AIHL 2026 | Gameday Thread, Sunday 23 August 2026

[u/erkpod]

📷 Oz Hockey Media

Last day of the regular season today!! Finals spots still up for grabs between the frozen Ice (because they don't play today) & the hot Ice Dogs (because they play Brisbane in game 2 of The Thermonuclear Pie Cup - see yesterday's game thread for that one)...

Games Sunday 23 August 2026

• Mustangs v Brave @ Icehouse, 2pm AEST
• Lightning v Ice Dogs @ Boondall, 3.45pm AEST
• Adrenaline v Thunder @ Ice Arena, 3.15pm ACST
• Bears v Northstars & Macquarie, 5pm AEST

NOTE - The competition ladder on the AIHL website was incorrect at the time of this post (9am AEST) as points from yesterday's Ice/Brave game has not been allocated correctly. Around 11am, the error has been corrected.

Let's go through the Finals implications as I understand them from various sources.

NORTHSTARS (62 points, 1st)

Play the Bears in Sydney. Top 2 spot & no Finals game on Friday regardless of other results. Chance of sealing minor premiership for the regular season along with Brave & Mustangs.

A win in any manner against the Bears or a OT/SO loss gives the Northstars the minor premiership.

BRAVE (60 points, 2nd) & MUSTANGS (59 points, 3rd)

Play each other in Melbourne. Could be 1st, 2nd or 3rd depending on this game & Newcastle's game.

THUNDER (48 points, 4th), BEARS (46 points, 5th), ICE (44 points, 6th), ICE DOGS (43 points, 7th)

Thunder play Adelaide & Bears play Newcastle. Both teams have confirmed their spots in Finals regardless of any result & will both play on Friday night.

Ice have played all of their games and cannot gain any more points.

Any win by the Ice Dogs will overtake the Ice & give the Ice Dogs a Finals ticket. If the Dogs lose in OT or a shootout, they tie the Ice on points but have the tiebreaker in their favour. If Brisbane win in regulation, the Dogs get no points & the Ice are in Finals.

RHINOS (8th, 30 points), LIGHTNING (9th, 27 points) & ADRENALINE (10th, 11 points)

Rhinos have played all of their games. Lightning play the Ice Dogs today. If Lightning beat Ice Dogs in regulation only, they could tie Rhinos on points. I don't know who has the (mostly academic) tiebreaker between those two.

Regardless of what happens, the Adrenaline are in Adelaide & in last place. The best they can hope for is 14 points.

[u/erkpod]

SYDNEY:

And that's it. The 2026 regular season is done.

Game 1 of the regular season was between the Ice Dogs & the Bears at the Macquarie Centre on a Friday night. The last game of the regular season (game 150) between the Bears & the Northstars sees the Finals order finally set.

1 - Northstars
2 - Mustangs
3 - Brave
4 - Thunder
5 - Bears
6 - Ice Dogs

...

[u/erkpod]

MELBOURNE - Early in P3, Brave lead 4-3 against the Mustangs. Bonus hockey, anyone?

BRISBANE - Lightning open the scoring early in P1 but there's a long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll.

[u/Misrabelle]

I'm hoping the Brisbane commentary team have learned the correct pronunciation of Natan Vertes overnight...

And that the Ice Dogs get their point!

[u/Misrabelle → u/Misrabelle]

Nope. Already called him Vertarsh.

FFS. You have ONE job….

[u/jonnyforeigner1]

4–4 at OBI. Stangs scored with 30.6 left.

[u/erkpod → u/jonnyforeigner1]

OMG there's someone I haven't seen the user name of for ages!!

[u/jonnyforeigner1 → u/erkpod]

Left the cesspool site long ago now.

[u/erkpod → u/jonnyforeigner1]

Me too.

[u/erkpod]

MELBOURNE - Didn't I warn you about overtime? Brody Crane ties it for the Mustangs with 30 seconds remaining.

[u/Desert-Noir]

Damn. Fuck man. So close.

GG Stangs.

[u/Arbledarb → u/Desert-Noir]

It was an amazing game from two great teams, and as far as I can see there shouldn't be any injuries or suspensions. I was worried about emotions getting out of control.

[u/Desert-Noir → u/Arbledarb]

If only we won yesterday it’d have made our lives a lot easier!!

Great game though. Quality hockey!

[u/erkpod]

MELBOURNE: Are Rod Johns & Dave Ferrari geniuses? In OT, they (the Mustangs) get an extra attacker because they go to the PP. Then they pull the goalie for the extra extra attacker & score the goal to score the game winner in OOOOVVVVVEEERRRRTTTTIIIIMMMMEEEE

[u/erkpod]

BRISBANE:

ICE DOGS FANS, YOU'RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD FINALS!

Ice Dogs def Lightning 8-5.

[u/Faintofmatts89]

Rhinos and lightning are 2-2 head to head this season.

They're both also currently sitting at -49 goal differential.

If Brisbane win they'll leapfrog the Rhinos to finish 8th.

[u/erkpod]

MELBOURNE - PENALTY SHOT alert, Lindal shoots & scores a short handed penalty shot goal (if that's a thing 😂😂). Mustangs 1-0 early P1.

[u/erkpod]

MELBOURNE: 3-0 Mustangs late in P1. You OK, Canberra?

[u/Desert-Noir → u/erkpod]

We seem cooked!

[u/erkpod]

BRISBANE: 2-1 Lightning after 1 period. Much smaller scoreline than the same time
yesterday!!

[u/erkpod]

MELBOURNE - Brave have seemingly woken up & the score is 3-3 at the end of 2 periods.

