Eastern Suburbs Ice Hockey Club

History

The Eastern Suburbs Ice Hockey Club was one of the original 4 teams formed at the time ice hockey resumed after the 2nd World War in the form of scrimmage sessions. War activities had an impact on the sport, claiming the lives of players and coaches and, all but completely shut down the sport in the state of Victoria. The State Association shifted focus towards attracting youth to the sport and developing their skill, lead by the individual ice rinks themselves. The post World War 2 period saw an influx of immigrants as well and some were attracted to the local sport. Overall, the number of members were very low, reaching as low as 100 players of various skill.

With the Melbourne Glaciarium backing out of running ice hockey in 1946, the only rink to enter teams for the competition was the St. Moritz Ice Palais in St. Kilda. Enough players were at a point where a small league could be formed and one was formed in May 1946 with 4 teams: Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs, Northern Suburbs and Southern Suburbs.