The Otago men have finished last in their pool but there is life after the round-robin.
They were beaten 2-1 by North Harbour at the National Hockey Championship in Christchurch yesterday.
Nathan Fouhy slammed in a penalty corner midway through the third period.
The Wolves made it 2-0 when Aiden Fraser slotted a goal from a penalty stroke.
Otago grabbed a consolation with five minutes remaining, dragflick specialist Jakarta Klebert unleashing a cracking shot.
But there was to be no dramatic comeback. The score remained 2-1. That left Otago in last place in pool B.
However, quarterfinals have been introduced this season, so they remain in the hunt for the title.
They will have to play the winner of pool A in said quarterfinal tomorrow, though, and that is likely to be Canterbury, who were playing Waikato in the late game yesterday evening.
The Otago women scored a 1-0 win over Wellington. Nina Murphy slapped the ball into an open goal late in the third quarter.
They will play Auckland in their quarterfinal tomorrow.
In the women’s tier 2 competition, Southland were beaten 4-1 by Tauranga.
Central Otago managed a 3-0 win over Bay of Plenty in the women’s tier 3, but their men’s side were edged 4-3 by Bay of Plenty in the men’s tier 3 competition.
