This year’s Goodall Cup win for the CBR Brave capped off one of the most impressive seasons from a Canberra-based sports team in recent memory, says sport columnist SIMON ANDERSON. 

THE CBR Brave was the most dominant team during the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL), winning 16 of its 20 games to take home the H Newman Reid Trophy as regular season premiers.

They then went undefeated in the finals, beating the Newcastle Northstars 6-1 to qualify for the grand final, before meeting and beating the Novacastrians again 3-2 in the decider to secure the Goodall Cup for the second time in the Brave’s history.

The dominant season is all the more impressive given how disrupted ice hockey has been during covid. Unlike the leagues some of Canberra’s other teams compete in, the AIHL went on a hiatus as state and international borders closed and lockdowns were in place across the country.

For members of the Brave, such as defenceman Nick Christensen, this meant finding other ways to keep skills and fitness up as the 2020 and 2021 seasons were cancelled.

“It was pretty tough for us, especially with the Canberra rink shutting down for almost a year. It meant even if you wanted to skate or play you really had no opportunity to – except on your roller blades,” Christensen told “CityNews”.

“It was good fun though, there are surfaces that work well and there is one at Denman Prospect, a brand new court where we would meet for a roll around – very ‘Mighty Ducks-esque’.

“One time, for my birthday I drove all the way up to Sydney just to get one skate in. It was a long time off the ice and not seeing anyone, so it made getting back to playing more special.”

Those training sessions during the cancelled season helped Christensen and his teammates make sure they weren’t completely rusty when this season eventually rolled around.

“No matter how much you run or you lift weights, skating is such a different exercise,” said Christensen.

“Your body hurts. There is off-ice fitness and on-ice fitness and it is surprising how different they feel. 

“Definitely getting around and doing those roller-blade sessions, when we could, helped because it was tough as it was, and I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like without that.”

The dominant season may have come as a surprise to some around the league, but those around the Brave knew the team had a squad that would be competitive.

“We knew we had a good team and if you look at the squad, we are young-ish – I don’t want to say young any more – but in 2019 we played pretty well and had a great season,” Christensen said.

“A few years later, when all of the guys are a bit older you can take a bit more of a step and when you looked at the other rosters we felt like we could take it this year.”

The Brave’s head coach Stu Philps was also confident in the squad that was brought together for the premiership season, and believes the club is in a good position to remain competitive beyond this year.

“I wasn’t surprised (with how the team went this year), that was my expectations before we even got a player to step on the ice,” said Philps.
“I knew the talent we had in the locker room, I knew with Jordan Gavin doing all the recruitment that we were going to have a team that was very competitive.

“With the players we had from the 2019 season, we knew we had a great base to start with.

“That core of our roster is so young and will just get better and better every year. Potentially we have a lot of successful years ahead of us with that squad that is so young.

Philps also credits the senior players and leadership group in helping to steer the talented young side through the season.

“They were able to make this team their own,” said Philps.

“For many years they were the younger guys on the team looking up to someone else and suddenly they were the ones being looked up to – new guys on the team, new imports and the other younger players.

“They were able to take on the leadership and create the culture that they wanted, and that they were able to succeed in.”

The way Philps and Christensen talk about the championship-winning squad suggests that Canberra is primed for more success on the rink for years to come.

“We think so,” said Philps.

“With the squad we have and the passion the guys have to play and be successful, the Brave have created a winning culture and the stats support that with how many games we have lost since the inception of the club. This team is there to push forward and win it for several years so hopefully we can win a few.”