This weekend should be two very hard games, be there to support the Thunder as they try to stay top of the AIHL!

Coach Kenway said “ We know how Adelaide play, they are fast and Physical and have a solid defensive line. But we also know how we can play … we also have all of those attributes and when we put them together we are very dangerous.”

After a tough weekend in Melbourne with a valuable 3 points are you pleased to be back at the Thunder Dome?

“ It’s good to be playing at home, we have had a lot of travel and we have done well on the road, but our home fans need to see the boys perform, I still think our best games are to come and hopefully they are this weekend, we like where we are sitting and we want to stay there.”

Perth Thunder remain top of the AIHL ladder after defeating the Melbourne Mustangs 6-2 on Sunday night 31 May 2015.

COACH KENWAY’s COACHES REPORT … May 2 and May 3.

The 2nd and 3rd of May saw the opening of our 2015 season. We headed off to Sydney with a pumped up team to take on the Bears and the Ice Dogs. Some last minute injuries saw a change in the squad with Cox and Woodman not traveling so we brought in Rookies Tom Sak and Kieren Webster.

The first game against the Bears was always going to be tough and the squad had some nerves but was keen to get playing.

A skilled Bears outfit gave the boys a great game and some really good battles. In the end Thunder took the win 4-2.
Sunday saw us take on the Ice Dogs and after Saturdays win the boys were keen for a second win for the weekend. The Ice Dogs showed up in force and their goalie put on a clinic for our boys stopping everything they threw at him.

t took us until midway in the second period before we opened our scoring. In the end the Thunder boys played hard, we took our chances and our goalie stopped everything that came his way. We finished the game with a 4-0 victory and our second win for the weekend.

A great weekend for our Thunder boys and two great games of hockey by both of the teams we played. Now we head back to Perth and get ready to take on the CBR Brave at PIA aka ThunderDome for out home opener.

Hope to see you there … Coach Dave.

AIHL writer Bernard McNamara sums up Thunders 4-0 shutout victory over the Sydney Ice Dogs on Sunday 3 May 2015 with a great article.

Have a read here … well worth it … thanks Bernard.

MATCH REPORT vs BEARS … 2 May 2015

A very solid win for the boys against a resilient Sydney Bears. It was also the first time in the history of our club we have started the season with all four imports on the ice and won our first game.

Due to a few late injuries Coach Kenway had to shuffle the lines around and the boys responded well. Both teams had their share of possession and created strong scoring opportunities. Tight goal tending kept the scores down and both teams battled for every loose puck, but fortunately the Thunder won the lion share of the contests and showed they can find the net when it really matters coming up with a 4-2 win on the road with Judson netting 2, Kyros and Daigneault 1 each.

Coach Kenway after the game said …
“It was a positive start against a tough team and the boys ground out a good result and showed a lot of heart in the contest, it’s time now to focus on the Ice Dogs which will be another tough game.”

Perth Thunder Ready to Rumble! Before most of us even get to work on a Friday, this weekends playing squad were already at the airport for 8am to catch their Virgin flight to Sydney.

Thunder tackle the Sydney Bears on Saturday & then the Sydney Ice Dogs on Sunday. Puck drops 3pm Perth time both games.

Good luck Perth Thunder!

FINALLY THE SEASON IS HERE – Season 2015 finally starts with this weekend away against the Sydney Bears and Sydney Ice Dogs.

Then your Thunder boys are home for a BIG double header weekend on May 9 & 10 against the CBR Brave.

Tickets for those games available online here NOW! …

Perth Thunder has defeated the New Zealand Ice Blacks 7-2 in game two of their three game tri-series at the ‘Thunder Dome’ Perth Ice Arena.

Chasing a series victory, Thunder was able to take the lead early when #16 Jonathon Bremner scored in the seventh minute, assisted by #9 Dave Ruck.

Thunder were able to create several opportunities throughout the first period, which allowed #9 Dave Ruck to put up his second point of the night, an unassisted goal from the slot.

The Ice Blacks played a much more physical game of hockey in game two than they did in game one on Saturday night. They were very aggressive on their fore-check keeping the Thunder in their own zone, but it was not enough to hold Perth Thunder down throughout the game.

Charlie Smart, younger brother of Michael Smart, was unstoppable in the first 20 minute period and his shutout period gave Thunder a 2-0 lead into the first break.

Thunder continued their run through the second, but gave up a power play goal to the Ice Blacks after #9 Dave Ruck was sent to the penalty box for a roughing call.

The Ice Blacks then backed up their first goal with another by #24 Andrew Cox, Perth Thunder’s regular alternate Captain. This put the Thunder at a 4-2 lead heading into the third period.

Smart continued to come up big through the third period, with some monumental saves, constantly denying the Ice Blacks access to the back of the net.

