Newcastle Northstars captain Bert Malloy now has the chance to lift the Goodall Cup on his home rink later this year and he wants to make the most of it.
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Hunter Ice Skating Stadium was on Monday announced as the venue for the 2019 Australian Ice Hockey League finals after a six-season stint in Melbourne.
August 31 and September 1 will mark the fifth time the Warners Bay facility has hosted the national play-offs, following previous weekends in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012.
Six-time champions the Northstars are currently second on the competition ladder after notching up 38 points, seven behind leaders Canberra and 19 clear of next best Sydney Bears with 13 regular round matches remaining.
This means Newcastle are in the box seat to feature in the top-four series and Malloy wants the Northstars to go all the way.
"Obviously it would be great to lift the cup on our home rink and in front of our home fans," Malloy told the Newcastle Herald.
"We've got a good chance to do it now because we've had a good start to the season, but with the play-off format [1v4, 2v3] anything can happen."
Northstars coach John Kennedy jnr said there was a little "fist pump" when he first heard the news.
"I think this will help re-energise us in the second half of the season and help us play with even more purpose," Kennedy jnr said.
"All the boys will be excited by this but there's still a long way to go. We've got to stay focused and make sure we keep doing what we've been doing."
Garry Dore, general manager of the Northstars and stadium itself, said he was "pretty happy" to again be hosting "the best ice hockey event in the country" despite some initial criticism online.
"We only had US v Canada here the other week so it's another great opportunity for us," Dore said.
The official Australian Ice Hockey League statement backed the Northstars' headquarters and pointed to sharing future finals with other venues.
"The Hunter Ice Skating Stadium offers an Olympic sized rink with a capacity of up to 900 hockey fans," AIHL released on social media.
"The Newcastle Northstars also have a strong volunteer base that will assist in delivering an outstanding game day experience for fans, families, corporates and media.
"With development applications in place for new rinks around the country, we hope that in the future, all our teams will have the opportunity to see the finals come to their cities."
Tickets go on sale via the AIHL website this Thursday (9am).
