The Stampede will have to work hard to retain the title it has held for the past three years.
The defending champions were edged 5-4 in overtime by the West Auckland Admirals in game one of the finals series in Auckland on Saturday.
Coach Adam Blanchette could not be reached for comment, but it was the Stampede’s first loss since its 4-3 loss to the Dunedin Thunder in mid-June.
However, the Queenstown-based team will not be hitting the panic button just yet.
It won 10 games in a row before the overtime loss to the Admirals, and it will get to host the next two matches courtesy of finishing on top of the standings during the round-robin phase.
Game two for the Birgel Cup is on Friday night.The Admirals lead the head-to-head 3-2 this season, but lost both games in Queenstown.
Stampede veteran Matthew Schneider opened the scoring on Saturday when he snapped in a goal midway through the first period.
Max Macharg put the Stampede further ahead early in the second period when he beat the keeper in a one-on-one.
The Admirals replied with one of their own before Schneider netted again to restore the visitors’ buffer.
In a busy period, both sides then found the goal once more.
With 20 minutes remaining the Stampede led 4-2, but the Admirals rallied and popped in two goals.
The equaliser came three minutes from the end, forcing the game into overtime.The final goal completed a mighty comeback for the Admirals.
They have never won the tournament, while the Stampede is chasing its sixth title and fourth in a row.
