Defending national champions the Canterbury Cats completed a perfect start to their campaign with three wins across the three-day cup tournament at the weekend.
Jaimee Eades managed two goals in the team’s first match, a 3-0 win over the Canterbury Barracuda on Friday.
The Cats were able to hold on for a 2-1 win against Wellington, after scoring two field goals in the first half.
It was a similar game against Otago on Sunday, with the Cats leading 2-0 by the end of the last quarter. Despite a late goal by Otago, the Canterbury women’s A side held on to win 2-1.
They had a flying start to the tournament with a 4-1 win over B-side the Canterbury Beavers.
A hard-fought 1-1 draw against Wellington followed on Saturday, with the match decided by shootouts. None of the Wellington attackers were able to put the ball past goalkeeper George Enerson, with Canterbury prevailing 3-0.
The tournament also saw both Canterbury B teams show promising signs ahead of their national campaigns.
The Beavers pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament by beating Otago 4-2 to record their only win.
Although they went into the second quarter 2-1 down, goals from Jakarta Klebert (PC), Ethan Barton (FG) and Bryce Smith (PC) saw the Beavers secure the win.
After placing seventh in tier 2 of the National Hockey Championship last year, the Barracuda will take confidence after some hard-fought losses against quality sides.
- The Canterbury sides will now turn their focus to the national tournament held in Hamilton from September 10. Draws and results for the tournament can be found at www.hockeynz.altiusrt.com
