Livestreams: 24-hour blockbuster kicks off with junior boys’ grand finals
Pine Rivers St Andrews are the junior boys division 1 hockey champions after claiming the gold medal in a grand final thriller over Kedron Wavell. It came after Bulimba came from behind to beat Easts to claim third place. WATCH THE REPLAYS.
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Hockey fans were braced for a 24 hour livestream blockbuster of finals action following two junior boys J1 finals tonight and continuing Saturday at your hockey central, www.couriermail.com.au.
PINE RIVERS ST ANDREWS V KEDRON WAVELL
GRAND FINAL
Pine Rivers St Andrews are the J1 hockey champions after claiming the division 1 gold medal in a tense grand final thriller, 3-2, over Kedron Wavell.
Saints, unbeaten throughout the season, were forced to hang on after Connor Ring put Kedron Wavell back in the match with eight minutes to play by reducing Pine Rivers Saints advantage to just 3-2.
It was a match worthy of a grand final featuring desperation from start to finish.
“I thought the first half was just a big arm wrestle,’’ said Saints coach Mitch Bolton.
“There was not many chances on either side.
“In the second half we talked about calming it down a bit, having composure because everyone was a bit frantic.’’
The diminutive Rhys Stenzel, of Pine Rivers St Andrews, broke a 1-all scoreline in the 33rd minute in a decisive moment of the match.
Kedron Wavell had only drawn level two minutes earlier when Joshua Fern delivered for his side from a penalty corner.
Stenzel struck his shot so fiercely, the sound of the ball hitting the back of the goals would have been heard streets away.
Then, with 11 minutes remaining, Jacob Anderson scored a brilliant goal to give Saints a down payment on victory.
However Kedron Wavell were not done with, with Ring brilliant left handed effort to score making it 3-2 late in the second half.
Pine Rivers St Andrews led 1-nil when renowned scorer Paul Hubbard scored from the penalty stroke after the halftime siren had sounded to break a nil-all deadlock.
The first meaningful opportunity in a tense start to the game came when Kedron Wavell’s Connor Ring intercepted a pass and quickly fired a shot at Saints goalie Liam McLaughlin.
But McLaughlin was up to the task in defending the shot, earning raucous applause from his teammates on the bench.
Saints had entered the J1 decider unbeaten.
“It is a great achievement for the boys,’’ coach Bolton said.
Saints goalie Liam McLaughlin was named man of the match.
BULIMBA V EASTS
PLAY-OFF FINAL
Bulimba came from a 2-nil deficit to claim a 4-2 win over Easts in the playoff for third place in the J1 competition tonight.
In an eastern suburbs derby, two goals in quick succession to Kipp Thrupp and Dylan Papasian with less than 10 minutes to go built a bridge to victory.
Bulimba looked a different side in the second half, dominating field position and penalty corner chances.
A penalty stroke to Thrupp broke a 2-all deadlock with 10 minutes to play followed soon after by Papsian’s goal.
Easts had led 2-1 at halftime following an early goal to Ryan Hughes, and another midway through the first half to Noah Edmonds.
Late in the half Edmonds almost scored a second time when he got a clean shot away after build-up from Hughes, but the ball sailed to the right hand side of the goals.
Down 2-nil, Bulimba hit back six minutes from halftime with a goal to Darcy Riley and gained parity with their rivals leading up to the break.
There was a threatening moment for the Easts defence when Bulimba’s Thrapp moved himself inside the circle, but his opposite number Nick Heath was up to the task.
Bulimba manager Tim Armstrong praised coach, the legendary Geoff Hawgood, for turning his team around at halftime.
“We were looking a bit slow in the first half but they comeback,’’ Armstrong said.
RELATED LINKS
WATCH REPLAYS OF GIRLS UNDER 13/UNDER 18 GRAND FINALS
WATCH REPLAYS OF BOYS JUNIOR DIV 1 SEMI-FINALS
Then on Saturday at the State Hockey Centre, there will be four turf women’s grand finals.
12pm: Div 3 – Commercial vs Kedron Wavell.
1:30pm: Div 2 – University of QLD vs Commercial
3pm: Div 1 – Commercial v Ascot
4:30pm: Div 1 – Kedron Wavell v University of QLD
And on the Sunshine Coast, there will be six games of senior men and women grand finals to be streamed on www.couriermail.com.au
FULL LIVE-STREAMING SCHEDULE
SEPTEMBER 25
BHA junior division 1
Playoff final
6.30pm: Easts v Bulimba
Grand final
8pm: Kedron Wavell Services v Pine Rivers St Andrews
SEPTEMBER 26
BHA Women’s division 1 finals, noon until 5.30pm
OCTOBER 10
BHA senior men’s division 1 semi-finals
OCTOBER 17
BHS senior men’s division 1 preliminary finals
OCTOBER 24
BHA senior men’s division 1 grand finals