Lane fired in five goals to lead the Black Sticks men to a 6-1 win over the host nation to claim the bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
The Alpiners foward banged in field goals after five and seven minutes, completed his hat-trick by scoring from a penalty corner in the 33rd minute, and added a field goal and a penalty stroke to cap a marvellous performance.
The Black Sticks took control early in front of a buzzing home crowd in Ipoh.
Lane delivered two clinical field goals thanks to a combination of sharp passing, strong connections through the attacking third and his own accurate positioning and timing.
The second quarter followed a similar pattern, with the Black Sticks continuing to dictate play.
Lane came inches away from completing a first-half hat-trick when his penalty corner flick was brilliantly denied by a Malaysian defender on the post.
Moments later, the spotlight shifted to James Hickson, who produced a moment he will never forget.
Bursting through midfield on a rapid counterattack, Hickson carried the ball nearly 60m before unleashing a powerful reverse-stick shot into the back of the net.
It was his first international goal and a statement moment in the bronze medal final, giving his side a 3-0 lead at halftime.
The third quarter belonged entirely to Lane, who delivered one of the outstanding periods of his international career as the New Zealand captain scored three goals in the space of 15 minutes.
A smooth penalty corner finish, a superb field goal at the end of a full-length counterattack sparked by outstanding penalty corner defence from George Baker, and finally a composed penalty stroke that sent the goalkeeper the wrong way — the Lane train was unstoppable.
Malaysia responded with a penalty stroke of their own to make it 6-1 heading into the final quarter, and there were no goals after that point.
The win capped an outstanding tournament for Lane, who moved to the top of the tournament goal-scoring chart with nine, and now has 51 international goals.
It was also a big night for an Otago man.
Malachi Buschl earned his 50th cap for the Black Sticks, who are building nicely for the 2026 World Cup.
Belgium beat India 1-0 in the final.
— Allied Media
