After losing by shootouts in the finals of the past two seasons, the boys were able to banish those demons and win the division.
Last Friday, the Boys 1st XI Hockey team played in the SSL Division 1 final against Rolleston College, and came away as winners after a penalty shootout.
When the season started, it was hard to picture that we would be in this position. We struggled to get enough people to play, and it was only because of people willing to give hockey a go that we were able to field a team this year. Thankfully, our coach Sam Dawson put the work in and helped all of us improve to the level where we could be competitive in the division. We started the season well, stringing together some wins and playing some decent hockey. However, a mid-season wobble in which we went winless for several games saw us slide down the ladder. The term break came at the right time, and we regrouped and came back refocused. An unbeaten end to the regular season saw us finish third on the ladder, heading into the knockout rounds.
A dominant 7-1 win in the quarterfinal took us into the next round, where we played a scrappy and chaotic game against CBHS, coming away with a 5-4 win. We progressed to our third final in a row, with the goal of finally getting it over the line this time. The match against Rolleston was intense, with the team having to sit back and defend for large periods of the game. Our defense held firm, and we generated opportunities down the other end as well. However, a 0-0 finish meant we headed to a penalty shootout. Third time was the charm, and thanks to a clinical performance from goalkeeper Miles McGrath, we could celebrate after winning the shootout 2-0.
The team will now head to Greymouth and compete in the Coaches Cup during Winter Tournament week.
Thomas O’Brien (Captain)
