By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – Cheshire’s Robert “Bert” Malloy continues to shine in the Australia Ice Hockey League (AIHL). An American/Australian dual citizen, Malloy played in his tenth in the Land Down Under. It was also his last for the Newcastle Northstars, in their short-season league this past summer, where they finished one win short, losing in the Goodall Cup championship game to the top-ranked CBR (Canberra) Brave 3-2.
“(It was a) tough way to end the season. Not the fairytale ending we were looking for. It was also my last game playing for Newcastle.
“The Central Coast Rhinos (2005-2008) are coming back into the league as an expansion team, and the rink is five minutes away from where my family lives. It’s a new chapter and an opportunity to build something brand new.
“(It was a) tough decision to make, but traveling an hour each way with kids at home versus playing at a rink underneath my local grocery store five minutes away makes more sense,” Malloy stated via e-mail.
He’s still looking to represent Australia’s national team, known as “The Mighty Roo,” in the spring.
“My goal is to earn a spot on the national team roster for another year. Our world’s are in Madrid in April.”
Austalia will play in Group A, Division II in April from the 17th through the 23rd, 2023, against Croatia, the nation of Georgia, Iceland, Israel, and the host country of Spain.
Malloy went on to say, “There’s also a Trans-Tasman Cup (tournament) in Melbourne where we have a three-game series with the NZ (New Zealand) (national) team in November (for Southern Hemisphere bragging rights).”
Malloy had 33 points in 19 regular season games, good for third best on Newcastle. Former Salisbury School player Francis Drolet was their top scorer. Drolet is heading to HC Varese (Italy-IHL Division-2) in the fall.
The pandemic took its toll on Australian hockey and society just as it did on the rest of the planet.
“COVID took a significant impact on hockey down here. The league had significant momentum and growth; now, it’s an opportunity to reboot. There are two expansion teams joining next year (Central Coast and Brisbane), with Adelaide and Perth rejoining, making it an even stronger ten-team national league. I think they are always considering expansion with New Zealand.
“It comes down to flight availabilities in and out of NZ because most guys have work commitments on Friday and Mondays,” Malloy, a one-time member of the Hartford Junior Wolf Pack, said.
Over the last two years, he and his young family also had to contend with major forest fires and flooding in New South Wales.
Lastly, Newcastle’s long-time coach earlier this century, Don Champagne, 71, passed away. Champagne helped direct Newcastle to four AIHL tiles.
