The question of who is best has always been a contentious issue between South and North Islanders.
The South Island is without a doubt the better of the two when it comes to ice hockey. The Giant Eagles topped the North Island Whiptails 6-4 in the sixth annual Skate of Origin game in Dunedin on Saturday to win the Glass Shield for a third straight year.
The country's best ice hockey players turn out for their island of origin.
Dunedin Thunder and Ice Blacks coach Janos Kaszala was in charge of the South Island in front of a home crowd, while Botany Swarm coach Andreas Kaisser coached the North Island.
The South Islanders were on the back foot for the majority of the opening period, before Charlie Huber, who plays for the Adelaide Adrenaline in the Australian league, put the Whiptails up 1-0 after 10 minutes.
Shaun Harrison, who plays for the Dunedin Thunder, made it 2-0 five minutes later when he banged in a rebound, and it looked like the North Island was cruising.
The South Islanders, made up of players from the top three teams in the national league, finally woke up and Tristan Darling slammed home their opener to cut the deficit to 2-1 after the first period.
The Giant Eagles came out firing in the second period and Chris Eaden cashed in on a power play to knot the game up at 2-2.
Dunedin Thunder goaltender Kane Easterbrook came into the North Island goal midway through the second period and immediately took a peppering.
Connor Harrison showed his class to put the South Island up 3-2, breaking down the middle and sweeping the puck past his Thunder team-mate.
The lead was short-lived as Aaron Henderson struck for the Whiptails. However, the Giant Eagles did not waste any time in taking the lead for good.
Mitchell Frear scored the goal of the game from a face off, smashing the puck past Easterbrook and into the top-left of the goal. Eaden quickly scored his second of the game and the South Island led 5-3 with a period to play.
Darling scored a smart goal on the wraparound to make it 6-3 early in the final period and the South Island never looked back.
Perth Thunder's Andrew Cox scored a consolation goal for the North Island, but his team lost the battle of island superiority.
By Robert van Royen.
Skate of Origin
The scores
South Island 6
Chris Eaden 2, Tristan Darling 2, Connor Harrison, Mitchell Frear
North Island 4
Aaron Henderson, Shaun Harrison, Charlie Huber, Andrew Cox
