IN Ice Hockey

They’ve only played one full season but Perth’s first Australian Ice Hockey League team, Perth Thunder, made plenty of noise over the winter season.


They’re one of Perth’s best kept sporting secrets, but Perth Thunder – our first national ice hockey team – have had a phenomenal season in the world’s fastest team sport.


Twenty-four-year-old defensive player Riccardo Del Basso, known as Ric in the No 12 jersey on the ice, is the co-owner of Perth Thunder alongside head coach Stan Scott.


Perth Thunder are a not for profit, semi-professional team which is part of the Australian Ice Hockey League. Though established in 2010, this is the first year of the team’s full inaugural licence. Ric says the team have done extraordinarily well on the ice by already battling for the playoff position this season. They’re also garnering the interest of bigger sponsors, which is what supports the team’s travel and home series logistics.


The team train two nights a week on the ice, do their own fitness work and fly east regularly to compete against the other national teams or host local games at their home ground, the Perth Ice Arena. As they don’t get paid, every player has a fulltime job, including the imported talent.


The Australian season, which is played across our winter, also allows players to head to the northern hemisphere for their winter season to compete while still being able to play in the off-season.


Of the 26 players on the team, most of them were born in Perth with a handful of Canadians and another handful born in the US, New Zealand and England. They range in age from late teens to early 40s, though the majority are in their mid-20s.


Ric fell in love with the ice in his early teens and eventually spent a year in Canada skating everyday, which only reinforced his love for the sport. When he returned home he realised there were not many opportunities to compete in the sport and eventually set about creating one.


“I didn’t really want to leave Perth and go anywhere else,” says Ric, who is also an accountant. But he wanted to keep playing ice hockey at a high level, so he co-founded Perth Thunder in 2010 and after jumping through the regulatory league hoops, the team have been actively competing in their first inaugural season.


Living here is about a lifestyle, which is why the overseas players come here too. They want to play ice hockey and see Australia.


Across the winter season – which runs from April to September – Perth Thunder will have played 24 games, 12 of which were played in Perth. Ric says local support for the team continues to grow and it seems that fans are coming from all age groups.


“It’s a sport which welcomes everyone,” Ric says. “We’re already starting to see some strong development players coming up, which I think has something to do with them seeing there’s a place they can play and seeing the team be successful is great for young players."


For more information, check out www.perththunder.com
The Perth Ice Arena is located at 708 Marshall Road, Malaga.