And the Dunedin Thunder and Southern Stampede both claimed bragging rights after splitting the games during their men’s New Zealand Ice Hockey League doubleheader opener in Dunedin at the weekend.
The Stampede, who are the defending champions, having lifted the Birgel Cup for a record 10th time in 2025, started their season off strong with a 7-4 win on Friday. But the Thunder bounced back in front of their home crowd to beat the Stampede — who the Thunder beat for the first time since 2018 last year — 6-3 on Saturday.
Friday produced a tight encounter before the Stampede cracked it open in the final stanza.
Canadian import Sam Loiselle made a swift start in his Thunder debut, setting the tone with the opening goal.
The Stampede hit back through Logan Campbell, with Mitch Frear on the assist, to lock it up 1-1 at the end of the first period.
Luke Stegmann scored first for the Thunder in the second person with a short-handed goal, before goals to Dylan Devlin and Max Roth gave the Queenstown side the lead.
Loiselle could not be kept out of the action and levelled to make it 3-3 at the end of the second.
But then the Stampede’s class came to the fore.
Cole Beckstead scored early to give the Thunder the lead again— but then a Jackson Flight brace and goals to Jack Robbie and Lachlan Frear secured the defending champions’ win.
On Saturday, Stegmann clinched an important hat-trick to secure a Thunder victory.
Robbie scored the Stampede’s opener and Stegmann slotted his first. Devlin returned fire and veteran Chris Eaden bagged two to give the Thunder a 3-2 lead.
After a high-scoring opening period, nothing could separate the two in the second period and it all came down to the final spell.
Stegmann gave the Thunder a two-goal advantage in the opening minutes, and Ollie Ruski-Jones closed that to one for the Stampede.
Loiselle added another to his tally and Stegmann made sure of it with his third to give the Thunder a 6-3 win.
The West Auckland Admirals made a clean sweep against the Canterbury Red Devils, winning 7-2 and 5-3.
The Thunder are home to the Botany Swarm in a doubleheader this weekend, while the Red Devils host the Stampede.
• In the women’s league, the Auckland Steel beat the Wakatipu Wild 5-0 and 5-2. The Thunder open their season at home this weekend with a doubleheader against the Canterbury Inferno.
