Sydney Bears

The Sydney Bears was founded on 1 July 1982 as the Macquarie Bears Ice Hockey Club Incorporated. The team was formed concurrently to the non-incorporated local ice hockey club sharing the same name.[1] The Bears were based out of the Macquarie Ice Rink. The club competed in the NSW Super League (NSWSL) and then the East Coast Super League (ECSL).[2] In 1989 the Bears claimed the NSWSL championship with star defenceman Glen Foll claiming top points scorer for the season.[3] In 1997 the club decided to change its name to the Sydney Bears Ice Hockey Club in preparation for a new national competition.[4] In September 1999, the Bears won the East Coast Super League after defeating the Canberra Knights in a two match grand final series held at Phillip Ice Skating Centre, Canberra. In game one, on 18 September, the Bears fought their way to a close a 6–5 victory over the hosts. In game two, on 19 September, Sydney's goalkeeper Alan Becken claimed a shutout as the Bears won 5–0.[5]

Logo used from 2000 to 2007. Changed when the Bears moved to Penrith

In 2000, the Australian Ice Hockey league (AIHL) was established.[6] The league adopted a franchise arrangement for competing teams so the Sydney Bears set up their incorporation as The Bears AIHL Inc. and were granted an AIHL licence.[7]

The Sydney Bears claimed the inaugural AIHL season premiership by finishing top of the round-robin season involving the Bears, Adelaide Avalanche and Canberra Knights. The Bears were defeated by the Avalanche, 6–5 in a shootout in the single match championship final.[8]

The Sydney Bears backed up this performance and made the championship final in 2001. They were again defeated by the Adelaide Avalanche, 10–7.[9] The Bears did find success in the Goodall Cup tournament in 2001. Held in Newcastle, it was the last Goodall Cup tournament held independently to the AIHL.[7]

In 2002, the Bear's had a breakout AIHL season. The team left Macquarie and moved to the new Sydney Ice Arena in Baulkham Hills. The league doubled in size to six teams and the Bears finished the season first in the table to claim their second premiership. They faced a familiar foe, Adelaide Avalanche, in the first Goodall Cup Final for the AIHL.[6] In Blacktown Ice Arena, the Bears defeated Adelaide 5–4 in a shootout to clinch the Goodall Cup and claim their first AIHL Championship.[10]

In 2003, the AIHL adopted a new finals format that involved the top four teams from the regular season.[6] The Sydney Bears were involved in and won the one and only third place play-off in an AIHL finals weekend. The Bears continued their rivalry with Adelaide and defeated them 10–5 in the match to claim third. From 2004 the AIHL tweaked the finals format to remove this match.[11]

The Bears next found success in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, the Sydney Bears changed their name to the AIHL Bears (or simply the Bears) as the team left Sydney for Penrith.[12] The team played out of the Penrith Ice Palace. The Bears won their second championship and Goodall Cup by defeating the Newcastle North Stars 3–2 in overtime in the final.[13] The Bears also won the inaugural Wilson Cup in 2007.[14] In 2008, the Bears claimed the H Newman Reid Trophy for the first time by finishing top of the league table ahead of the Western Sydney Ice Dogs.[15] The Bears also claimed back-to-back Wilson Cup's after defeating the Ice Dogs in the pre-season tournament's final 6–4.[14]

To start the new decade, in 2010, the team rebranded and renamed back to the Sydney Bears.[12] The team switched between Penrith and Sydney ice Arena over the course of seven seasons.[16][17] In 2017, Macquarie Ice rink, at a cost of $3 million, had been upgraded to AIHL standards providing the Bears the opportunity to return to their spiritual home.[1] The Bears, along with the Ice Dogs, moved into the newly renovated arena located within the Macquarie Centre.[18] The upgrade of Macquarie Ice Rink also brought back the Sydney Bears (IHNSW) club to Macquarie. Since the move in 2017, the AIHL team and the IHNSW club have increased cooperation and support between the two clubs. Ex AIHL Bear's players have been taking up coaching roles within the IHNSW club while the IHNSW Bears provides the AIHL team a pathway for local players.[19] In 2018, prior to the season starting, the Bears unveiled a new team logo to signify their return home to Macquarie.[20]

