The Melbourne Mustangs Ice Hockey Club announced a successful conclusion to the 2019 season at the recent Annual General Meeting.

Club President John Belic told attendees, “In many areas of the club’s operations we set new records, created new opportunities and developed new methods and procedures which will prove beneficial for many years to come”. 

Game day attendances and memberships were the highest in the club’s history. Similarly, merchandise sales achieved record numbers, growing by over 100% from the previous season. 

Financially, the AGM heard that the club finished in the black  with some cash reserves carrying over into the 2020 season.

“This is a fantastic result overall especially given the negative profit result of the previous season”, John Belic said.

Game day activities and events were well received in 2019, with highlights including the Anzac Day Tribute, Pride Game, Brain Cancer Awareness Game, Kodiak Day, Future Stars of Hockey and Fan Skate.

A significant development in 2019 was the partnership between the Melbourne Mustangs and the Melbourne Chargers Ice Hockey Club. The MOU between the two clubs will underpin shared knowledge and resources that will help to nurture the Chargers, contribute to women’s hockey in Australia and ultimately grow the sport. 

“In time, we hope to assist the Chargers in competing in the highest level of female ice hockey in the country, the AWIHL,” said Belic.

Belic thanked the sponsors for their ongoing support of the club, with special mention going to Kodiak Construction Group as major and naming rights sponsor for 2019.

“Unfortunately, Kodiak will not be returning as our major sponsor for 2020. We thank Sue and John Dunwoody and Kodiak Construction Group for their generous support over the last 2 seasons.”

“We are currently in negotiations with a potential new Naming Rights sponsor for 2020 and hope to make an announcement very soon,” he said.

On the operations front, the AGM was told that 2019 was a challenging year for import player recruitment. We received late notice that some imports were unable to join the Mustangs, nevertheless our 2019 imports Christian Isackson, Parker Thomas, Kevin Nastiuk and Jordan Owens were valuable contributors to the team.  2020 recruitment is currently underway for imports and local players.

“Maxime Langelier-Parent will once again be at the helm in 2020 as our head coach which is fantastic for our team and club.”

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