They sealed back-to-back Premier Hockey League titles with a 5-1 win over the Mavericks in Auckland on Saturday.
While the win suggests a one-sided encounter, the game was evenly contested.
Neither defence yielded during the first half.
The Mavericks played a structured brand of hockey but they had a minor slip at the start of the third period.
They left Patrick Ward alone at the top of the circle, where Benji Culhane found him with a well-directed cross.
Ward trapped it and slammed it into the corner to make it 1-0.
He doubled the lead with a successful field conversion. He actually got the ball between the legs of the goalie, Felix McIntosh, so he was a little lucky there.
The Mavericks struck back almost immediately.
Zeke Buschl gave up a foul and the Mavericks executed a perfect set play in which the ball was passed around before Luke Aldred guided it into the back of the net.
The key moment came early in the final period.
The Mavericks had a golden opportunity to score, but the Alpiners scrambled out of trouble and hoofed the ball upfield.
Paul Doesch could not bring the overhead under control, and veteran striker Sam Lane pounced.
He scooped up the loose ball, got around the goalie and nailed the shot from an acute angle.
He added the field conversion without fuss.
The Alpiners had opened up a decisive 4-1 lead and Lane added a penalty stroke three minutes from fulltime to clinch the victory.
The Falcons beat the Tridents 5-3 in the men’s bronze medal match.
The women’s Premier Hockey League final was a tense affair before the Tridents secured a 3-2 win over the Falcons in Auckland on Saturday.
Maddie Harris opened the scoring for the Tridents in the final minute of the opening quarter.
But a green card to Petrea Webster opened the door for the Falcons. Emma Rainey threaded a pass to Olivia Shannon, who scored and converted to give her side a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Breana Catley nailed a reverse stick to level the scores ahead of the fourth quarter, and Harris slotted the winner with 10 minutes remaining.
In the women’s bronze medal match, the Alpiners beat the Mavericks 1-0 in a dramatic shootout.
Goalies Kirst Nation and Grace O’Hanlon held firm before Millie Calder broke the deadlock, defeating O’Hanlon to win the game for the Alpiners.
