Elite ice hockey returns to Brisbane after 10 years

Calling all ice hockey fans in Queensland! After a 10-year hiatus, elite-level ice hockey is finally returning this weekend when the Brisbane Rampage take on the Melbourne Ducks in their inaugural season home opener at Iceworld Boondall.

Brisbane Rampage are a semi-professional ice hockey team competing in the newly formed Pacific Hockey League (PHL) which hosts teams in Melbourne, Adelaide and Central Coast with plans for other capital cities and New Zealand to join the league in 2023.

Brisbane’s team has been three years in the making with organisers starting the process of adding a team to join a national competition in 2019 before COVID halted play in 2020 and 2021.

With an exciting new league forming in early 2022 with a major focus on promoting Australian talent first, the Brisbane Rampage signed on as a founding member of the Pacific Hockey League with play beginning last weekend.

The Rampage have two of the most exciting players from overseas this season. They are Jordan McTaggart and Owen Sobchak.

The Rampage are captained by 24-year-old Harley Anderson who has been playing national level hockey for three seasons now, both in Australia and New Zealand.

Queensland’s previous national level ice hockey team were the Brisbane Blue Tongues who formed in 2005 before moving to the Gold Coast in 2008 where they became the Gold Coast Blue Tongues before stopping play in 2012.

Brisbane Rampage’s Spokesperson Cody Duschka said the team is excited to be finally playing their first ever home games following a clean sweep last weekend in the opening round of the season against The Coast (Central Coast).

“Our guys have been training hard for the last few months to show what Queensland has to offer at a national level which showed last weekend getting two wins from two games,” he said.

Each round of the season features two games back-to-back over two days with this weekend’s games being played this Friday and Saturday night from 8pm at Iceworld Boondall. The third round is the following weekend 27-28 May against Adelaide Avalanche.

“We have a passionate ice hockey community in Queensland and great support for the team so far and looking forward to making new fans of the team (and the sport) this season.”

Brisbane play host to the visiting Melbourne Ducks this Friday and Saturday night and the Adelaide Avalanche the following weekend also on Friday and Saturday night.

Tickets are on sale now for all games and selling fast.