:00	CBR Brave 	2–8 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
15 	28 Apr 2023	19:30	Melbourne Ice 	1–7 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
16 	29 Apr 2023	15:30	Adelaide Adrenaline 	9–3 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
17 	29 Apr 2023	16:30	Brisbane Lightning 	2–5 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
18 	29 Apr 2023	17:00	Newcastle Northstars	3–2 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
19 	29 Apr 2023	17:00	CBR Brave 	7–1 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
20 	30 Apr 2023	14:00	CBR Brave 	2–3 (SO)	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
21 	30 Apr 2023	15:30	Adelaide Adrenaline 	7–2 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
====May====
May 	May 	May 	May 	May 	May 	May 	May
Game #	Date 	Time 	Away 	Score 	Home 	Location 	Recap
22 	5 May 2023 	19:30	Sydney Ice Dogs 	2–6 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
23 	6 May 2023 	16:30	Melbourne Mustangs 	2–1 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
24 	6 May 2023 	16:30	Adelaide Adrenaline 	3–8 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
25 	6 May 2023 	17:00	Melbourne Ice 	4–7 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
26 	6 May 2023 	17:30	Newcastle Northstars	3–4 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
27 	7 May 2023 	16:00	Central Coast Rhinos	3–13 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
28 	7 May 2023 	16:30	Melbourne Mustangs 	4–5 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
29 	7 May 2023 	16:30	Adelaide Adrenaline 	2–5 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
30 	7 May 2023 	17:00	Melbourne Ice 	5–3 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
31 	13 May 2023	15:30	CBR Brave 	9–1 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
32 	13 May 2023	16:30	Newcastle Northstars	4–2 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
33 	13 May 2023	16:30	Sydney Ice Dogs 	5–4 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
34 	13 May 2023	17:00	Brisbane Lightning 	3–8 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
35 	14 May 2023	14:00	Brisbane Lightning 	6–2 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
36 	14 May 2023	17:00	Central Coast Rhinos	2–5 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
37 	20 May 2023	16:30	Perth Thunder 	6–7 (SO) 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
38 	20 May 2023	17:00	Sydney Bears 	7–3 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
39 	20 May 2023	17:00	CBR Brave 	4–1 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
40 	20 May 2023	17:00	Central Coast Rhinos	4–8 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
41 	21 May 2023	14:00	Sydney Bears 	3–1 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
42 	26 May 2023	19:30	Melbourne Mustangs 	9–2 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
43 	27 May 2023	16:30	Melbourne Ice 	11–3 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
44 	27 May 2023	17:00	Perth Thunder 	4–9 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
45 	27 May 2023	17:00	Central Coast Rhinos	4–6 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
– 	27 May 2023	17:00	Brisbane Lightning 	Postponed	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
47 	27 May 2023	17:30	Sydney Bears 	3–2 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
48 	28 May 2023	14:00	Perth Thunder 	6–2 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
49 	28 May 2023	15:00	Brisbane Lightning 	5–8 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
====June====
June 	June 	June 	June 	June 	June 	June 	June
Game #	Date 	Time 	Away 	Score 	Home 	Location 	Recap
50 	3 Jun 2023 	16:30	Central Coast Rhinos	2–7 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
51 	3 Jun 2023 	17:00	Sydney ice Dogs 	5–9 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
52 	3 Jun 2023 	17:00	Adelaide Adrenaline 	2–6 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
53 	3 Jun 2023 	17:30	Brisbane Lightning 	5–9 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
54 	4 Jun 2023 	14:00	Sydney Ice Dogs 	8–9 (OT)	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
55 	4 Jun 2023 	15:00	Adelaide Adrenaline 	5–6 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
56 	4 Jun 2023 	16:00	Brisbane Lightning 	2–7 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
57 	10 Jun 2023	16:30	Melbourne Ice 	11–9 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
58 	10 Jun 2023	16:30	Central Coast Rhinos	6–3 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
59 	10 Jun 2023	17:00	Perth Thunder 	3–1 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
60 	10 Jun 2023	17:00	Melbourne Mustangs 	2–5 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
