The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) held its grand finals at Melbourne’s Icehouse last week and as the national sponsor, Air Canada, had a major presence at the two-day event.
Not only was the airline’s famous maple leaf logo embedded in the centre of the rink but Melbourne Air Canada’s Sales Executive Neil Westaway tossed the semi-final puck and GM Australia Paul McLean presented the Goodall Cup.
Ice Hockey has been played competitively in Australia since 1909 and the Goodall Cup is the world’s third oldest ice hockey trophy. Just like the Ashes, the original Goodall Cup is too delicate to travel and a replica is actually awarded to the league champion team. This year’s trophy was won by the Melbourne Mustangs who beat their fierce rivals the Melbourne Ice.
Ice hockey is a fast-growing spectator sport in Australia, with arena attendance exceeding 100,000 for the first time this year and hundreds of thousands of people watching the matches on Fox Sports – a trend AIHL Commissioner Robert Bannerman says is “due in large part to Air Canada’s sponsorship and support”.
This year’s final and the semi-final matches will feature on Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment over the next two months.