(Daniel Eade is a freelance journalist and regular BPL contributor. Picture: JACK GERAGHTY)

The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is quickly developing a cult following with crowds filling up stadiums here, there and everywhere, as the league attempts to find its own niche in the Australian sports market.

Even though the AIHL is skating through its 12th season, it is largely unheralded. Melbourne Ice head coach Paul Watson describes it as "a sport that sneaks under the radar".

The eight-team competition is made up of the Adelaide Adrenaline, Canberra Knights, Gold Coast Blue Tongues, Melbourne Ice, (Melbourne) Mustangs, Newcastle North Stars, Sydney Bears and the Sydney Ice Dogs.

There is also interest coming from Perth and New Zealand to be part of an expanded competition.

Crowds are flocking to games in relatively large numbers. The high standard of skill on the ice is played to a backdrop of loud and knowledgeable fans.

"There's a lot of skill involved. At this level, the talent is there. People are coming to watch it and they enjoy it," said Watson.

In his second season with the Ice, the 2010 national champions, Jason Baclig is living the dream, even if once upon a time he didn't know where his dream was going to take him.

Baclig (pictured, above) was born in Ontario, Canada and said initially he had no idea Australians even played ice hockey, let alone had a national league. "It was something I never even thought existed," he said. "So to play in front of sell-out crowds 90 per cent of the time was something I only thought of in dreams."

Baclig is one of the drawcards for Australian ice hockey, after successful stints in Germany and Holland. He has continued to put up points (goals and assists) with the Ice and currently leads the team with 24 (13 goals/11 assists).

The Ice are currently second in the standings with 7-1-2-2 (wins, losses, overtime-wins, overtime-losses) behind the Newcastle North Stars 9-2-0-2.

The hunter is now the hunted, but Baclig is not fazed by the expectations on the Ice: "There's pressure on us, people just expect us to win.''

"But it's going to be a battle. It's going to be really tight until the end (of the regular season).

"There's about four or five teams just battling for playoff spots right about now. Newcastle definitely has a lot of fire power. They have three import forwards, really good ones. But I'd watch out for the Sydney Ice Dogs (third; 6-4-0-0), they are the hardest working team and that's going to beat talent any day of the week."

Having beaten Adrenaline 4-2 on Sunday, the Ice's next game is against the Knights in Canberra on June 18.

The full AIHL fixture is available on the website: www.theaihl.com.