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Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Stampede cruise into final after toppling Thunder
Dunedin Thunder forward Cole Beckstead controls the puck ahead of Stampede forward Dylan Devlin during the New Zealand Ice Hockey League semifinals in Queenstown at the weekend. Thunder goalie Toby Shuck is in the background. PHOTO: JAMES ALLAN / SKYCITY STAMPEDE One season ends but another is just a few healthy slap shots away from ending in more glory. The Stampede emphasised southern bragging rights remain firmly in Queenstown with a pair of wins over the Dunedin Thunder in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League semifinals at the weekend. A 7-3 win on Friday night was followed by a 9-3 tonking 24 hours later. The Stampede, seeking a record 10th Birgel Cup, will now await the all-Auckland semifinal between the Swarm and the Admirals this weekend. Queenstown is a famously difficult place for visiting ice hockey teams, but the Thunder opened the semfinals in style when Chris Eaden scored inside the first 6min. Connor Harrison equalised for the Stampede, and it remained 1-1 at the end of the first period. Joe Orr struck on the power play just 54sec into the second period to give the Thunder another massive boost. But the Stampede promptly lifted the tempo, firing in back-to-back goals to Nolan Ross and Max Macharg, before a Ross power play goal gave the home side a 4-2 lead heading into the final period. When Colin McIntosh scored a hat-trick in the space of 8min, it was lights out, though Jackson Flight scored a late consolation for the Thunder. Stampede goaltender Aston Brookes had 29 saves from 32 shots on goal, while Ross had three assists and Dylan Devlin two. Game two was mostly close for about a period and a-half. Ross opened the scoring for the Stampede after just 64sec, Jacob Hurring equalised for the Thunder, and McIntosh scored on the power play to give the home side a 2-1 advantage at the end of the first period. Sebastian Stephen scored at the start and the end of the second period for the Thunder, but the Stampede flourished in the middle with goals to McIntosh (two), Jett McCullum and Lachlan Frear. Adam Soffer, Ross and Devlin sealed the six-goal win in a testy third period. Brookes had a busier night with 39 saves from 42 shots, while Ross, McCullum and Stefan Amston all contributed two assists. While the Stampede are again the ones looking to claim the silverware, the Thunder can look back with pride on their season. There is clearly a rising tide of optimism around the Dunedin ice hockey scene that will lead to success if it continues.


Otago Daily Times
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Playing in front of family special for Devlin
Dylan Devlin has spent many a day skating around the Dunedin Ice Rink. It was like a second home for the Ice Black playing the sport at school and throughout his 100 caps for the Dunedin Thunder. But there will be no games quite as special as this week, representing the Ice Blacks at the division 2, group B world championships on his home ice. It is the first chance for Devlin — who is originally from Dunedin but now lives in Queenstown — to pull on the black jersey in front of his entire family at home. "They sacrificed a lot for me to play and a lot of money put into me — getting them to see me play for the country is pretty special," Devlin said. The forward, who is playing in his second world tournament and has played in several transtasman series, has nearly seen it all when it comes to the ice hockey scene in his home town. But sitting in the stands and seeing the way the community came out to support the Ice Fernz during their tournament a fortnight ago was "electric", and only added to the buzz for the Ice Blacks. "It was very, very cool. "I've never seen Dunedin like that for the women's so I'm very excited to be on the ice on that side." The Ice Blacks made a good start to their quest for gold, beating Chinese Taipei, but were thumped 5-0 by Georgia on Monday night. Devlin acknowledged every game was tough and they needed to turn up to leave their best perfomance on the ice. "Every game's kind of like a gold-medal game, you know. "You can't slack off." After growing up playing rugby, Devlin took to ice hockey at intermediate, through a European coach who encouraged him to train every day. That passion followed through when he was at King's High School and later made his Thunder debut at 17. There was plenty of bench-warming in those early days, but had it not been for those experiences, Devlin acknowledges he might never have got to the international ice. "Just being part of the environment gets you to where you are today, you know." He spent about 12 seasons with the Thunder, and played 100 games, before deciding it was time to try something new and heading for Queenstown. After two seasons with the Stampede under his belt, Devlin relished the change, calling it a big opportunity to spend more time playing hockey in a tight community. Devlin, who has recently gone out on his own as a builder, is also giving back to the sport that has given him so much and helping foster the next generation of talent. "I help the under-12s quite a bit after work. It's kind of fun. "I mean, I got that when I was here, so giving it back is kind of what you do, I guess, when you grow up." Ice hockey was a different sport in the New Zealand sporting landscape but that, alongside its intensity, was why Devlin loved it. "You tell a lot of Kiwis around New Zealand about ice hockey and they don't even know it's a sport here. "It's quite unique as well." After having yesterday off, the Ice Blacks are back in action against Thailand tonight.