Gold Coast Blue Tongues

Gold Coast Blue Tongues
City Bundall, Gold Coast, Queensland
League Australian Ice Hockey League
Founded 2005
Home arena Gold Coast Iceland
Colours Green, blue and white
General manager Australia Dave Emblem
Head coach Australia Peter Nixon
Website Bluetongues.com.au
Franchise history
2005–2007 Brisbane Blue Tongues
2008–2015 Gold Coast Blue Tongues
Championships
Regular season titles 0
Conference Championships 0
Goodall Cups 0

The Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues, formerly known as the Brisbane Blue Tongues was a former semi-professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League. The team played its home games at the Iceland in Bundall, Gold Coast, Queensland.

History

The Blue Tongues, along with the Central Coast Rhinos, were part of the AIHL's expansion for the 2005 season. The name Blue Tongues is a reference to the blue-tongued lizard which is found in large numbers in the Brisbane suburbs. The lizard is featured in the team's logo.

On 6 June 2006, the Blue Tongues announced that former NHL forward Rob Zamuner would join the team for at least the remainder of the 2006 season. Zamuner is a veteran of 13 NHL seasons and has played for such teams as the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning.

At the start of the 2007 season the Blue Tongues signed former New York Islanders draft pick Tyrone Garner to replace leaving veteran goaltender Milan Novysedlak. Garner made his NHL debut in the 1998/99 season, playing 3 games for the Calgary Flames. In the time since Garner has played in the AHL, ECHL and in Germany.

From 1 April 2008, Bartercard came on board as the naming sponsor for the Blue Tongues.[1]

In 2008, the Blue Tongues announced their relocation from the Ice World in Boondall, Queensland to Iceland Bundall, Gold Coast, Queensland, for sponsorship reasons and to bring the players closer together, due to many of the import players already living on the Gold Coast.[2] However, this was not without its difficulties, as the small Iceland rink, according to its owners, was never intended for senior ice hockey, and there were complaints from rival teams and from the league about the suitability and safety of the venue. This all came to a head in 2011 and 2012, with one match called off in each season due to the surface being deemed unplayable. The team was evicted from the rink by its owners after the second cancellation, forcing at short notice the relocation of its last seven home matches in the 2012 season to Iceworld in Acacia Ridge, Brisbane, with the matches played at 10:30pm, a better time unable to be negotiated with the rink due to the short notice of the relocation.[3][4] The club intended the move to Brisbane to be temporary, and intended to return to the Gold Coast when able to do so.[5] In October 2012 the teams license was suspended due to the team being unable to secure a home venue for 2013.[6]

On 23 November 2013, it was announced that the team will remain on hiatus for the 2014 season, with aims on returning to the AIHL in 2015, possibly in Brisbane.[7] However, by 2015, those hopes never materialized and the team's license has expired. [8]

Season-by-season record

Season GP W T SOW SOL L GF GA PTS Finish Playoff
2005 26 8 1 4 0 13 104 104 33 7th Did not qualify
2006 28 10 0 1 0 17 117 114 32 6th Did not qualify
2007 28 15 – 0 4 9 107 101 461 5th Did not qualify
2008 28 8 – 0 3 17 104 154 27 7th Did not qualify
2009 24 13 – 1 3 7 108 86 44 4th Lost semifinal vs. Newcastle North Stars, 3–5
2010 24 9 – 1 1 13 84 107 30 5th Did not qualify
2011 28 13 – 1 2 12 120 115 43 5th Did not qualify
2012 24 10 – 0 3 11 81 85 33 3rd, Easton Did not qualify
1 - The AIHL imposed the loss of 3 competition points to the Blue Tongues as a result of the playing unregistered player Jani Pekkarinen.

Players and personnel

Current roster

Team roster for the 2012 AIHL season.[9]

# Nat Name Pos Date of Birth Acquired Birthplace
10 Australia Jon Bale F 4 June 1986 2005 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
21 United States Anthony Barnes F 1988 2012
4 Australia Greg Bay D 2 April 1989 2012 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
22 Australia Marco Bertossa D/F 12 April 1974 2008 Zurich, Switzerland
44 United States Adam Blanchette D 21 February 1986 2012 Berlin, Connecticut, United States
7 Switzerland Jeremy Brucker F 8 December 1989 2012
11 Switzerland Camenzind, AndreasAndreas Camenzind F 1 February 1982 2012 Wettingen, Switzerland
6 Australia Conner, JackJack Conner F 7 March 1989 2008 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
14 Australia Matt Courtney F 9 April 1983 2011
16 Canada Etienne Du Toit F 5 December 1985 2012 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
1 New Zealand Easterbrook, KaneKane Easterbrook G 23 June 1988 2011
9 Australia Geric, AdamAdam Geric F 21 March 1989 2011 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
30 Switzerland Alain Giauque G 18 August 1985 2012
14 Australia Alexander Hall F 11 May 1990 2011 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
27 Australia Howell, RossRoss Howell D/F 4 November 1979 2006 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
8 Australia Matthew Johnson F 3 February 1992 2011
1 Australia Kimlin, AnthonyAnthony Kimlin G 20 January 1990 2012 Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
55 Australia Carter Lawrence F 25 February 1996 2012 Kennedy, Saskatchewan, Canada
12 Canada Matt Maycock D 1988 2012
13 United States Mike McRae F 6 December 1981 2010 Berkley, Michigan, United States
88 Australia Jordan Millen F 1995 2012 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
66 Australia Minson, CaseyCasey Minson D/F 10 October 1985 2012 Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
1 Australia Nicholas Novysedlak G 11 August 1995 2012
24 Australia Ben O'Driscoll F 14 October 1986 2012 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
19 Canada Matt Papineau F 26 January 1988 2012 Belle River, Ontario, Canada
55 United States Tom Pesce D 11 October 1991 2012 Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, United States
22 Canada Sanford, JamesJames Sanford D 18 June 1984 2012 Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
5 Australia Spillane, BenBen Spillane D 26 November 1981 2005 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
8 Australia Cameron Trew D 16 August 1989 2008 Queenstown, New Zealand

Notable former players

Media coverage

During the 2007 AIHL season Brisbane Blue Tongues home games were broadcast on the Brisbane community television station Briz 31 (UHF Channel 31). During the 2008 AIHL season, the Gold Coast Blue Tongues games were broadcast live over the internet and also on the Brisbane community television station Briz 31 (UHF Channel 31). All the games were filmed by Blue Tongues supporter Mike Crowhurst from Cunning Crow Productions and commentated by Blue Tongues Team Assistant Adrian Barclay. In 2009 there were no broadcast games.

References

  1. ↑ Hansen, Sam (22 April 2008). "Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues". Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  2. ↑ Gardini, Adam (4 February 2008). "Lizard Insider". Lizard Insider. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Lambert, Peter (10 July 2011). "10 July Dogs @ Blue Tongues game cancelled". Australian Ice Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Blue Tongues relocate". Australian Ice Hockey League. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Terry; Fineran, Leah (12 June 2012). "Blue Tongues to finish season in Brisbane". News.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Kiely, Ben (2012-10-20). "The AIHL Will Revert to an 8 Team Competition for 2013". Australian Ice Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  7. ↑ http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=7730dc01e417b52bd1a45000b&id=c64d4d2826
  8. ↑ http://www.hockeywise.com.au/aihl/gold-coast-blue-tongues-left-out-of-aihl/
  9. ↑ "Gold Coast Blue Tongues". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
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