Ice Blacks Make History
New Zealand first played Australia in 1987 and the win on Sunday was the Ice Blacks' first over their transtasman rival in twelve attempts.
The team was ecstatic when the final whistle sounded. The players threw their sticks, gloves and helmets into the air and rushed into a giant huddle around victorious goal tender, Zak Nothling to congratulate each other.
Australia won the first test pretty convincingly at 8-2 on Saturday night and seemed to have the series sewn up. But the Ice Blacks came out firing to win the second test, then clinched the series by winning the series deciding shoot-out 2-0.
"We wanted the win tonight. It was monumental for us," said coach Jeff Bonazzo. "The series win was just icing on the cake."
Australia led 2-1 after the first penalty filled period before New Zealand came out strongly to score the only goals in the second to lead 3-2. Goals were scored by Braden Lee off a great tip from a Corey Down point shot, the second goal came off the stick of Stacey Rout, the inspiring leader of the Ice Blacks haka in his last game for the Ice Blacks, then Adam Soffer off a beautiful rush with linemates Chris Eaden and Paris Heyd.
The final period was full of tension, with Australia drawing level after 7min 30sec and New Zealand capturing back the lead three minutes later with a Chris Eaden tally. Australia drew level at 4-4 just about 5 minutes later.
The game winner came from outstanding rookie Paris Heyd with 4min 27sec left with a well placed shot over Matt Ezzy’s glove.
"I was very proud of the boys the way they dug deep and held them out when they kept coming back at us," Bonazzo said. Much credit must be given to the coach for turning the team around after Australia's win on Saturday night. "We didn't change anything," Bonazzo said. "We just played the same way we did in the first period on Saturday night, but did it for the whole game. We thought we had the right game plan to use our strengths and put them under pressure."
New Zealand played with aggression and forced the Australians into mistakes. Goaltender Zak Nothling, of Auckland, had an outstanding game, making 44 saves. He collected game MVP accolades for his effort.
The first-test result was not unexpected, as Australia had the experience of playing in the Division 1 World Championships this year and most of their players having played 25 games together this year in the AIHL.
Australia is ranked 33rd in the world and the Ice Blacks are 39th.
"I'm ecstatic. It's fantastic for New Zealand hockey to show that we can play at Div 2 level," Down said. "Tonight some of the young guys stepped up to the mark and showed their maturity. We played to our game plan and we pulled it off."
The first test highlighted Australia's strength and New Zealand's deficiencies when the team gets frustrated. The Australians handled the puck better and their speed on the ice gave them the edge over the Ice Blacks. They also attacked well moving the puck up through the middle and flying men down the wings.
The second period belonged to Australia when it scored five goals to take a decisive 7-2 lead despite the Ice Blacks leading 2-1 at one stage in the first. Goal tenders Matt Ezzy and Gabriel Robledo made 35 saves at the Ice Blacks out shot the Aussies but couldn’t find the twine. New Zealand's Rick Parry, who played the first test, saved 22 of 30 shots he faced.
The other player to stand out for Australia was defender John Halverson, who scored four of his team's eight goals.
First test: Australia 8 (John Halverson 4, Adrian Saul 2, Vladimir Rubes, Vladan Stransky), New Zealand 2 (Paris Heyd, Brett Speirs).
Second test: New Zealand 5 (Stacey Rout, Adam Soffer, Braden Lee, Chris Eaden, Paris Heyd), Australia 4 (Rob Starke, Eric La Freniere, Ray Sheffield, Casey Minson).
The series win has given the Ice Blacks confidence before next April's IIHF Division 2 World Championships in Estonia.
