All roads lead to here. The Southern Stampede have weaved the lengthy path of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League and stood tall to finish top of the table at the end of the regular season. They wrapped up the regular season as top seed with 10 wins, three overtime wins and three losses and now prepare to host the Canterbury Red Devils in their doubleheader semifinal this weekend. “One of our goals is to make playoffs and one of the other goals is to be able to play playoffs at home,’’ Stampede coach Cam Frear said. “It’s good to get to the part of the hockey season where all the roads kind of lead to here.’’ The Stampede, captained by Connor Harrison, have long been the benchmark of the league — and rightly so, having lifted the Birgil Cup for a record 10th time last season. They suffered a couple of big losses in the offseason with Colin McIntosh, the second-highest scorer in the league last year, and Callum Burns, who played 200 games for the Stampede, heading to Australia. But Frear was impressed with how his side came together to get them to the playoffs. “Really happy with, I guess, just how some of the younger guys in our team have stepped into bigger roles within the team . . . with a new captain this year and a lot of our Kiwi players stepping up as well.’’ Forward Conner Jean finished the regular season as the second-highest points leader (45) and Lachlan Frear was fifth (36). Goalies Joel Gerard (.912%) and Aston Brookes (.898%) had been outstanding and topped the league. The Stampede head into the playoffs in fine form, having swept the West Auckland Admirals 8-1 and 4-3 in their last outing. “We were fairly happy with how we went at home,’’ Frear said. “We had one close game and one where . . . offensively it all kind of clicked together. “A good dress rehearsal for the playoffs.’’ The Stampede met the Red Devils last month and suffered a 6-5 loss, but bounced back to win 8-3 the next day. The Red Devils, who are the fourth seeds, present an interesting challenge for the playoffs and are home to import Alex Gagnon, who broke the record for most goals scored in a season with 31. He toppled Dunedin Thunder veteran Chris Eaden, who has held the record for 17 years. Frear said the Stampede needed to play well against Gagnon, and not give him too much time or space, while making good decisions under pressure. Having the luxury of home ice — with the Saturday fixture already sold out — was also a coup, he said. “Our fans and our rink is, you know, a huge advantage for us. “It’s a huge privilege — super excited about the weekend.’’ kayla.hodge@odt.co.nz
