Network Hockey

Network Hockey AIHL Power Rankings

1. Newcastle Northstars. The Northstars keep the top spot despite a split on the weekend.... but the gap is narrowing. Up next: A single game at home against the Ice Dogs

2. Perth Thunder. The Thunder picked up 2 wins again Adelaide, including a marathon 16 round shootout., and it has them knocking at the door at the top of the ladder.

3. Sydney Ice Dogs. The Ice Dogs showed a lot of fight coming back from 2 goals down late against the Ice before losing in overtime. Up next: A trip to Newcastle as they look to stay in the fight for a top 2 spot.

4. Melbourne Mustangs. Another week another split weekend for the Mustangs. This time it was in Canberra against the brave. Up next: A quick trip to Sydney to take on the Bears before returning home to take on the Rhinos

5. Melbourne Ice. 5-8 is suddenly getting interesting as the Ice have won 3 straight and are to getting some more import help with the return of Tatsu Ishida, John Aonso, and the just announces return of Tyrone Bronte. Up next: A home game against the Rhinos

6. Canberra Brave. Winners of 3 out of their last 4, the brave are looking to make a late charge up the ladder just as they have done each of the last 2 years. Up next: 2 games at home against Adelaide

7. Sydney Bears. The Bears are going thru a tough stretch of their schedule. That has seen them drop 3 out of 4, and are now clinging to 6th in the ladder. Up next: the Mustangs visit Macquarie

8. Brisbane Lightning. Winners of 3 of their last 4 games has the Lightning feeling good and back into contention for a spot in finals. Up next: an off weekend.

9. Central Coast Rhinos. After the best start the team has had, injuries and imports stepping away currently has the team in free fall mode losing 5 in a row and allowing over 8.5 goals a game in that span. Up next: The Rhinos visit Melbourne. The Ice on Saturday, the Mustangs on Sunday

10. Adelaide Adrenaline. The Adrenaline gave Perth all they could handle this past weekend including an epic 16 round shootout on Sunday. Up next: A pair of games against the Brave in Canberra

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Network Hockey 2026 AIHL Power Rankings

1. Newcastle Northstars. Another week, another 2 wins for the Northstars. Up next: A third straight game against the Brisbane Lightning

2. Perth Thunder. 2 dominate wins over the Ice has the Thunder eyeing the top spot if Newcastle stumbles at all. Up next: the Sydney Bears make the trip to Perth for a game on Saturday

3. Sydney Ice Dogs. Wins over the Bears and Brave has the Ice Dogs up to 3rd in the the power rankings. Up next: the Rhinos on Saturday, before hosting the Lightning on Sunday.

4. Sydney Bears. The Bears managed a split, picking up a win over Adelaide after a tough loss to the Ice Dogs in the second Sydney derby. Up next: A trip to Perth for a game on Saturday

5. Central Coast Rhinos. The Rhinos split the weekend winning against the Adrenaline before losing a close one against the Brave. Up next: They host the Ice Dogs Saturday, then on Sunday they head to Canberra to take on the Brave

6. Melbourne Mustangs. 4 straight weekend splits. After a off weekend is this the weekend that changes? Up next: The third Melbourne derby on Friday followed by Adelaide Saturday.

7. Canberra Brave. After losing a close game to the Ice Dogs, the Brave rebounded with a big win over the Rhinos. Up next: The Rhinos visit AIS on Sunday

8. Melbourne Ice. It was a rough weekend in Melbourne as Perth dominated both games. Ice fans still have reason to be optimistic. As announced on the team social media pages Tatsu Ishida is back and expected to play this weekend. Up next: The 3rd Melbourne Derby, followed by Adelaide on Sunday

9. Brisbane Lightning. The lightning have allowed over 8 goals per game on their current losing streak. Up next: a third straight game against top of the ladder Newcastle

10. Adelaide Adrenaline. The Adrrnaline power play finalall succeeded this past weekend. Now they will look for their first win in regulation. Up next: A road trip to Melbourne. Saturday they take on the Mustangs. On Sunday they take on the Ice looking to snap a losing streak against the Ice that dates back 2485 days.

