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Photo: Caribou CBR Brave team photo from last home game of 2023 AIHL season - by Paul Furness
In another first for the Canberra team and Australian league, the Caribou CBR Brave secured a fourth Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) premiership title in a row. The Brave retain the H Newman Reid Trophy for another year running and claimed the inaugural Rurak Conference trophy.
In a season where the league expanded and broke up into two conferences, the Brave were still able to climb their way to the top and hold off the chasing hordes for a fourth straight season.
The Brave started the season slowly with several import players joining late and some roster rotation occurring. But by June the team was clicking into gear and setting themselves up on the path to success. The Brave won six face-off series’ against opposition during the regular season, drawing another two and losing just one, against the Sydney Bears. The team finished the season with an 81% win rate on the back of some impressive goals and shots numbers, including averaging 62% of all shots and 70% of all goals per game.
No Brave players or coaches were selected in the end of season AIHL awards, something I know is a sore point for Brave fans. But Austin Albrecht (76) and Felix Plouffe (64) both finished the season as second and third in the scoring charts, racking up 140 points between them. Australian international, Casey Kubara, was third in the Brave scoring charts with 57 points, his second season in a row of 50+ points for the team. The Brave’s goaltender pairing of Aleksi Toivonen and Alex Tetreault performed well over the season with both finishing in the top five goaltenders in the league. Mike Giorgi took the crown for most penalty minutes this season within the team, racking up 45 penalty minutes, 15 minutes ahead of second placed Kai Miettinen.
Five Brave players reached personal milestones in season 2023. Casey Kubara scored his 200th and Kai Miettinen scored his 100th AIHL point. Joey Hughes played his 250th AIHL game, while Tyler Kubara and Bayley Kubara played their respective 200th and 100th AIHL game. Jordon Brunt was cruelly denied his own 100 AIHL game milestone this season after sustaining a season ending injury in this 99th game. Hopefully he will reach his milestone next season.
In the new conference system, the Brave thrived in Rurak Conference. Winning 15 of 16 games against conference rivals and finishing seven points ahead of the Newcastle Northstars in the conference standings. It was a surprise to the team as well as fans when the Brave were handed a Rurak Conference trophy ahead of Finals. It was unexpected but gave the Brave a double trophy regular season. Another highly successful season for the Caribou CBR Brave.
Rurak Conference 2023 Final Standings
| Team | Games | Wins | Losses | OT wins | OT losses | Points | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBR Brave | 26 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 63 | 81% |
| Newcastle Northstars | 26 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 72% |
| Brisbane Lightning | 26 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 39% |
| Adelaide Adrenaline | 26 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 17% |
| Central Coast Rhinos | 26 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6% |
AIHL 2023 Final Standings
| Team | Games | Wins | Losses | OT wins | OT losses | Points | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBR Brave | 26 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 63 | 81% |
| Sydney Bears | 26 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 81% |
| Newcastle Northstars | 26 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 72% |
| Melbourne Mustangs | 26 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 71% |
| Perth Thunder | 26 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 52 | 67% |
| Melbourne Ice | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 39% |
| Brisbane Lightning | 26 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 39% |
| Sydney Ice Dogs | 26 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 30% |
| Adelaide Adrenaline | 26 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 17% |
| Central Coast Rhinos | 26 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6% |
2023 CBR Brave Top 10 Scoring chart
| Player | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | Points per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Albrecht (import) | 19 | 39 | 37 | 76 | 4.0 |
| Felix Plouffe (import) | 23 | 20 | 44 | 64 | 2.8 |
| Casey Kubara (alternate captain) | 22 | 16 | 41 | 57 | 2.6 |
| Carson Vance (Import) | 19 | 10 | 33 | 43 | 2.3 |
| Matthew Harvey | 21 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 1.3 |
| Cameron Marks (Import) | 23 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 1.1 |
| Mitchell Henning | 26 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 0.9 |
| Tyler Kubara | 20 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 1.1 |
| Kai Miettinen (captain) | 26 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 0.8 |
| Nick Christensen | 23 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 0.7 |