On the ice, the Bears struggled to find form. The team spent seven consecutive seasons failing to reach the AIHL finals weekend between 2011 and 2017. In 2018 the team's fortunes began to improve. The Bears finished second in the league and made their first appearance in the Goodall Cup final in eleven years.[21] They were defeated 4–3 in overtime by the CBR Brave but their display and spirit was praised.[22] In 2019, the Sydney Bears surprised many and went one better and clinched their third Goodall Cup. It was their second Cup success after finishing the regular season in fourth place. The Bears defeated the Perth Thunder, 5–2 in the final.[23]

Team roster for the 2022 AIHL season.[29][30]

These are the top-ten all-time player records in franchise history for the following categories: Appearances,[31] Goals,[32] Assists,[33] Points,[34] Penalty minutes[35]
(Figures are updated after each completed AIHL regular season)

As of February 2020

All-time Apperiences # Name Pos GP 1 Vladimir Rubes F 299 2 Adrian Esposito F 287 3 Michael Schlamp D 270 4 Brett Nelson-Bond F 270 5 Paul Shumak F 187 6 Murray Wand D 180 7 Steven Adams D 151 8 Vladan Stransky F 145 9 Spencer Austin D 141 10 Tomas Landa F 134

All-time Goals # Name Pos G 1 Vladimir Rubes F 176 2 Michael Schlamp D 126 3 Vladan Stransky F 101 4 Tomas Landa F 86 5 Murray Wand D 77 6 Brett Nelson-Bond F 54 7 Roberto Franchini F 43 8 Cameron Todd F 36 9 Paul Shumak F 34 10 Adrian Esposito F 32

All-time Assists # Name Pos A 1 Vladimir Rubes F 270 2 Michael Schlamp D 182 3 Vladan Stransky F 154 4 Tomas Landa F 148 5 Murray Wand D 84 6 Ryan Annesley F 78 7 Brett Nelson-Bond F 63 8 Roberto Franchini F 53 9 Cameron Todd F 46 10 Andy Luhovy F 40

All-time Points # Name Pos Pts 1 Vladimir Rubes F 446 2 Michael Schlamp D 308 3 Vladan Stransky F 255 4 Tomas Landa F 234 5 Murray Wand D 161 6 Brett Nelson-Bond F 117 7 Roberto Franchini F 96 8 Ryan Annesley D 95 9 Cameron Todd F 82 10 Paul Shumak F 72

All-time Penalties # Name Pos PIM 1 Spencer Austin D 578 2 Michael Schlamp D 505 3 Brett Nelson-Bond F 469 4 Vladimir Rubes F 351 5 Tyerell Clare D 338 6 Vladan Stransky F 304 7 Murray Wand D 263 8 Paul Shumak F 235 9 Adrian Esposito F 192 10 Ryan O'Keefe D 192

The Bears have had six captains in the team's known history.[46]

No.	Name	Term
1	Tyler Lovering	2001
2	Don Burke	2002
3	Tyler Lovering	2003–04
4	Murray Wand	2005–08
5	Vladimir Rubes	2009–10
6	Michael Schlamp	2010–19
7	Brian Funes	2022–Present

References:[47][48][49][50][51][52]

The Bears have had three head coaches in the team's known history.[53]

No.	Name	Term
1	Vladimir Rubes	2001–05
2	Kelly Lovering	2006
3	Vladimir Rubes	2007–15
4	Ron Kuprowsky	2016–Present

References:[54][55][56]

The Bears have had two general managers/presedents in the team's known history.[53]

No.	Name	Term
1	Wayne Hellyer	2000–19
2	Nathan Graham	2022–Present

References: [57][37]