2026 Network Hockey AIHL Power Rankings

1. Newcastle Northstars- After a sweep, in Canberra, the Northstars find themselves back on top of both the ladder and our power rankings. Up next: 2 games in Brisbane

2. Sydney Bears - 2 wins in Brisbane and a three game winning streak has the bears up to second in our power rankings. Up next: the second Sydney derby on Friday before playing Adelaide on Sunday

3. Perth Thunder - Perth drops a couple of spots in our rankings after a tough loss to the Rhinos after having a week off. Up next: Two games in Melbourne, taking on the Ice

4. Central Coast Rhinos - The Rhinos had one of the tougher road trips of the season, coming out on top in Adelaide on Saturday, before flying to Perth for an impressive win on Sunday. Adelaide comes to town Saturday hosting the Brave on Sunday

5. Melbourne Mustangs - The second Melbourne derby provided plenty of fireworks, unfortunately, for mustangs fans, this one went the way of the Ice. The Mustangs were able to recover. However, and picked up a win over the Ice Dogs on Saturday. Up next: an off week

6. Sydney Ice Dogs - Because of last weekend's postponement in Canberra, the Ice Dogs had their first double header weekend. After falling short on saturday against the Mustangs, they rallied on Sunday against the Ice and managed a split on the weekend. Up next: Round 2 of the Sydney derby on Friday, and then, the Brave come to town on Saturday.

7 - Melbourne Ice. A huge win over the Mustangs on Friday, the Ice split the weekend as the Ice Dogs were able to get the win on Sunday. Up next: Two games at home against Perth

8 - Canberra Brave. The Brave fi ionally got to play at home, but the Northstars proved to be too tough, sweeping the weekend. Up next: A 2 game trip has themv in Sydney Saturday against there Ice Dogs and the to Erina to play to Rhinos Sunday

9. Brisbane Lightning - The lightning have been allowing 7.5 goals per game during their current 4 game losing streak. Up next: The schedule doesn't get any better for the lightning as Newcastle comes to town for 2 games.

10 Adelaide Adrenaline - A few player changes for Adelaide, has fans hoping the next change comes in the W column. Up next: The Rhinos Saturday, the bears Sunday

Network Hockey 2026 AIHL Power Rankings

1. Perth Thunder - an off week is no reason for them to lose their spot at the top. Up next- a home game with the Rhinos on Sunday

2. Newcastle Northstars - A big win over the Rhinos has Newcastle back on top of the league ladder, and fighting for the top spot in our rankings. Up Next: A trip to Canberra for 2 games

3. Sydney Bears - The Bears jump to #3 in our rankings after a solid win over the ice. Up next: A 2 game series in Brisbane

4. Sydney Ice Dogs: The Ice Dogs took advantage of an unexpected day off on Saturday by doubling up the Mustangs 6-3 on Sunday. Up next : A weekend series in Melbourne, playing the Mustangs Saturday followed by the Ice on Sunday.

5. Melbourne Mustangs - For the 3rd time this season the Mustangs split a weekend by winning the first game, and then failing to win the second. Up next: The 2nd Melbourne derby on Friday, before a rematch with the Ice Dogs on Saturday

6. Central Coast Rhinos - The Rhinos averaged almost 6 goals per game during their 4 game win streak but managed only 2 goals dropping both games on the weekend. Up next: A tough road trip has them in Adelaide Saturday, before traveling to Perth on Sunday.

7. Canberra Brave - The Braves had an unexpected weekend off after having to postponed the home opener due to an issue with the ice at AIS Arena. Up next: Take 2 for the home opener as they host the Northstars Saturday and Sunday.

8. Brisbane Lightning - The Lightning will hope the off weekend helps them reset after that last tough road trip. Up next: The Bears make the trip north for 2 games.

9. Melbourne Ice - Kolton Shindle picked up his 5th goal in 3 games, but that was all the ice could manage in a 4-1 loss to the Bears. Up next: Melbourne derby #2 on Friday before taking on the Ice Dogs on Sunday

10. Adelaide Adrenaline - Coming off their first win of the season 2 weeks ago the Adrenaline hope the momentum carries through the off week. Up next: the Rhinos make the trip to Adelaide on Saturday.

2026 Network Hockey AIHL Power Rankings

1. Perth Thunder - Two big wins over the weekend sees the Thunder jump to the top of our rankings. Checking in on our player to watch, Hikosaka- 6gp 10g 7A =17pts. Up next: an off weekend

2. Central Coast Rhinos- 2 big wins for the Rhinos has them top of the ladder and almost to the top of our list. 4 straight wins has us starting to believe that this Rhinos team could be for real. Update on our player to watch, Kanta Hashimoto- 5gp 5g 4A 9pts. Up next: The Mustangs followed by a trip to Newcastle

3. Newcastle Northstars- the Northstars run at the top and undefeated start came to a halt at the hands of the Rhinos. Checking in on our player to watch, Matúš Trnka- 4w 1L 3.11 Gaa .905 sv % Up next: A rematch with Central Coast.

4. Melbourne Mustangs- The first Melbourne Derby did not disappoint, with the Mustangs coming out on top in a shootout, Sunday however saw the Brave come out on top. Update on our player to watch, Brody Lindal 5gp 3G 6A 9pts. Up next: 2 on the road, first against the red hot Rhinos, then the Ice Dogs.

