Australia is a sport loving nation.
Rugby, cricket, Aussie rules football dominate this country.
Ice hockey is probably the last thing
you'd think you'd see here, but they've
been playing it for over 100 years
and actually have one of the oldest hockey
federations in the world.
Even after all that time, it's a long way from being relevant.
So I've came here to see Australian hockey players
with very few rinks in the country, limited resources,
strive to perform their best down under.
My name is Paul Bissonette.
Some of you may know me as BizNasty.
I played 12 years of pro hockey,
and even after all that time
on the ice, I never thought I'd end up
in Melbourne to see how ice hockey is advancing Australia.
But here I am.
And now that I'm here, I'm going to find out
what's driving these players on the ice,
and why they're choosing to play ice hockey.
There's a group of junior players about the scrimmage
this afternoon.
I figure, what better way to start than there?
Let's go check it out.
What's up, boys?
So what's it like playing hockey in Australia?
We don't get much ice time or anything like that.
And the ice is terrible.
How many hours a week you on the ice?
About three or four sometimes.
First of all, where are you from?
-Brisbane. -OK. Brisbane.
-How many rinks there? -Just two.
So you got to come here to get some good training, and--
Yeah.
I'm looking forward to seeing your skills out there.
So this player who passes it, you
got to get ready and get another puck on your tape.
Don't pass the puck, and then look at it and think it's over.
Nice call, nice call.
Yeah!
Oh! Nice, boys!
I'm really interested to see where their hockey minds are
at when they start playing and get in the game situation.
How long you been playing hockey?
Five, six years.
What made you fall in love with it?
Uh, the speed.
I like the intensive feeling.
And in Australia, you don't really improve as much,
but it's because you don't get as much ice time.
Do you find the teaching and the ice time and the resources
are getting better though?
Yeah. They are getting better because more people are
playing hockey in Australia.
So that means more coaches, more parents want to help out.
It just makes the hockey even better.
How long have you been playing?
Eight, Nine years.
That was in-line hockey because I
lived in Bendigo, which is two hours away from any rinks.
So how often do you get to get on ice?
Three times a week now.
So you're commuting two hours just to skate?
-Yeah. -Oh, man.
You said you're from Canada.
And just to come over here and help these kids develop,
it's probably pretty cool.
It's so cool to see the passion that people have here.
It's like a tight knit community.
They put in the time. They just want it.
How much change have you seen in the type of resources
that are being offered to these kids now,
than maybe five years ago?
All the volunteers who have come down
and volunteered their time
have been able to learn off the coaches
how to teach the kids correctly.
So the kids want to learn, you put the effort in,
and the progression they can get, it's huge.
All right. So yesterday, we got a chance to see
how these young players in Australia train.
Now today, I'm going to get my first ever taste
of the AIHL action, the Melbourne Mustang
against the Melbourne Ice.
One of the biggest rivalries in Australia
is going to kick off today, and I heard
things are going to get chippy.
And I'm excited to watch it.
What's up, boys? How are you?
-Well why the bad blood? -I don't know.
These boys just encourage me to do it all game,
and we don't really like the ice, so--
They won the championship last year, didn't they?
Is that one reason you want to set the tone early,
-for the season? -Yeah. I think so.
I think there's no better way than do it.
Get the boys going as well.
A little bitter that you guys took that championship
last year?
It's always pretty emotional with us and them
because they don't like us, and we don't like them.
And then down the hall, we share a rink.
It's always on.
What's the consensus on the team this year?
You guys supposed to be pretty good?
We've got a good core group of Australian players
that have played for a fair few years.
I wanted to ask you guys how much the league's grown
since you guys have known it, since it's came over you guys
are selling out games here.
When we started we was pretty well unknown.
So I was quite young.
It's grown huge.
It's definitely a good following.
A lot of really good supporters as well.
When Melbourne play Melbourne, the stadium packs out,
and all along the border, it's three or four people deep.
It's a really good atmosphere.
Get the legs going, boys.
Got to get the legs moving.
Talk about the grind of this league in general.
I think the biggest thing is just that it
is an amateur league still.
So we've got guys from pretty much all over the world,
but you come here for the love of the game
rather than playing for money, and that's pretty much
what it is.
I'm here with Andy Lamrock, the CEO and co-owner
of the Melbourne Ice.
And here, we have the third oldest ice hockey trophy
in the world.
Everyone that's ever played and won in it,
it's got their name on it. She's a beauty.
For a nation that's had hockey established for that long,
you guys are ranked 33rd in the world.
Hockey in Australia has always been at a level
based on availability of ice.
So we're not like Canada, where there' ten
ice rinks in 5 square miles.
There's ten ice rinks in Australia.
You're one of two teams in Melbourne.
Talk about that rivalry, what it does
to grow the game in Melbourne, as well as the whole league.
In our building here, we have two Melbourne teams,
and the Mustangs are great organization.
We have a lot of respect for them.
But when it's on the ice, you know what a rivalry is, right?
It's local talent versus local talent.
It's real bragging rights.
When we get on the ice, it's just another level.
The chirping starts, and fans love that.
I'm actually surprised they played two 15 minute periods
in the first and second, and then last period is 20 minutes.
It's supposed to be a friendly.
This is an exhibition game, but there's some bad blood
between these two teams.
Oh, he's chucked his helmet.
The Mustangs have drew first blood here.
I'm actually quite impressed with the level of play so far.
Oh, wow.
That guy tried to murder that other guy.
I'd say the biggest difference so far, structurally,
the hockey sense isn't there.
You see plays break down a lot.
One of the positives to seeing a lot of breakdowns,
though, is that the games are more entertaining.
If you had the opportunity to play for one team,
who would you guys play for?
-Melbourne Ice. -Melbourne Ice.
A couple basic things I noticed,
Olympic-size ice, obviously.
A lot more ice out there than North America.
These guys really hate each other.
Things are picking up here.
The Melbourne Ice have have done it.
Hey, guys. We've reached the end of our trip.
I had an unbelievable experience in Australia,
not only taking in the culture, but how
they're advancing the sport of ice hockey
here, how there's more rinks coming,
the development's getting better, coaches coming over
to volunteer their time.
It was cool to see how they're progressing
the young kids in development.
Although they're only 33rd in the world right now,
I think they're definitely doing a great job.
And it seems as if though, ice hockey is really
going to advance here.
And I can't wait to see where they go from here.