The Dogs were scoreless after 60 minutes of hockey in the Challenge Shield final at Whangarei, but so were their opponents, the Capital Cobras, so off to the shootout they went.
Southern went up 3-2 in the shootout through Hugo Inglis, Nick Ross and a remarkable effort from captain Blair Tarrant, who retrieved the ball back into the circle with two seconds of his eight second allotment to spare to score from a reverse shot.
But a miss from Callum Bailey and a successful shot from the Cobras' Benedict van Woerkom tied up the shootout at 3-3.
Cobras captain Blair Hilton put the pressure on the Dogs when he converted from his turn in the shootout, and the Dogs' fate was sealed when Kirk Shimmins could not get the ball past the impressive Kyle Pontiflex in goal, leaving the shootout at 4-3 in the Cobras' favour.
The Dogs have made National Hockey League finals three times, but have now come away three times without the title.
''For us it's a bit tough because it's our third final and three of them have gone into overtime or sudden death,'' Dogs coach Dave Ross said.
''To lose all three is pretty tough on the guys, so they're hurting a bit.''
The Dogs had the lion's share of territory in the first quarter but the Cobras started to find their rhythm in the second.
''Ultimately, we tried to hold the ball. We did that reasonably well, but once the rain came, it was difficult to move the ball as quickly as we had been doing,'' Ross said.
''They were able to get numbers behind the ball and wait for a small mistake and counterattack from there.''
The Cobras did force two penalty corners - one at the end of the first quarter and another early in the third - but Dogs goalkeeper Tom Lysaght was up to the mark both times.
As the fulltime buzzer drew closer, the game opened up like Lance Armstrong being interviewed on Oprah. The Cobras' Stephen Jenness had a gilt edged chance to snatch the win in the closing seconds of regular time, but failed to make contact with a well placed cross.
Tarrant was named the men's MVP for the tournament, and Ross praised other senior players such as Kane Russell, Inglis and Nick Ross.
There are good signs for the future of southern hockey, judging by the youth in the side.
''There are eight guys who haven't played National League before, so to blood them all at once and to get a final out of them is pretty exciting for the future of southern hockey.''
The Dogs reached the final with a 2-0 win over Midlands in the semifinal on Saturday and the Cobras toppled Auckland 3-2.
The women's final was a one sided affair, with Auckland thrashing Northland 6-0. The Southern Storm women's side ended its tournament winless, finishing eighth after a 5-0 loss to Capital in the playoff for seventh and eighth.
