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HELLYER LADDER

Team	GP	W	L	PTS
Ice	4	4	0	12
Thunder	6	4	2	12
Bears	4	3	1	9
Mustangs	2	1	1	3
Ice Dogs	5	1	4	3

RURAK LADDER

Team	GP	W	L	OTW	OTL	PTS
Northstars	4	3	0	1	0	11
Lightning	6	3	3	0	0	9
Adrenaline	3	1	1	0	1	4
Brave	6	1	5	0	0	3
Rhinos	4	0	4	0	0	0

SCORING LEADERS

Jeremiah
Addison (PER)

Player	Points
Aiden Wagner (NNS)	18
Wehebe Darge (NNS)	15
francis Drolet (NNS)	15
Zane Jones (PER)	13

GOALIE LEADERS

N Novysedlak (BRE)

1.000

Goalie	SV%
Rhys Pelliccione (PER)	.950
Tatsunoshin Ishida (MIC)	.933
Leo Bertein (PER)	.905
Charles Smart (NNS)	.903

Schlamp reaches 200 games

Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - Submitted by Ryan Darnley

It was seemingly fate that a two game suspension delayed long-time Sydney Bears Captain Michael Schlamp of his 200^th AIHL game when the Bears recently travelled to Adelaide.

Instead, he celebrated the milestone in a fixture with reigning Goodall Cup champions and the team that first drew him to Australian shores, the Newcastle North Stars.

Schlamp laughs at the notion that he would still be involved with the AIHL 14 years after debuting in 2002.

“I was only supposed to come to Australia for six months and it's now 14 years later,” Schlamp said. “[I] never thought I would still be in Australia, never mind playing hockey over here for that long.”

Schlamp’s season with the Newcastle side actually had a positive effect on his off-ice life, with a couple of players also travelling the same chiropractic path that Michael finds himself in.

“While I was playing in Newcastle, one of the guys on the team Fred Stevenson was a chiropractor and there was also a guy named Rob Spiers who was studying chiropractic in Sydney,” Schlamp explained. “I went back home to Canada and applied to study chiropractic at Macquarie [University] here in Sydney.”

It was purely for want of a skate that Schlamp became involved with the Sydney Bears in 2007, ending his first season in Bears’ colours with a Goodall Cup.

“I took my first few years off from 2004 to 2006 to study, then decided to go to a Bears training session with a buddy for a skate in 2007,” Schlamp remembers. “They were looking for players so it worked out and we ended up winning that year which was awesome.”

Schlamp has seen the league go from strength to strength in his career in the league, the local players always improving and the quality of imports increasing year on year. Rather than resting on his laurels and previous achievements, Schlamp has a stringent off-season conditioning program in order to stay at the top of his game.
“I try and keep myself in pretty good shape, I have a pretty physical job as a chiropractor and getting maintenance adjustments definitely helps,” he said. “I try and maintain good shape at the gym during the season and then put in a lot of work in the off season.”

“This year, we had a great off season program with the National Senior Team this year which really helped me get ready for the year.”

Speaking in glowing terms of his adopted country and his numerous tours with the National Senior Team, the Bears Captain is able to sum up his enjoyment in one line, saying “it's great to be able to still play the game I've loved since I was a kid and travel around Australia and the world doing it.”

Any player that has been around the Australian Ice Hockey League for any length of time has been able to witness growth and changes; none more so than someone that saw the competition in its infancy back in 2002 to its current state in 2016. This isn’t lost on Michael, who is emphatic in his praise for its growth.

“The quality of play has gone up in leaps and bounds,” he started. “The quality of imports that we get here now is fantastic and the play of the locals is all the better for it. The league has also done a great job with marketing with games being on FOXTEL and being shown on Air Canada flights is unreal.”

Realising the value of the volunteers both for the league itself and the individual clubs, Michael has built somewhat of a reputation as a friendly and approachable person around the league.

This is reflected in his willingness to appear on league marketing materials, the time he puts in with his own team and has seen rewards in being named a two-time captain of one of the AIHL All-Star teams.

“We have a great group of volunteers both at the Bears and around the league I just try and help out where I can,” Schlamp said. “[I] love to have a chat and help out with the publicity for the league and hopefully help it grow. It's fun to talk to guys like yourself and the fans.”

“It's pretty cool to have played that many games. Cherish all of them now; you never know how much longer you will end up playing,” Schlamp finished when asked what his thoughts are on the achievement.
The Sydney Bears were able to notch a shoot-out win, with the Captain notching an assist before missing his chance in the shoot-out. Either way, it offered great cause for team celebrations as well as the individual celebration of one of the league’s most recognisable faces.

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