Thunder put up three more goals in the final period to win the game 7-2.

Perth Thunder forward #9 Dave Ruck was awarded Thunder’s Man of the Match for game two, putting up two points.

“The Ice Blacks definitely played a more physical game tonight, they seemed a little faster and were a bit more physical today. You have to be happy, my line was a little unlucky last game and just kept working hard and made the breaks tonight” Ruck said.

“The rookies have been playing great and the whole feel around the team is just really good.”

Melbourne Mustangs star import, Pat O’Kane, was just outstanding for Thunder in games one and two and we thank the Melbourne Mustangs and Pat himself for their assistance and efforts as Pat heads back to Melbourne now and will not be playing game three.

Catch your Thunder boys in action this Tuesday night 7 April against the Ice Blacks for one final time … puck drops at 6.30pm before the official AIHL season kicks off later this month.

Tickets for Tuesday nights game are available online here now! …

Hey Thunder Fans … coming soon – THUNDER TV!

Your weekly dose of Thunder action from both on and off the ice.

Tune into our Facebook and website to see the players, fans and spectators lives on and off the ice, game highlights as well as breaking news and views from around the league.

All this and more coming soon to our very own – Thunder TV!

IT’S OFFICIAL – all the votes have been counted & audited for our Thunder hashtag competition and #ThunderPuck won by a landslide, scoring 64% of the 416 votes submitted.

The lucky prize winner of four tickets (4) to a Perth Thunder vs New Zealand Ice Blacks Series game is Ashleigh Tily-Laurie … congratulations Ashleigh!

We’d like to thank everyone who participated in this competition and remind you that if you don’t already have a Twitter account we encourage you to do so asap so you too can interact with Perth Thunder using #ThunderPuck

PERTH THUNDER vs NEW ZEALAND ICE BLACKS tri-series on 4, 5 & 7 April at the Thunder Dome (PIA).

This three (3) game series promises to be action packed ice hockey as the NZ Ice Blacks National Team warm up against Perth Thunder on their way to Cape Town, South Africa to compete in the IIHF Division IIB World Championships from 13 April to 19 April 2015.

To match this action packed International ice hockey action, we also have world class game day entertainment with The Voice Finalist – Paula Parore performing live and entertaining the crowd at all three games.
Checkout Paula Parore’s first performance on The Voice when guest judge “Seal” took only 5 seconds to select Paula on “Team Seal” – watch here.

Buy your Tickets Online Now – get in quick so you don’t miss out. Seated tickets only $23 and Standing tickets only $18.

THUNDER FANS: It’s time to be a part of Australian Ice Hockey’s largest democracy and in the process win four (4) match tickets to Perth Thunder vs NZ Ice Blacks.

This year we will be running an official hashtag # through our twitter feed so that you’re able to interact with fans of Perth Thunder, fans of the AIHL and of course interact with the Perth Thunder Twitter fans and followers.

So how does this democracy work, you ask?

Ok … here are five hashtags # we’ve chosen for you to vote on:

#ThunderStruck
#RollingThunder
#ThunderPuck
#ThunderNation and
#RollThunder

The next question you may be asking is “how do I win four (4) tickets?

Simple … to vote for your favourite hashtag #, go to poll on the right side of this page and VOTE NOW! …

OR vote in the comments section of our Facebook  post about this competition and tell us which one of the hashtags# is your favourite and why.

This will count as your vote.

If you vote on facebook, like and share the post and we’ll select the person who has given the best reason as to why they voted for their particular winning hashtag#.

So, what are you waiting for? Get voting now!

COMPETITION CLOSES 3.00 PM WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH 2015
WINNER ANNOUNCED SAME DAY 

Perth Thunder are pleased to announce the signing of Toni Kluuskeri.

“Tony is a forward with very good pedigree, he represented Finland as an under 16, under 18 and under 20 international.”

General Manager – Stan Scott on signing Toni Kluuskeri.

“I was very pleased to sign Toni. From our first communications in December 2014 the relationship has been nothing but positive. I see Toni bringing a bit of flair for the fans as well as being a hard working two way player and is very committed to coming to Australia and helping with development.

I believe he will be an excellent addition to our team and the fans will love him.”

Checkout Toni’s Elite Prospects profile here.

Q & A with Toni Kluuskeri …

What is your reason for coming to Australia?
When I heard that I would have the opportunity to come to Australia and to Perth, I didn’t have to think very long because I’ve heard good things about Perth and Thunder.

What is your proudest hockey moment?
Proudest hockey moment for me is when I played in the National Teams for Finland (u16, u18 and u20)

What will you bring to the Thunder?
To the Thunder I will bring good offensive play with a very positive attitude.