5. Canberra Brave- Despite blowing a 3-0 lead against the Ice, the Brave responded well and managed to split the weekend in Melbourne by beating the Mustangs on
Sunday. Update on our player to watch, Jacob Carey- 3gp 2G 0A 2pts. Up next: The home opener against the Ice Dogs

6. Sydney Bears- 2 close games in Adelaide saw them win one and lose the other in his shootout. Update on our player to watch, Ryan Annesley- 3gp 0g 4a 4pts. Up next: the Melbourne Ice

7. Sydney Ice Dogs- is this low for a team that only has one loss, possibly, but with only three games played it's really hard to tell who this team is. Update on player to watch, Kale Costa- NA. Up next: @ Brave, followed by a home game against the Mustangs

8. Brisbane Lightning- A tough trip to Perth saw the lightning get out scored 17-7. Update on player to watch - Batu Gendunov 4gp 3G 4A 7pts. Up next: An off weekend

9. Melbourne Ice- After losing the first Melbourne derby in a shootout, the Ice scored four unanswered goals Saturday to pickup their first win of the season Saturday over the Brave. Update on player to watch: Kolton Shindle- 2gp 4g 1a 5pts. Up next: The Sydney bears on Saturday

10. Adelaide Adrenaline - They ended their weekend series against the Bears on a high note, picking up their first win of the season in a shootout. Update on player to watch- Luka Loria, 3gp no points recorded. Up next: a off weekend.

2026 AIHL Power Rankings Week 2

1. Newcastle Northstars- 4 games, 4 wins, 3 of which were on the road. Up next- A trip to Erina to take on the Rhinos

2. Melbourne Mustangs- After a dominating opening round win against Central Coast, a weekend split against Perth has the Mustangs riding high, in both our rankings and on the ladder. Up next- the first Melbourne derby of the year, and a game against the brave.

3. Perth Thunder - after an opening round split with the Brave, a split with the Mustangs has shown this is a team that can play with anybody. Up next- Brisbane comes to town for a pair of games.

4. Brisbane Lightning- The Lightning followed up a rough opening weekend, by dominating both games against the Ice this past weekend. Up next- A trip to Perth, as they look to show that last weekend's results are what we should expect from this team.

5. Canberra Brave- The Brave have started the season slow each of the past two seasons, so a split in Perth and a close loss to the Northstar is no reason for fans to worry about this team. Up next- Central Coast

6. Sydney Ice Dogs- It was 2739 days between derby wins for the Ice Dogs. One of only two undefeated teams, they backed it up with a win over Adelaide. Up next- A home game against the Rhinos

7. Sydney Bears- despite a 1-2 record to start the season, all of their games have been closed and competitive, and they have to feel like more wins are going to be coming. Up next- 2 games in Adelaide

8. Central Coast Rhinos- After losing the opener 8 to 2, Rhinos the fans had to be thinking, "oh no, here we go again." Since then, they have won two in a row, including equaling their largest victory In club history. Up next- can they continue their hot start against the hottest team in the league when they host the Northstars

9. Melbourne Ice- recent seasons have shown a slow start can be overcome. And with a few key pieces out of the lineup, i think it's fair to say we have not seen the best of what the Ice have to offer. Up next- the first Melbourne derby of the season, followed by a rematch of last year's championship game against the Brave

10. Adelaide Adrenaline- Despite the slow start, the adrenaline have been competitive in each of their three games. 7 different goal scores in those show the adrenaline have the depth to score at any time. Up next- 2 games at home against the Bears

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Network Hockey
Established in 2024, Network Hockey is a videography content creator dedicated to telling compelling stories that keep audiences genuinely engaged. Through innovative media strategies, powerful narratives, and engaging multimedia content, Network Hockey captures and conveys the passion, skill, and camaraderie that define ice hockey.

6ix Dub Hockey
Established in 2025, 6ix Dub Hockey was born to give media coverage to the AWIHL as it moved into its expansion era with the Melbourne Ducks. With the growth of women's hockey in Australia, founder, Andrew Macdougall, felt there was a space for dedicated media for the women's game. There are big plans for the platform outside of Instagram, so stay tuned in 2026! Link to website: https://andrewkmacdougall.com.au/

Ice Hockey News Australia:
Established in 2014, IHNA is a website that has been providing short form coverage of the Australian national championships, national leagues, national teams, and other select topics related to the sport for more than a decade. Link to website: https://icehockeynewsaustralia.com/

Oz Hockey Media:
Established in 2023, OHM has evolved from Hockey Hype Australia to keep the Australian hockey community updated with the latest news, stats, stories, graphics and content. We are the home of Hockey Night in Australia podcast. Link to website: https://hockeyhypeaustralia.com.au/