Two more solid wins at the weekend have kept the dominant Queenstown-based team at the top of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League.
The Stampede moved to 6-0 and 18 points — a full 10 points clear of the rest of the league — with 3-1 and 4-0 wins over the Botany Swarm in front of vocal sellout crowds at the Queenstown Ice Arena.
Scoring goals has never been an issue for the team but you win championships by protecting the net, and Aston Brookes put on a clinic in front of goal.
Brookes saved 26 of 27 shots on Friday night, and was perfect on Saturday night as he recorded 38 saves.
Mike McRae, who later added two assists, scored the open-
ing goal for the Stampede in the 4-0 victory on Saturday.
It remained in the balance at 1-0 heading into the final period when the home side clicked into gear.
Adam Soffer made it 2-0, Callum Burns scored his league-leading ninth goal of the season, and Lachlan Frear completed the shut-out with an empty-net goal.
There was a nice moment in Friday night’s game when 17-year-old forward Axel Ruski-Jones scored his first goal for the Stampede.
Max Macharg also scored to make it 2-0 at the end of the first period.
The Swarm replied but Stefan Amston made it 3-1 before the rest of the game went scoreless.
There is a rematch on August 6-7 when the Stampede heads north to play the Swarm.
The Dunedin Thunder is at home this weekend to the West Auckland Admirals.
