Four first-quarter goals helped Albany blow Kings away last year but this time Kings took home the extra point in a shootout after a 3-3 thriller in regular time.
The Alligators were not able to get off to quite as good a start this time, though they dominated the first quarter, playing some excellent hockey in possession.
It took a bit of quality for them to break the deadlock, but a powerful flick from Nic Finlayson with five minutes to run in the quarter proved too hot for Kings to handle.
Albany had their foot on the throat but failed to maximise their dominance and were punished for it as Josh Caldwell profited from a defensive mix-up to level the scores midway through the second quarter.
Kings grew into the contest, but could not find a way past Michael Lobb for a second time.
In the third quarter, the game finally found life as Kings earned themselves a penalty corner with some clever play from Daniel Torr.
Off the corner, Caldwell swept hard with it rebounding out to Sam Lawson, who thrashed it home.
Albany were furious, but they had to refocus — which they did.
They forced a penalty corner at the other end, only to be denied with 30 seconds to go on the clock.
In unfortunate circumstances, Kings then gave Albany another corner and, after a real goalmouth scramble, Jack Cotton punished them to level the scores.
The drama continued into the fourth quarter, as Charlie Standish slipped one over the line for Albany, only to be pegged back by a Mason Kingan goal five minutes later.
Both sides chased the game in the last few minutes and, with five seconds to go, Albany forced the ball into the goal, but it was ruled out for a hack.
Lachie Colquhoun capped off a fine display by winning Kings the shootout with some excellent goalkeeping, taking home the extra point.
In the later men’s game, Taieri eased past a gritty University Panthers side 6-1.
In the premier women’s competition, Momona continued their shield reign by coming back from two goals down to draw with old foes Kings United.
Kings raced out of the blocks with two first-quarter goals, only to be pegged back by Sorrell Shand just before the first interval.
Momona adapted well, working hard to hold out Kings, and they were rewarded with an equaliser to Shand with four minutes to play.
At the other end, Kings thought they had won the game and the shield in the dying moments when they found the back of the net, but it was ruled out for danger.
Momona went on to win the shootout.
Earlier, the City Highlanders beat the Taieri Tigers 1-0.
- Nicholas Friedlander
