West Auckland Admirals 7 v Dunedin Thunder 1
Sunday 3rd August, Avondale, Auckland
Final |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
| West Auckland Admirals | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Dunedin Thunder | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
In what proved to be a fitting send off for one of New Zealand’s finest hockey players, Darren Blong. The Admirals finished their season with a convincing sweep of the Thunder, taking out Sunday’s game 7-1.
The start of Sunday’s game was delayed for a few minutes as a tribute was played on the big screen to the retiring Admirals captain. Blong, who was also presented with a plaque from the Auckland Ice Hockey Association, has been the Admirals captain since the start of the NZIHL in 2005 and has been represented Auckland in ice hockey since 1984. He also represented and captained the Ice Black for many years.
The Admirals determined to give their captain a great send off, started the game the same way they played Saturday’s game. They peppered the Thunder goalies with 20 shots in the first period, in that time they notched up 4 unanswered goals and had chased the Thunder starting goalie for the second night in a row. Vince Mitalas was replaced by Jeff Mansfield after only 17 minutes of the game.
The second period honours fittingly went to Blong, in his last game in an Admirals uniform he potted his last two goals, both assisted by line mates, Danny Smith and Alex Gafvert. During the second period the Thunder managed to end Admirals goalie Luke Christie’s bid for a shut out, with Richard Russo scoring their only goal of the night.
The final period saw the Admirals dominating again, but this time they were unable to convert their chances. The only goal of the period was scored on the power play by Jeff Bonazzo and the Admirals season ended at the 3rd period buzzer. They currently sit third on the table, needing the Southern Stampede to lose both games to the Swarm on the 9th & 10th August to stay there.
Notes: Luke Christie started in goal for the Admirals and was slightly more busy that Rick Parry on Saturday, facing 28 shots.
After the game Swedish import, Alex Gafvert was awarded the Admirals 2008 NIZHL MVP. Gafvert finished the season with 7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points.
Freddie Gigmalm and Danny Smith both finished the season leading the Admirals in points with 17.
In his last season, Darren Blong led the Admirals with 8 goals in 2008, along with Freddie Gigmalm.
For photos Click Here http://www.flickr.com/photos/nzihf/sets/72157606572137322/
| Scoring Summary | ||||
1st Period Scoring | Team | Goal Scorer | Assit | Assit |
14:08 | WAA | Jeff Bonazzo | Gareth McLeish | Robert Chamberlain |
11:42 | WAA | Steven Huish | Jeff Bonazzo | Corey Down |
3:58 | WAA | Alex Gafvert | Danny Smith | Lukas Birgel |
3:02 | WAA | Zane Brown (PP) | Guy Pulman | |
2nd Period Scoring | ||||
18:35 | WAA | Darren Blong | Danny Smith | Alex Gafvert |
14:05 | DNT | Richard Russo (SH) | James Van Leeuwen | |
0:37 | WAA | Darren Blong | Danny Smith | Alex Gafvert |
3rd Period Scoring | ||||
5:17 | WAA | Jeff Bonazzo (PP) | Freddie Gigmalm |
Shots: West Auckland Admirals 41, Dunedin Thunder 28
WAA - West Auckland Admirals
DNT - Dunedin Thunder
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