In what could be described as one of the the worst days in the Australian Ice Hockey League’s history, the Adelaide Adrenaline was involved in a motor accident on Saturday afternoon on their way to take on the CBR Brave in Canberra. However, as it has proven again and again, the Australian ice hockey community leapt into action to do what they could to help the South Australians.
The Adrenaline left Adelaide at about 9am, arriving in Sydney around 11.30am before making the drive to Goulburn, where they were spending the night following the game against the CBR Brave.
After resting a couple of hours in Goulburn, the team set off in two mini-buses, one with a trailer containing all their equipment. It was this bus that rolled at approximately 4pm before coming to a stop in the median strip of the Federal Hwy, less than 1km from the NSW/ACT border.
Amazingly, only one player, Måns Lindgren, was kept over-night in hospital for observation, with the other players and officials released on the same night.
It’s times like these that the hockey community pulls together. Teams and players that are on opposing teams and vying for top spot forget their on-ice rivalries and rally around one another.
At 4.15pm CBR Brave director Peter Chamberlin was already at the scene to help his fellow hockey family members, and within half an hour, fellow directors Jamie Wilson and Warren Apps were there as well making sure the players and staff from Adelaide didn’t have to worry about anything but their injured teammates.
Former player with the Canberra Knights and assistant manager with the Brave, Andrew Deans, came with his mini-bus and trailer to collect the team’s gear and provide transport while the Brave’s media producer Murray Barton was making his way over to the hospital with clean clothing for the boys that needed it - coming from the Brave players and merchandise such as Brave team tracksuits.
“It was a pretty horrible accident,” Barton said. “The bus was trashed. I think it was one of those things where it’s hard to tell how the accident happened but they’re lucky to be alive. They were lucky that there were no major injuries.”
“It was great to see Jamie, Warren and Peter pitch in. Peter was already on the scene of the accident when I arrived. It was good to see the CBR Brave helping out even though it’s an opposition team; they’re all part of the ice hockey family.”
By 7pm the shaken, but un-injured, Adrenaline players were at the Brave’s local watering hole, The Woden Tradies, sharing dinner courtesy of Brave management. By then, the extended hockey community had heard about the accident and support and well wishes were flooding in over social media from fans from all over the country as well as internationally asking how they could help the Adrenaline.
It’s moments like these that show true community spirit and sportsmanship, when rival teams and supporters will offer all the assistance they can to a team in need.
Adrenaline captain, Greg Oddy, said that the support from the Brave was “unbelievable”.
“Canberra has been fantastic,” Oddy said. “Peter was on the scene within 10 minutes. I really want to thank those guys and the league too but in particular the management and the players, just the way they’ve got behind us and gotten us through this tough time.”
This is not the first time that the local and international hockey community has rallied this season. In the pre-season when the Canberra Knights folded, every team in the AIHL came to the aid and support of the burgeoning new team that was to become the CBR Brave.
With donations made to the fund the new team being made by the Melbourne Mustangs players, the Melbourne Ice assisting with accommodation for the Brave’s first away games, not to mention the wider community and supporter base raising in excess of $28,000.
The Adrenaline’s weekend games against the CBR Brave and Sydney Bears were postponed.
We wish all the Adelaide Adrenaline players and management a speedy recovery.
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