yea boys! have we got a game report for the final? we are hanging out for a play by play epic!

IIHF Under-18, Division 3, Group B World Championships
Saturday, 20 March 2010

New Zealand Under-18 National Team ? 5
Mexico Under-18 National Team ? 4

Gold Medal Game

Never before had this team played in such an important international game. Last year, New Zealand U-18 lost the first game, which put them out of gold medal contention. And with the Under-16?s, no game has carried such high rewards as this one.

The game was to start at 7:30pm; the day was quite tense as our minds were fixated on the upcoming game. We were also quite sore from the physical game versus South Africa the night before. Because of this, we took our pregame skate where we worked on defensive systems and skating drills. There was a good upbeat tempo and seriousness about the drills- the team was becoming more and more focussed.

We arrived at the rink to catch the tail end of the nail-biting South Africa ? Israel bronze medal game, in which our southern hemisphere friends won in a shootout. From then on, New Zealand regained their focus to the task at hand. This was to outskate, outwork and defeat Mexico. We had noted in our scouting that they were not a fit team, and they relied on two key players and lines. We had the depth to compete with 4 lines, and our fitness was far superior. If we survived the first period, we would do fine for the rest of the game.

The first period ended with 3 Mexican goals, and none from us. All three goals were on their powerplay. In the dressingroom at the intermission, we kept a positive attitude as we proved that we could skate with them. Not one player was showing signs of fatigue, and we know that we would begin to wear them down in the second.

The second period started with the same tempo as the first, but with NZ showing greater defensive commitment. Defencemen were blocking and deflecting shots, and our forwards were backchecking with more determination than their forecheck. New Zealand was rewarded soon enough by a goal from Connor Harrison. Soon after, from some outstanding penalty killing from Quinn Drake, a shorthanded goal was scored by Remy Sandoy. We were within one, but then Mexico gathered the puck on a rush and fired it past Joe Gaynor. 4-2 Mexico with 20 minutes to go.

The New Zealand dressingroom was pumped for the third period. Before entering the room myself, I stood back and listened to the team?s words of encouragement and motivation- everyone was talking. We had developed the inner confidence that we were going to take this. And we certainly did.

In the first 10 minutes of the third period, Harrison and Gareth Lloyd scored 3 goals to make it 5-4, and we would hold on to this lead. Despite playing a more defensive game, we outskated the Mexicans and won our 1on1 battles. Our defence was rock solid. And our forward lines were skating with such tenacity. Even with Dane Dunlop in the penalty box with 3 minutes to go, we rallied around our goalie and blocked everything that went our way. The final minutes ticked down quickly, and when Jamie Lawrence corralled a loose puck along the side boards and carried it up the ice with 10 seconds to go, New Zealand realized that they had earned an IIHF Under-18 Division 3 Group B World Championship.

Reflecting on this game that has now taken place 3 days ago, we now realize that this team was formed from way back starting in 2006 with the New Zealand Under-16?s. These players fed off each other, and learned how to win under any circumstance. They had the drive and belief that they could overcome any deficit, such as blowing a 5-2 lead against Israel to win 9-8, or coming back to defeat Mexico from a 3-0 beating. Now that we are back home in New Zealand and have gone our own separate ways, we have a year to enjoy this success, and prepare on the ice to prove to the world that New Zealand belongs in the IIHF Division 2 competition.

Reported by:
Jonathan Albright
New Zealand Under-18 National Team
New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation
24 March 2010