61 	11 Jun 2023	12:30	Central Coast Rhinos	6–5 (OT)	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
62 	11 Jun 2023	15:00	Perth Thunder 	5–6 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
63 	11 Jun 2023	16:00	Melbourne Mustangs 	2–8 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
64 	11 Jun 2023	17:00	Melbourne Ice 	4–8 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
65 	17 Jun 2023	15:30	Melbourne Ice 	14–8 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
66 	17 Jun 2023	16:30	Brisbane Lightning 	0–4 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
67 	17 Jun 2023	17:00	Perth Thunder 	6–1 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
68 	17 Jun 2023	17:30	Newcastle Northstars	4–5 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
69 	18 Jun 2023	12:30	Brisbane Lightning 	7–4 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
70 	18 Jun 2023	15:30	Newcastle Northstars	6–2 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
71 	18 Jun 2023	16:00	Melbourne Ice 	7–9 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
72 	18 Jun 2023	17:00	Perth Thunder 	6–5 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
73 	23 Jun 2023	19:30	Melbourne Ice 	3–6 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
74 	24 Jun 2023	16:30	CBR Brave 	7–4 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
75 	24 Jun 2023	16:30	Sydney Bears 	4–2 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
76 	24 Jun 2023	17:00	Central Coast Rhinos	4–11 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
77 	24 Jun 2023	17:00	Adelaide Adrenaline 	2–5 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
78 	25 Jun 2023	14:00	Central Coast Rhinos	3–4 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
79 	25 Jun 2023	15:00	Adelaide Adrenaline 	2–11 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
====July====
July 	July 	July 	July 	July 	July 	July 	July
Game #	Date 	Time 	Away 	Score 	Home 	Location 	Recap
80 	1 Jul 2023 	15:30	Melbourne Mustangs 	9–7 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
81 	1 Jul 2023 	16:30	CBR Brave 	7–3 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
82 	1 Jul 2023 	16:30	Perth Thunder 	6–2 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
83 	1 Jul 2023 	17:00	Melbourne Ice 	2–6 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
84 	1 Jul 2023 	17:00	Sydney Ice Dogs 	2–8 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
85 	2 Jul 2023 	15:00	Melbourne Ice 	3–4 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
86 	2 Jul 2023 	15:30	Sydney Ice Dogs 	9–5 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
87 	2 Jul 2023 	16:30	CBR Brave 	9–2 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
88 	2 Jul 2023 	17:00	Melbourne Mustangs 	3–8 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
89 	8 Jul 2023 	16:30	Melbourne Ice 	4–5 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
90 	8 Jul 2023 	16:30	Melbourne Mustangs 	6–1 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
91 	8 Jul 2023 	17:00	Newcastle Northstars	5–1 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
92 	8 Jul 2023 	17:30	Adelaide Adrenaline 	3–8 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
93 	9 Jul 2023 	16:00	Adelaide Adrenaline 	1–8 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
94 	9 Jul 2023 	16:30	Melbourne Ice 	7–5 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
95 	9 Jul 2023 	17:00	Melbourne Mustangs 	9–2 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
96 	14 Jul 2023	19:30	Sydney Bears 	7–1 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
97 	15 Jul 2023	16:30	Newcastle Northstars	9–5 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
98 	15 Jul 2023	17:00	Melbourne Mustangs 	6–4 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
99 	15 Jul 2023	17:30	Perth Thunder 	4–3 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
100 	16 Jul 2023	12:30	Newcastle Northstars	5–2 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
101 	16 Jul 2023	17:00	Melbourne Mustangs 	5–2 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
102 	21 Jul 2023	19:30	Melbourne Mustangs 	11–4 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
103 	22 Jul 2023	16:30	Sydney Ice Dogs 	2–11 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
104 	22 Jul 2023	16:30	Newcastle Northstars	5–8 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
105 	22 Jul 2023	17:00	Sydney Bears 	4–2 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
106 	23 Jul 2023	14:00	Sydney Bears 	9–7 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
107 	23 Jul 2023	16:00	Central Coast Rhinos	0–10 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
108 	23 Jul 2023	16:30	Sydney Ice Dogs 	2–7 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
