Ice Hockey Australia is pleased to announce the national head coaching appointment for the Men U20s. IHA received a significant amount of interest in the role, a testament to growing interest and development of the game in Australia.
Congratulations to Dave Ruck (WA) who has been re-appointed to the head coach position. Dave successfully steered the 2023 U20 team to Gold in the World Championship (Div III Group A), that will see the team promoted in 2024 (Div II Group B).
The upcoming Australian Junior Ice Hockey League will provide a chance for players to impress the U20 Men coaching staff prior to embarking on their World Championship campaign in January 2024 in Serbia. The Div II Group B pool consists of Iceland, Belgium, Romania, Chinese Taipei, and Serbia.
IHA is also pleased to announce the following appointments across all national teams:
National Men’s Team (Senior Men – NMT)
-Mark Rummukainen (assistant coach), Mick Flaherty (assistant coach), Bron Lukowiak (team manager), Darryl Day (equipment manager), Esther Cummings (physio)
National Women’s Team (Senior Women – NWT)
-Terry Kiliwnik (assistant coach), Jayden Pine-Murphy (assistant coach), Alicia Kelly (team manager), Josef Rezek (equipment manager), Shannon Spencer (physio)
National Men’s U20
-Jason Kvisle (assistant coach), Gill McLean (team manager)
National Men’s U18
-Marc Vaillancourt (assistant coach), Diane Doornbos (team manager)
National Women’s U18
-Kayla Best (assistant coach), Deon Shearer (team manager), Anna Badaoui (equipment manager), Shannon Spencer (physio)
Additional announcements for Chef de Mission, equipment managers, and physio, will be made for relevant teams shortly. Congratulations to all those named, you will do AUS and the ice hockey community proud.