What are your biggest strengths … skill, speed or stick handling vision?
My biggest strengths as a hockey player is stick handling and vision.

We look forward to Toni terrorizing the opposition throughout this season …

Perth Thunder Junior teams Land Safely Back From Singapore. Our man on the ground Richie Lamb reports on the last day of the finals in Singapore.

RICHIE LAMB reports – Bright and early for a 7am Saturday morning game for the Thunder Peewees in their playoff game to reach the semi finals. THE PEEWEES WON this play-off game 3-1 only conceding a goal in the last 30 seconds of the game.

Next up for the Perth Thunder Peewees was the semi final against Shanghai.

Unfortunately, the Perth Thunder Peewees finished off their tournament with a very respectful 5-0 loss to the Shanghai team … the closest game the Shanghai Team had been kept to! A great first tournament for all the kids.

The Perth Thunderbolts Squirts semi final against the Singapore “A” Team was a very tight affair indeed …
for the first 8 minutes. With the scores locked at 1-1 after the first 8 minutes, the Thunderbolts Squirts went down 10-1 against the Singapore A team. The Perth Thunderbolts combined boys/girls team should be very proud of themselves indeed.

On a personal note, on behalf of all the players, parents and supporters of both teams that competed in the Singapore Scotiabank Ice Dragons Classic 2015 Tournament, we’d all collectively like to say a very very BIG THANKS to both coaches, Bryan Maybee and Ken Chapman and also to Pauline Lodge for organizing the trip. A great success all round!

Richie Lamb signing off from Singapore.

HOT OFF THE PRESS – Perth Thunder’s junior teams results direct from the Singapore Scotiabank Ice Dragons Classic 2015 Tournament – thanks to our on the ground reporter Richie Lamb.

First game our Perth Thunder Peewees Under 12’s were defeated 11-0 vs Singapore “A” team. It was a hard fought game for a group of players who hadn’t played much together before.

2nd game of the night our Perth Thunder Peewees secured a 5-2 win against the Singapore “B” team and the boys played much better as a team.

The Perth Thunderbolts Squirts Under 10’s started off with a 5-2 loss to the Singapore “B” team. The boys played out of their skin considering they’ve hardly played together so it was a fantastic effort.

We have day off today being Thursday with the next games on Friday. Report will follow.

Richie Lamb, doing it tough – but someone has too … signing off from Singapore.

After a season as 2014 assistant to long time coach Stan Scott, Dave Kenway has today been officially appointed Head Coach of Perth Thunder.

General Manager and last year’s coach Stan Scott said …

“Dave was my assistant last season, he has been around hockey in WA a long time and has experience coaching in the National Junior League. We have a  very good squad this year and all the players know and respect Dave, he brings a solid knowledge of our operations and goals and we believe he can continue the clubs growth.”

Dave Kenway comments on his official appointment as Head Coach …

“I feel very proud & privileged having been asked to step up from the assistant coaches role to Thunders Head Coach.

It was a big learning curve during season 2014 & I look forward to the challenge of a bigger & better season for Perth Thunder in 2015.”

General Manager Stan Scott comments on signing Luke Judson.

Luke is an excellent signing for Perth Thunder, he is a strong two-way player who also knows where the goal is.

The fact Luke captained the Belleville Bulls in the OHL for 3 consecutive years, one of the best junior leagues in the world, shows Luke has great leadership skills. Luke and I met up when I was recently in LA and he is a very impressive young man who I had no trouble bringing to the Thunder. Luke will be an extremely valuable asset to Perth Thunder’s 2015 campaign.

Checkout Luke’s Elite Prospects profile here.

Q & A with Luke Judson …

What is your reason for coming to Australia?
I’m looking forward to coming to Perth to continue to develop as a hockey player and explore a new country.

What is your proudest hockey moment?
My proudest hockey memory is playing my first professional game in Alaska with the San Francisco Bulls.

What can you bring to the Perth Thunder?
Hopefully I can bring my past experience in North American professional hockey to help the team on the ice and in the community.

What is your biggest strength and skill, Speed, stick handling vision?
As a player, my strengths are my shot and my two way ability.

We welcome Luke “Judder” Judson and look forward to a great Thunder season 2015.

FINAL TRYOUTS this Tuesday night at 6.15pm sharp. So if you think you’ve got what it takes, be at PIA ready to roll at 6.15pm sharp and show us what you’ve got.

Fans and spectators are FREE and welcome to watch.

Share this around with anyone you think has got what it takes to rumble with Thunder!

ALL PERTH THUNDER HOME GAME TICKETS NOW ON SALE. 

Great news about the new seating available for the start of the season. We can confirm that the entire 1st block of seats will all be moved forward to be only 1.1m off the rail – so great viewing for everyone!

