The Canterbury Red Devils beat the Dunedin Thunder in this year’s NZIHL Grand Final with a 7-3 win. With the win the Red Devils not only have defended their win last year but have won their 3 championship in team history.

Unlike the Red Devils controversial win in last year’s final, there was no debate as who was the winner on this night. The Devils outscored, outshot, outskated and completely outclassed a well collected Thunder team. It was a special win for the team’s four import players who for the first time played ice hockey in New Zealand and were fortunate enough to taste success. It was the last game behind the bench for Devil’s coach Anatoly Khorozov who goes out with another NZIHL Championship.

The Dunedin Ice Stadium was packed to capacity with all onlookers looking forward to a closely contested final. After a ceremonial puck drop it was time to play some hockey. The game started at a fast pace with many players full of early game nerves. The Devils were able to sustain quality offensive zone pressure on the Thunder for most of the first period but unable to capitalize on those chances. Thunder were very fortunate to have Goaltender Matt Canaday on form as he was spectacular in the first period but the Devil’s players knew it was only a matter of time. The Thunder were able to have their fair share of chances also due mostly to Red Devil turnovers in the neutral zone and other defensive errors. The teams headed into first intermission with no goals scored. Both teams had plenty to ponder during the break.

The second period started with a rejuvenated Devil’s team determined to turn their scoring chances into goals. The Devils were rewarded early in the second period with the third line scoring the first goal of the game, courtesy of defenseman Stefan Spijkerman’s snipe wrist shot from the blue line. This goal created a buzz around the Stadium as the Devils fans erupted into a deafening sound that would soon propel the Devil team across the line. The Devils continued to press for another goal for the majority of the start of the second period with no luck due to Canaday’s strong play. Shortly after the midday point of the game the Devils were able to slot their second goal of the night. Terry Watt tapped in the puck after a great pass from Marcus Bengtsson from an initial odd man break. With less than a minute to go in the period, Takumi Ledbetter was sprung on a breakaway from a heads up pass from Stefan Spijkerman. Ledbetter made no mistake to increase the Devils lead to 3-0. The Devils completely dominated the Thunder in this period, out shooting them 20-3 and took a 3-0 lead into the second intermission.

With 20 minutes left in the season the Devils started the period the way they finished the second; with a goal. Takumi Ledbetter scored his second goal of the night in the first minute of the period with a nicely placed wrist shot to the blockers side of the goalie. The Devils rubbed salt into the wounds of the Thunder as two more goals were scored before the midday point of the period.  Chris Eaden who was side-lined for 9 weeks returned for the final and scored the teams 5^th goal of the night, after tapping in a rebound from the initial shot by Marcus Bengtsson. Bradley Apps capped off a brilliant performance by the third line with his goal from a one timer, courtesy of a Dale Harrop pass. With the clock winding down to less than 10 minute’s, the composure and defence of the Devils was shaken to a great extent as the Thunder scored 3 quick goals. This threatened to underpin how well the Devils had performed in this game. The Thunder goal scorers were, Andre Robichaud, Martin Pokorny and Paris Heyd. With the time ticking down to less than 3 minutes, Thunder Coach Janos Kazala had no choice but to pull his goalie for an extra attacker as the Thunder still needed 3 goals to tie the score. This move however backfired as Chris Eaden was able to score his second goal of the night as he shot the puck into a vacant Thunder net from centre ice. With a 7-3 lead and with time limited, it was fair to say that the Devils were going to win this contest.

When the final hooter sounded, there was shear jubilation and excitement from the players and coaching staff as a lot of hardwork had paid off. The body language of the players displayed relief but an element of excitement that just can’t be expressed into words. What happened from after the game ended and before the team arrived back into Christchurch is something that stays with the team but one thing I can say is that this celebration was like no other.

Special note goes to all Red Devil players that won awards following the game. Jake Radcliffe won the award as the league’s Top Rookie, Brett Speirs was named the Devil’s Most Valuable Player, Terry Watt was rewarded as the League’s Best Defenseman and Takumi Ledbetter was the Finals MVP. Well done guys, you all had spectacular seasons.

Team Roster 

Vince Mitalas, Michael Coleman, Hayden Argle, Terry Watt, Ryan Huggett, Stefan Spijkeman, Tom Richards, Jamie Lawrence, Dan Nicholls, Eddie Commons, Chris Eaden, Marcus Bengtsson, Nikita Vasilenko, Dale Harrop, Brett Speirs, Kevin Jagau, Anton Purver, Josh Greenwood, Martin Lee, Bradley Apps, Takumi Ledbetter, Liam Dallimore

Head Coach - Anatoly Khorozov

Assistant Coach - Stacey Rout

Player Coach - Vince Mitalas

Manager - Graham Tappin

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Original Article from http://reddevils.co.nz/