109 	23 Jul 2023	16:30	Newcastle Northstars	6–5 (SO)	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
110 	29 Jul 2023	15:30	Perth Thunder 	13–1 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
111 	29 Jul 2023	17:00	Adelaide Adrenaline 	2–5 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
112 	29 Jul 2023	17:00	Sydney Ice Dogs 	3–5 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
113 	29 Jul 2023	17:00	CBR Brave 	6–2 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
114 	30 Jul 2023	14:00	Adelaide Adrenaline 	5–7 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
46 	30 Jul 2023	15:00	Brisbane Lightning 	4–7 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
115 	30 Jul 2023	15:30	Sydney Bears 	4–2 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
116 	30 Jul 2023	17:00	Perth Thunder 	8–4 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
====August====
August	August 	August	August 	August	August 	August 	August
Game #	Date 	Time 	Away 	Score 	Home 	Location 	Recap
117 	5 Aug 2023 	15:30 	Brisbane Lightning 	20–1 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
118 	5 Aug 2023 	16:30 	CBR Brave 	13–3 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
119 	5 Aug 2023 	17:00 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	8–10 	Melbourne Ice 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
120 	5 Aug 2023 	17:00 	Sydney Bears 	6–5 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
121 	6 Aug 2023 	12:30 	CBR Brave 	6–2 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
122 	6 Aug 2023 	14:00 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	3–7 	Melbourne Mustangs 	O’Brien Icehouse 	
123 	6 Aug 2023 	15:30 	Newcastle Northstars	18–5 	Central Coast Rhinos	Erina Ice Arena 	
124 	6 Aug 2023 	17:00 	Brisbane Lightning 	4–6 	Sydney Bears 	Macquarie Ice Rink 	
125 	12 Aug 2023	16:30 	Sydney Bears 	3–2 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
126 	12 Aug 2023	16:30 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	8–5 	Brisbane Lightning 	Iceworld Boondall 	
127 	12 Aug 2023	16:30 	Melbourne Mustangs 	2–5 	Adelaide Adrenaline 	IceArenA 	
128 	12 Aug 2023	17:30 	Central Coast Rhinos	1–12 	CBR Brave 	Phillip Ice Skating Centre	
129 	13 Aug 2023	16:00 	CBR Brave 	5–7 	Newcastle Northstars	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium	
130 	13 Aug 2023	16:30 	Sydney Bears 	1–6 	Perth Thunder 	Perth Ice Arena 	
Key:
Winner
===Standings===
====Overall====
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 	
====Hellyer Conference====
Pos	Team 	Pld	W 	OTW	OTL	L 	GF 	GA 	GD 	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1 	Sydney Bears 	26 	21	0 	0 	5 	132	81 	51 	60 	2023 Goodall Cup Finals
2 	Melbourne Mustangs	26 	17	2 	0 	7 	147	94 	53 	55 	2023 Goodall Cup Finals
3 	Perth Thunder 	26 	17	0 	1 	8 	141	90 	51 	52 	2023 Goodall Cup Finals
4 	Melbourne Ice 	26 	10	0 	0 	16	144	165	−21	30 	
5 	Sydney Ice Dogs 	26 	7 	0 	2 	17	104	159	−55	23 	
====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 	
==Goodall Cup playoffs==
For season 2023, the AIHL adopted a new two weekend Finals format. The new format involved two play-in finals games during the first weekend and then two semi-finals and grand final in the second weekend. The new format involved single elimination games, with the losing team eliminated and winning team advancing to the next round. Participating teams in the AIHL Finals increased from four to six for the first time in league history. Qualification for Finals involved the highest three ranking teams from each AIHL regular season conference (Hellyer and Rurak). The top ranked teams from each conference would automatically qualify for the semi-finals, with the second and third ranked teams entering Finals at the play-in stage with a conference cross-over. The winner of Finals would continue to be named AIHL Champions and lift the historic Goodall Cup, just as it has been in previous seasons.
Melbourne's O'Brien Icehouse and Newcastle's Hunter Ice Skating Stadium were selected as host venues for the 2023 AIHL Finals. Newcastle hosting one of the play-in games and Melbourne hosting the other play-in as well as the second weekend. Following the conclusing of the 2023 AIHL regular season, the CBR Brave and Sydney Bears finished top of their respective conferences to directly qualify for the semi-finals in Melbourne in week two. The Melbourne Mustangs, Newcastle Northstars, Perth Thunder and Brisbane Lightning qualified for the play-ins in week one. The Northstars would play the Thunder in Newcastle and the Mustangs would play the Lightning in Melbourne.
===Play-in finals===
===Semi-finals===
===Final===
==External links==
*The Australian Ice Hockey League
*Ice Hockey Australia
Category:2023 in ice hockey
2023