Sydney Bears

The Sydney Bears are a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Penrith, New South Wales, who are members of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). They have won two Goodall Cup championships since their founding in 2000, most recently in 2007. The Bears are one of the original three teams that founded the AIHL in 2000, along with the Adelaide Avalanche, and Canberra Knights. The Bears play out of the Penrith Ice Palace, having previously played at the Sydney Ice Arena.

Team history
The Bears were founded in 1982 and were originally known as the Macquarie Bears. Due to the upcoming formation of a national league the team changed its name to the Sydney Bears in 1997. In 2007 the team separated away from its junior club operations and were renamed the AIHL Bears. After the split the team remained affiliated with the junior club, which kept the name of the Sydney Bears Ice Hockey Club. In 2010 the AIHL Bears were reverted to their old name, Sydney Bears.

The Bears are two-time winners of the Goodall Cup and won the AIHL championship in 2002 and 2007. The Bears were one of three teams that founded the AIHL in 2000, along with the Adelaide Avalanche and Canberra Knights. Although the Bears did not win the championship in either year, they won the Goodall Cup tournament in 2001 in Newcastle, the last time the Cup was awarded independently of the AIHL.

In 2002, the Bears defeated the Avalanche in the Goodall Cup final for their second consecutive Cup and their first and only AIHL championship to date. Four members of the Bears - Tyler Lovering, Brett Nelson-Bond, Vladimir Rubes and Murray Wand - were named to the Mighty Roos roster for the 2006 Division II World Championships in New Zealand. In 2007 the team announced they would move to Penrith for the 2007 AIHL season at which time, dropping "Sydney" to become The Bears, or AIHL Bears. For the start of the 2010 season the Bears reverted to their previous name of Sydney Bears.

Season-by-season record

 * 1 As of the 2006 AIHL season, all games will have a winner. In 2014 due to the cancellation of a game the AIHL declared the result a tie.
 * * The Bears were penalised 3 competition points for icing players that had not been officially cleared to play by the IIHF and IHA.

Championships

 * Goodall Cup: 2002, 2007


 * V.I.P. Cup: 2008