Is this the greatest comeback in Canberra sporting history as the CBR Brave win the Goodall Cup for the third time?

A third of the way through the Australian Ice Hockey League season, the Caribou Canberra Brave were last after winning just one game in the first 10 rounds.

It was looming as a disastrous season, a season which started with so much expectation in the CBR Brave’s 10th year.

Things got to the point where coach Stu Philps started contemplating his future.

“I was thinking it was time for another coach to take over for the rest of the season,” said Philps.

“I was seriously thinking about stepping down. But the leadership group and the players persuaded me to stay.”

It’s likely that with such a high turnover of players from last season, it was always going to take time for the team to gel.

The CBR Brave also started the season without six Australian representatives and three imports.

“Even when the Australian players returned, and the imports arrived sporadically, it took us a while to find our feet. We had to wait until the chemistry was established,” Philps explained.

“We couldn’t win two games in a row at stages. Getting three in a row appeared to be a huge mountain to climb. Once we won three in a row, things got going.”

Philps said one of the factors behind the remarkable turnaround was the arrival of American import Matt Clark.

“He sparked the season. His playing ability and his personality energised the team and gave us depth.”

And what a run it turned out to be.

The CBR Brave won their final nine games, going on to win the championship with a 5-nil hammering of the Melbourne Ice at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne.

It matched the feat of the Canberra Raiders in 1989 when they won nine games in a row to secure the NSWRL premiership after being seventh with five rounds to go.

Philps said it was incredibly satisfying to come from last to win the Goodall Cup for the third time.

“This one was special because of the high expectations in our 10th year. To achieve that goal in our 10th-anniversary playing strip was incredible.”

For Philps, it was a remarkable achievement from a coaching point of view. In the past three seasons, he helped the CBR Brave to two Goodall Cup titles, and they were runners-up in 2023.

But there was little time to celebrate. He was on the plane back to Canberra soon after the game on Sunday to open the Phillip Ice Rink at six o’clock the following morning.

Surely, the performance of the CBR Brave, with a coach the players wanted in their corner despite a horrid start with the team at the bottom of the ladder, will go down as one of the more astonishing achievements in Canberra sport.