Sydney Wolf Pack

The Sydney Wolf Pack are an Australian junior ice hockey team based in Sydney playing in the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League. They represent one of the two junior ice hockey teams from New South Wales currently playing in the AJIHL, which is the most elite level for ice hockey at a national level for ages between 16–20 years old.

Sydney Wolf Pack
CitySydney
LeagueAustralian Junior Ice Hockey League
Founded18 September 2012
Home arenaPenrith Ice Palace
Owner(s)New South Wales Ice Hockey Association
General managerMiranda Ransome
Nabil Fahmy
Head coachAndrew Reynolds
Steve Ransome
CaptainDylan Alavert
Franchise history
2012–2013Sydney Maple Leafs
2013–presentSydney Wolf Pack
Championships
AJIHL Championships2 (2013), (2015)
Current season

Team history

AJIHL

The Sydney Maple Leafs were founded 18 September 2012 following the announcement by Ice Hockey Australia of the formation of the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League.[1] The team is controlled by the New South Wales Ice Hockey Association.[1] On 14 October 2012 it was announced that Sydney Bears player Steven Adams and Paul Kelly had signed on as coaches for the 2012–13 AJIHL season.[2]

The first team in club history: For the 2012–13 AJIHL season[2][3]

#NatNamePosDate of BirthAcquiredBirthplace
19Saxon AirF25 March 19952012Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia
17Spencer AustinD5 March 19922012Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
18Nolan BarlowF16 September 19942012
6Adrian BraunF3 June 19942012
20Dylan BurgessG8 March 19942012
1Jake BurgessG26 June 19942012
13Scott ClemieF16 December 19942012Scunthorpe, England, United Kingdom
9Sam CookD26 July 19932012Sydney, Australia
12Dexter CroweF3 June 19962012Sydney, Australia
25Jonathan HughesG7 June 19952012
5Chris JohnsonF2012
11James KeatingF2 March 19922012
16Tyler KubaraF28 November 19942012Wombarra, New South Wales, Australia
15Samuel LammertF26 July 19942012Gosford, New South Wales, Australia
3Ilman LeeD3 March 19942012
7Riley MajorD9 January 19962012
2Kieran PooleF20 February 19962012
8Cameron RoseD28 January 19942012
10Jayden RyanF21 October 19922012

AJIHL expansion

The follow-up season in the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League saw a lot of change via expansion and renaming of its existing teams. The Sydney Maple Leafs were renamed the Sydney Wolf Pack in September 2013.[4][5] The changes were made in response to the National Hockey Leagues concern about the AJIHL using their team names and logos but also recognised the opportunity to create a new history for the teams through creating their own identity. In October 2013 the league expanded to six teams with two teams from Perth, the Sharks and the Pelicans, joining for the start of the 2013–14 season.[6]

Logo and uniform

2012–2013 Sydney Maple Leafs
Sydney Maple Leafs used this logo between 2012 and 2013

In their first year, and the inaugural AJIHL season, the Sydney Maple Leafs wore a uniform that resembled the NHL namesake Toronto Maple Leafs. The key difference with the logo design was the exclusion of the word Toronto within the leaf emblem. The jersey design and uniform otherwise bore close resemblance to the Toronto Maple Leaf design, with the AJIHL logo used for shoulder crests.[7]

2013–present Sydney Wolf Pack
Sydney Wolf Pack uniform 1 March 2015

Season by season results

2012 – 2013

In the inaugural season of the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League, the Sydney Wolf Pack began as the Sydney Maple Leafs. The beginning of the regular season saw the team not winning a game with the closest contest being an overtime loss to the Sydney Lightning. The Sydney Maple Leafs would record their first win as a club on 8 December 2012 against the Sydney Lightning in a 2–1 victory. Both goals scored in this historic win were scored by forward Dexter Crowe in the 2nd period about 5 minutes apart.[8]

After starting off without a win, the Sydney Maple Leafs would go on to win 4 out of their last 6 games, one of which was in overtime.

In the post season finals, the Sydney Maple Leafs would continue their improved from by defeating the Sydney Lightning by a convincing 7–2 scoreline in the semi-finals. The finals series would be against the Melbourne Red Wings in a best of 3 format. The Sydney Maple Leafs won the series 2–1 after winning the final game of the series 1–0 from a first period goal by forward Scott Clemie.[9]

Season GP W OTW SOW OTL SOL L PTS GF GA Finish
2012–13144002082434523rd
Finals GP W OTW OTL L GF GA Finish
2013 Finals43101249AJIHL Champions

2013 – 2014

The follow-up season in the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League saw a lot of change via expansion and renaming of its existing teams. The Sydney Maple Leafs were renamed the Sydney Wolf Pack in September 2013.[4][5] The changes were made in response to the National Hockey Leagues concern about the AJIHL using their team names and logos but also recognised the opportunity to create a new history for the teams through creating their own identity. In October 2013 the league expanded to six teams with two teams from Perth, the Sharks and the Pelicans, joining for the start of the 2013–14 season.[6] The finals format of a best of 3 was discontinued and the league adopted a gold-silver-bronze format which saw the 4th place Sydney Wolf Pack miss out on post season competition.

Season GP W OTW SOW OTL SOL L PTS GF GA Finish
2013–14156010172145494th
Finals GP W OTW OTL L GF GA Finish
2014 Finals0000000Did not play

2014 – 2015
Season GP W OTW SOW OTL SOL L PTS GF GA Finish
2014–15157020082430344th
Finals GP W OTW OTL L GF GA Finish
2015 Finals2210087AJIHL Champions

Players

Current roster

For the 2016–17 AJIHL season[10]

#NatNamePosDate of BirthAcquiredBirthplace
2Alex RossF2016
4James UrweissF2016
5Luke ZvonicekF30 August 19962015
6Dylan LaveryF2015
7Harry GoodF2015
8Matthew KoppD2016
9Alberic BenjaminF4 June 20002016Calgary, Alberta, Canada
11Tom RobertsD2015
12James MerinoeD2016
13Lachlan McKenzieF2016
14Alex EliasD2015
15Danny BlazevicD2015
16Luca TramonteF2016
17Brendan KongF14 April 19942014
18Nicholas WeilandD2016
19Liam ChalkerD2016
37Jake KnottF21 June 19962013
1Ignacy BenjaminG15 March 19992016

Captains

Head coaches

The first head coach for the Sydney Maple Leafs in the inaugural year for the AJIHL was Steven Adams.[11]

Awards and trophies
Sydney Wolf Pack AJIHL Championship Team 1 March 2015.

See also

References
  1. Hewitt, Andrew (20 September 2012). "AJIHL Teams Announced". Hewitt Sports Network. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  2. Hewitt, Andrew (14 October 2012). "AJIHL rosters finalised". Hewitt Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  3. "Sydney Maple Leafs". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  4. "Formerly the Sydney Maple Leafs". Sydney Wolf Pack. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  5. "Coaches Welcome the Sydney Sabres". Sydney Sabres. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  6. "AJIHL National Junior League Kicks Off in Perth". Ice Hockey WA. 21 October 2013. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  7. Hewitt, Andrew. "Maple Leafs Break Through As Lightning Crack". Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  8. "Official Game Sheet". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  9. "Official Game Sheet". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  10. "AJIHL rosters finalised". Ice Hockey NSW. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  11. Hewitt, Andrew. "AJIHL Rosters Finalised". Retrieved 17 September 2015.
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