Central Coast Rhinos
Encyclopedia
The Central Coast Rhinos are a semi-professional
ice hockey
team based in Erina, New South Wales
, Australia that play in the Australian International Ice Hockey Cup. They are a former member Australian Ice Hockey League
, playing in the league from 2005 to 2008. The team plays its home games at Erina Ice World, located within Erina Fair
Shopping Centre in Erina, New South Wales.
) were part of a two-team expansion to the AIHL in 2005 that saw the league grow to eight teams. While the Rhinos gained a healthy fan following in their inaugural season, on the ice the team was not successful and finished in last place, winning just 6 out of 26 regular season games.
Probably the Rhinos' most healthy rivalry was with the Newcastle North Stars
, due to the close proximity between the Central Coast
and the Hunter Valley
, where Newcastle
is located. The Rhinos left the AIHL before the 2009 season, and are currently playing in the Australian International Ice Hockey Cup against teams from Canada, USA and Europe.
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team based in Erina, New South Wales
Erina, New South Wales
Erina is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located between Gosford and the Pacific Ocean at Terrigal. It is part of the City of Gosford local government area....
, Australia that play in the Australian International Ice Hockey Cup. They are a former member Australian Ice Hockey League
Australian Ice Hockey League
The Australian Ice Hockey League is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. It is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia and is run by its own Board of Directors....
, playing in the league from 2005 to 2008. The team plays its home games at Erina Ice World, located within Erina Fair
Erina Fair
Erina Fair is a major shopping centre located in Erina on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Erina Fair was opened as Central Coast Fair in 1987. With expansions in 1994, 2003 and 2009, Erina Fair has become the largest non-metropolitan shopping centre in Australia and the largest...
Shopping Centre in Erina, New South Wales.
History
The team was formerly known as the Blue Haven Rhinos after the Blue Haven Pools company, whose sponsorship ended prior to the 2007 season. The Rhinos (along with the Brisbane Blue TonguesBrisbane Blue Tongues
The Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues, formerly known as the Brisbane Blue Tongues are a semi-professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the Iceland in Bundall, Gold Coast, Queensland.-History:...
) were part of a two-team expansion to the AIHL in 2005 that saw the league grow to eight teams. While the Rhinos gained a healthy fan following in their inaugural season, on the ice the team was not successful and finished in last place, winning just 6 out of 26 regular season games.
Probably the Rhinos' most healthy rivalry was with the Newcastle North Stars
Newcastle North Stars
The Newcastle North Stars are a semi-professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Warners Bay, a suburb of Lake Macquarie located about 15 kilometres south-west of Newcastle, New South Wales.The North Stars...
, due to the close proximity between the Central Coast
Central Coast, New South Wales
The Central Coast is an urban region in the Australian state of New South Wales, located on the coast north of Sydney and south of Lake Macquarie....
and the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
, where Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
is located. The Rhinos left the AIHL before the 2009 season, and are currently playing in the Australian International Ice Hockey Cup against teams from Canada, USA and Europe.
Season by season results
Australian Ice Hockey League
| Season | Finish | Playoff | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 2005 AIHL season The 2005 AIHL season was the 6th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League, the 4th in which the Goodall Cup was awarded to the league champions.... |
26 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 67 | 148 | 19 | 8 | Did not qualify |
| 2006 2006 AIHL season The 2006 AIHL season was the 7th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League, the 5th in which the Goodall Cup was awarded to the league champions.The Melbourne Ice mathematically clinched their first ever V.I.P... |
28 | 6 | – | 1 | 0 | 22 | 93 | 158 | 18 | 7 | Did not qualify |
| 2007 2007 AIHL season The 2007 AIHL season was the 8th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League, the 6th in which the Goodall Cup will be awarded to the league champions.... |
28 | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | 24 | 71 | 142 | 9 | 8 | Did not qualify |
| 2008 2008 AIHL season The 2008 AIHL season is the 9th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League, the 7th in which the Goodall Cup will be awarded to the league champions.The season opened 19 April 2008 with games in Newcastle, Adelaide and Penrith.... |
28 | 6 | – | 1 | 1 | 20 | 73 | 129 | 21 | 8 | Did not qualify |
- 1 As of the 2006 AIHL season2006 AIHL seasonThe 2006 AIHL season was the 7th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League, the 5th in which the Goodall Cup was awarded to the league champions.The Melbourne Ice mathematically clinched their first ever V.I.P...
, all games will have a winner.
Australian International Ice Hockey Cup
| Season | Finish | Playoff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 54 | 46 | 21 | 1 | Lost to Canadian Maples in the final |
| 2010 | 11 | Lost to Canadian Maples in the final | ||||||||
| 2011 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 36 | 16 | 2 | Lost to the USA Eagles in the final |