Book your game tickets online here  and secure your Perth Thunder game day tickets for any or all Thunder home games this season. Let’s Go Thunder – Let’s Go!

It’s official … the New Zealand National Ice Hockey Team – The Ice Blacks are coming to Perth for three action packed games taking on your Perth Thunder as we prepare for our assault on the 2015 AIHL season.

This 3 game series promises to be world class hockey as the Ice Blacks will be on their way to Cape Town, South Africa to compete in the IIHF Division IIB World Championships from 13 April to 19 April 2015.

To match this world class ice hockey action scheduled for Sat 4 April, Sun 5 April and Tues 7 April, we also have world class game day entertainment for you as well.

Buy your Tickets Online Now for all or any of the 3 games … get in quick so you don’t miss out.

Seated tickets only $23 and Standing tickets only $18.

A BIG PERTH THUNDER congratulations to local girl Courtney Poole, who at only 15 years is the youngest player to have been selected to represent Australia in this years IIHF Womens World Ice Hockey Championships to be held in Spain in March.

Courtney has been playing since she was 10yrs old and is a great ambassador for Ice Hockey in WA and an example to our up coming juniors of how hard work and commitment can pay off.

The Boys Were Back To Business Tonight. 6.15pm saw 29 men hit the ice all working very hard vying for a prized spot in the Perth Thunder Squad.

With #24 Cox, #3 The Mo Haselhurst and #16 Jonno Bremner unavailable tonight the pace was hot.

The next few weeks will be tough for the selection committee as there is a load of new local young talent busting down the doors to get in. Looks like season 2015 will be a Thunderful season!

Do you have what it takes to rumble with Perth Thunder in Season 2015?

Tryouts commence Tuesday 4 February 2015 at Perth Ice Arena on the ice at 6.15pm sharp.

Be part of this very exciting season to come … Let’s Go Thunder … Let’s Go!!!

Done and dusted. We were today on the brink of a Perth Thunder facebook milestone. We were just about to crack the magical 4000+ LIKES, singing to ourselves … “who will it be nowww?” when along came Jason Moyle … LIKE number 4000 – thanks Jason.

Let’s aim for 5000+ by the end of season 2015, tell your friends to LIKE US!

PERTH THUNDER MERCHANDISE Christmas Sale Now On.

Last minute Christmas specials on sale.

Grab one of the last few signed 2014 player jerseys, or an iPhone cover, perfect as a stocking filler!

2014 Thunder Team Photos are in stock and price includes postage and packing, so be quick, first in best dressed! www.perththunder.bigcartel.com

For more info email Joan@PerthThunder.com.au

Thunder Assistant Coach Dave Kenway may be in Bali enjoying a bit of R & R at the moment, but his thoughts are never far away from Perth Thunder.

Dave is reminding everyone that this Tuesday night sees week 4 of 6 weeks in total of the high level pre-season scrimmage for elite level players. This is not only for current Perth Thunder players but is also open to any player wanting to tryout for the Perth Thunder squad for season 2015.

You must be a minimum 16 y/o and of a high skill level. We will be running for the next 3 weeks at 6:15pm at PIA – cost is only $20 per week.

This is the perfect opportunity to stay fit over the off season and have some fun with the Thunder players or fulfill your dream and get noticed by the Thunder coaching staff. Please share with anyone you know that would be interested and suitable & spectators are welcome.

Melbourne Cup mayhem for 2014 is just about upon us with the “Race That Stops a Nation” … and we have the inside scoop on the winner and placegetters straight from the horses mouth, so let’s see how we go!

1. Lucia Valentina (22)
2. Admiral Ratki (1)
3. Junoob (8)
4. Protectionist (5)
Rough Chance: Araldo (21)

Good luck everyone!

The 2014 Player Awards Cocktail Party at the Parmelia Hilton on Thursday September 18 was a fantastic night with everyone having a really good time … a few managed to carry on into the next morning.

“King Coxy” took out the Best Local Player Award after a breakout 2014 season while the rock solid Jamie Woodman was awarded the coveted Best Defenceman after a very polished and professional season 2014.

Club MVP for season 2014 was awarded to very popular Mathieu Dugas aka “The General” who has a stellar season tending goal. 

We look forward to these players contributing to a much improved Thunder on field 2015 season.

LETS PARTY THUNDER FANS … the season may be over but we all have one more event to attend.

The Official 2014 Player Awards Cocktail Party is on Thursday 18 September in the Swan Room at the Parmelia Hilton.

Tickets are limited so book early at www.trybooking.com/FPIM. Any enquiries email peter@perththunder.com.au … see you there for one BIG night!

Let’s Go Thunder … Let’s Go!