Canterbury women’s winner
YOU could pick out half a dozen moments to neatly sum up Otago’s historic title win.
Dylan Thomas’ opening goal was not bad.
The ball popped up and he swatted it baseballstyle into the net.
Finn Ward’s goal was quite breathtaking. He robbed an opponent, charged into the circle and sent the ball hurtling towards the goal. The goalie got a pad on it but it dribbled in.
Big brother Jordan Ward dragged in a penalty corner with expert precision to make it 30.
Then there was the movement containing four or five pinpoint passes that ended with Craig Turner deflecting a cross into the net.
Otago was up 40 in the tier 1 men’s final, and held on to win 42 at the McMillan Centre on Saturday.
Wellington substituted its goalie late in the third quarter and spent pretty much the entire final 15 minutes camped deep in Otago’s half.
The resolve the home side showed to go on and claim its first senior men’s title was mindboggling.
But perhaps the most memorable moment came after the final whistle.
Veteran Otago coach Dave Ross can be a reserved character, and is not usually given to moments of high exuberance.
But he took a spot at the edge of the team photo and punched the air harder than anyone else.
He was delighted and he had earned every ounce of effort he put into that celebration.
Ross led a very talented Southern side, in the now defunct National Hockey League, that came painstakingly close to securing a maiden national title for the region.
The Dogs lost 21 to Auckland in the 2012 final. They returned the next season with hardened resolve, but were beaten 43 in the shootout by the same opponent.
That was tough enough, but they suffered the same fate in 2015, losing to Capital in a shootout.
‘‘It has been a long time coming,’’ Ross told the Otago Daily
‘‘We’ve been in a lot of finals and that was with Blair [Tarrant], Kane [Russell] and Hugo [Inglis] and so forth. We had some real names.
‘‘But, in actual fact, while we had some outstanding individuals, this is probably the more cohesive team. From 1 through to 18, they are probably a better quality player than we had back then.
‘‘I guess I’ve probably been involved in three or four finals, so to finally get over the line is probably a monkey off my back in some ways.’’
His son, Nick Ross, who captained the team, was part of those Southern teams which came so close.
He used the same ‘‘it has been a long time coming’’ line.
‘‘It is a dream result, really. You couldn’t write about it, could you?
‘‘It has been 20odd years in the making.’’
Twenty years for Nick, but forever for Otago. That wait is finally over.
Otago has some real depth in the men’s game. Canterbury beat North Harbour to win the tier 2 men’s competition, but Otago prevailed 32 in a shootout against Northland in the bronze medal match.
It had led 40, but Northland roared back to set up a tense finish.
CANTERBURY edged North Harbour 21 to claim the K Cup at the National Hockey Championship in Dunedin on Saturday.
Both sides felt each other out in the early stages before Georgia Clement scored her first goal of the tournament in the ninth minute.
The lead for North Harbour would not last long, however.
The Mainlanders struck back almost straight away through a penalty corner.
JennaRae McIntyre scored her fourth and her most critical goal of the tournament in the second quarter.
It proved to be the matchwinner, with neither side able to add to the scoring.
The win represents somewhat of a trifecta for Canterbury women’s hockey in 2022. The association won the under18 national championship, while Christchurch Girls’ High School claimed national schoolgirl honours at the Federation Cup.
In the tier 2 women’s final, Southland took on North Harbour B.
Southland was looking to avenge an earlier loss to Harbour.
Buoyed by local support, Southland got off to a flying start when Dayna Holland converted a penalty corner in the opening minute.
Susan White scored just before halftime to make it 20.
Despite a Harbour goal in the 44th minute, the deficit proved too much to overcome as Southland completed a deserved 21 win to claim the Floyd Shield.
It is understood that despite the win, Southland is not eligible for promotion as it is a composite team.
The Otago women finished last in tier 1, so it would be the team to drop down.