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Game One – Saturday

In a bruising and sometimes spiteful encounter at the Alpine Ice Stadium in Christchurch, the Canterbury Red Devils have answered their critics by posting another resounding 8-4 win – this time against defending champions, Auckland’s Botany Swarm

After shrugging off a slow start in which the Devils gave up the first goal to the Swarm’s Leith Thompson, Canterbury clawed their way back into the game late in the first period with a goal each to Chris Eaden and Ryan Ruddle.  The two linemates had another productive night at the office, gratefully accepting any loose pucks as they took out the garbage from in front of the net

In the second period, as referee Paul Scott blew the pea out of his whistle, the Swarm’s two-line strategy started to run out of puff as the Devils killed off a number of penalties.  Devils coach Keith Payne was able to make use of four good lines, boosted by the home town addition of players such as Regan Bakker-Connell, Bernd Todt, Anton Purver and James Carr, who capped off a memorable debut in the NZIHL by scoring the first goal of the second period.

While each team was never really able to string together any cohesive passages of play, Canterbury were nevertheless able to convert more opportunities, outscoring the Swarm 3-1 in the second period to open up a commanding 5-2 lead.  Justin Findlay, in net for the Devils, turned on a great display of goaltending, and was unlucky on at least two of the four goals he eventually gave up, as a couple of awkward bounces found the back of the net.

In the third period, a desperate Botany team could sense their season slipping away, and the bodychecks came thick and fast, the referee penalising both teams for illegal hits.  Matters finally came to a head when Jacques Kemp took exception to Ruddle being checked into the crossbar after scoring, and took on Swarm enforcer Ryan Neilson, the two players being invited by referee Scott to sit out the remainder of the game after trading a few blows.

With an almost uninterrupted procession of Canterbury players to the penalty box, and a safe three-goal lead, Payne took the opportunity to give ice time to his reserves, while all the time Ruddle and Eaden kept trading goals with each other, Ruddle eventually scoring four while Eaden had to settle for his hat-trick – his third in five games.  The Canterbury youngster has cemented his position at the top of the League’s pointscoring ladder with 18 goals in only five games, while Ruddle, playing his first season of Ice Hockey after making the switch from Inline, jumps from sixth to second and now has nine goals and ten assists.

Game Two – Sunday

The Canterbury Red Devils have all but killed off Swarm hopes of making the final of NZIHL 2009 after a pulsating come from behind victory over the defending champs.  In what was a must-win game for Botany, the Devils snatched what looked like certain victory for the northerners when they scored four unanswered goals in the last period, erasing a two-goal lead that the visitors had taken into the final intermission.

A fired-up Botany had the Devils on the ropes for much of the game, out shooting and outscoring them after Rene Aish had opened the scoring in the first few minutes of the first period.  A second and power-play goal soon after the first break, to first-line pairing Josh Hay and Sam Boniface, had the Swarm looking good, but a desperate Canterbury kept their nose above water with a reply credited to Paris Heyd, although it was clearly Ryan Ruddle who stuffed the puck into the net from almost underneath Auckland goaltender Zak Nothling.

The two finalists from last year then traded goals – Botany’s third effort coming after Sam Moses cleaned up a nice assist from KC Ball who forced the turnover deep in the Canterbury zone, while Canterbury’s top line clicked again when Ruddle fed the puck to Chris Eaden in front.  Normally good for a handful of points a game so far this season, league leader Eaden was held to just the one point for the night, and was closely marked by the Swarm defence.

With three minutes to go in the second, Botany’s Charlie Huber found a loose puck in the neutral zone and turned defence into attack with a rush up the right wing, feeding Martin Lee to restore the Swarm’s two goal buffer as the teams headed to the sheds.

Canterbury Coach Keith Payne remained calm throughout the game, and simply reminded his team at the final intermission to focus on some basics and try and maintain discipline, as the Devils had once again incurred the wrath of the officials, killing off a string of 5 on 4’s and even a gutsy 5 on 3 for a minute and a half.  When the puck dropped for the final period, it was the Swarm who couldn’t stay out of the box, as captain Andrew Hay was called for a tripping penalty that marked the turning point of the game.  The Devils coolly set up their Power Play and sent Heyd into the slot, where he converted a lovely pass from Hamish Lewis to reduce the lead to one.

From that point on, the game momentum shifted perceptibly back into the home team’s favour, and when Swarm import Jesse Trepanier was called for tripping, the Devils scored the equalizer through Adam Soffer with an assist from Brett Salzl, sending the home fans into delirium.  The loudest cheer of the night, however, was reserved for one of Canterbury’s youngest players, James Carr, who had celebrated his debut in the NZIHL the night before with a goal.  The kiwi Under 18 player is clearly enjoying himself on the ice, and is relishing sharing a line with Ice Blacks Soffer and Dale Harrop.  With just over five minutes left in the game, and the Devils with their tails up, Carr scored the game-winner when he cleaned up the rebound from Harrop, sparking wild celebrations on the ice.

It was now the Swarm, who had looked so strong for almost the entire game, who sensed their season slipping away as they tried to look for an opportunity to pull their goalie.  With both teams trying desperately not to incur a penalty, in the end it was Canterbury’s depth that gave them the edge, as Payne was able to cycle quickly through his three lines while Swarm coach Andy Kaisser tried to extract some magic from his visibly tired top ten skaters.  In what was almost an inevitability, it was Canterbury who had the final say, when stocky Canadian Brett Salzl scored the safety goal in the final few minutes.

Both teams now head into yet another bye weekend before Canterbury faces the league’s hottest team, Queenstown’s Southern Stampede later this month, while the Swarm will try and resurrect their season when they host cross-town rivals the Admirals.