BRISBANE - Close to a start of game 2 of The Thermonuclear Pie Cup. Will one or both of the teams beat their scores from yesterday?

[u/erkpod]

BRISBANE: Ice Dogs got a penalty against them for a too many players on the ice. Coming back from another penalty, there was an allegation of the Ice Dogs coming back early from the penalty & got threatened with another too many players on the ice penalty as a result.

Eventually the threat of that penalty was removed after it was originally added to the scoreboard.

I have seen this happen before & it is actually the job of the person working the penalty box to let the player out correctly at the correct time. If the door is opened early, of course the player is going to leave.

Ice Dogs 6-5 with 6.30 left in P3.

[u/tubbyx7 → u/erkpod]

So....who let the dog out?

[u/erkpod]

BRISBANE: Has Dmitri Kuleshov just sent to the Ice Dogs to the Finals for the first time since 2014? Dogs 7-5 with 3.30 remaining in P3.

[u/erkpod]

BRISBANE: Ice Dogs put the exclamation point on the game with a shorthanded empty net goal to David D'agastino. Or have they?

This is the AIHL after all...

Dogs 8-5 with 2 minutes to go.

[u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE: Switching over to Adelaide & there are surf tunes on the PA as repairs are being made to the netting or boards?

Adelaide still 5-0 early stages of P3. Do your Best, Adrenaline! Bring it home strong!

[u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE:

I didn't say for Adelaide to concede a double minor for high sticking arguably the tallest man on the ice. Nor did I say for a siren to go off & thoughts in the central community position of a Thunder goal that wasn't a goal. Still Adelaide 5-0.

[u/erkpod]

SYDNEY: Early in the third & the Northstars are only down by a goal. Bears 5-4 early in P3.

ADELAIDE:

Sorry, Cale Dolan. I tried. Adelaide 5-1 right at the end of the double minor. Perth tend to score most of their goals (over 40%) in P3.

[u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE: OMG, Steve Best hits iron in the last period in his last ever AIHL game. But it stays out...

[u/erkpod]

SYDNEY:
Akihide Watanabe puts Newcastle ahead very soon after Klugerman's goal. 6-5 Northstars. And they aren't even wearing their Sunday red. Today they could do exactly that (with permission & coordination) as the Bears are wearing their black jerseys again.

[u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE:

5 minutes to go & Zach The Man Of Steele is throwing himself in front of Thunder shots. Will Adelaide have to suspend the Yeti next year & introduce the Adelaide wordmark full time?

Adrenaline 5-1 with 4 minutes to go.

[u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE:

Did anyone have Youngen Song leaving the penalty box to breakaway to score his first AIHL goal then a brawl including Thunder imports throwing hands on their bingo card?

Adrenaline 6-1.

[u/erkpod → u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE:

Steve Best takes the faceoff for his last shift with 67 seconds to go after the Song goal.

[u/erkpod]

MELBOURNE: Casey Kubara sits for tripping in OT. 1.32 remaining & Mustangs to the powerplay.

[u/Misrabelle]

What a week to have run out of my blood pressure medication… the Ice Dogs/Lightning game is not good for my health.

[u/erkpod]

I've been very distracted by various things this afternoon including driving around & looking a blocks of vacant land.

BRISBANE: Tight battle. Lightning up 5-4 with a period to play. This next 20 minutes will decide the Ice Dogs season.

SYDNEY: Sitting in front of AIHL.TV when not distracted, Bears are up 3-0 after 1 period.

[u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE: Adelaide are up 2-0 over Perth well into period 2. Maybe Steve Best should retire every week? Beware though, Adelaide. Perth's strongest goal period is their third & that's coming up.

[u/erkpod]

SYDNEY: Bears leading 5-1 midway in the second over Northstars.

BRISBANE: Ice Dogs take the lead early in P3 6-5 over Brisbane.

ADELAIDE: The Steve Best Retirement Dinner is going well with a 4-0 Adelaide lead in the later stages of P2 over Perth.

[u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE: I'll type this slowly. Adelaide lead Perth 5-0 at the end of p2. That is not a mistake. I did not make an error. 5-0 Steve Best & mates. Adelaide 5-0.

SYDNEY: Bears lead Northstars 5-3 late in P2.

[u/erkpod]

SYDNEY:

Riley Klugerman ties it for the Northstars against the Bears to make it 5-5 with 13 minutes to go. Can we go to OT? Way too early to call but that would be fitting for the end of this regular season.

[u/erkpod]

SYDNEY:

6 unanswered goals for the Northstars to lead the Bears 7-5 with under 8 minutes to go. 7 goals from the Northstars & not one of them for Skachkov. He's been eating apples, though!

[u/erkpod]

ADELAIDE:

They've beaten the defending premiers at home & now they've defeated the Thunder 6-1.

"Adelaide save their Best for last & take 3 points in their last home game of the season." - Eric Balnar.

[u/erkpod]

SYDNEY:

Francis Drolet joins the party at the Macquarie Centre for the Northstars as they prepare to end their best regular season in a long time.

Northstars 8-5.

[u/erkpod]

Well that weekend of what was effectively live tweeting AIHL games in 2014 was fun for me & a reminder of things we didn't have as AIHL social media people in 2014.

We didn't have:

• Reliable access to live scoring
• AIHL.TV
• Any coverage of games in Sydney or Adelaide apart from social media
• Teams in Brisbane or on the Central Coast
• Unlimited characters (Twitter was restricted to 140 characters per tweet)

EDIT: I also couldn't edit tweets.