Wednesday December 19, 2007
Thunders spring a surprise
ALTHOUGH the final playoffs in the top and bottom divisions of the Adun Subang Jaya ice hockey league went according to the formbook, Thunders sprang a surprise in the Division Two at the Sunway Pyramid Ice Rink on Saturday.
Fangs and Sunway Dragons both scored a double, winning the league and challenge trophy in Division One and Division Three respectively.
In the two-team Division Three match-up, Dragons thumped Metro Stars 6-1 for the silverware.
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Lonely figure: Dragons’ Atte Olavi Kangas (in white) trying to break through the Stars’ (in red) defence.
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Dragons coach Ahmad Bazli Abu Safian praised his young charges for doing a good job around the rink.
“Honestly, I did very little to help them. They gave a superb display on their own,” he added.
Dragons captain Jon Wilfred Phang Alarcon led his side to a commanding start and the 13-year-old took less than 30 seconds to hit the opening goal past Stars goalkeeper Shahrul Ilyas Shukor.
“The quick goal boosted the team’s morale,” said Alarcon, who picked up the game only a few months ago.
In the first half of the 20 minutes period, Dragons slotted another three goals through Intan Syairah Yusoff (ninth), Atte Olavi Kangas (14th) and Alarcon (19th).
Vincent Hsiao, who was the recipient of the top goalkeeper award in Division Two and Three, came in to stand between the posts for Stars in the second half.
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Scoring a double: Johnstone (in blue) posing with Division One league and challenge trophy champions Fangs.
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However, the substitution failed to prevent Dragons from sealing the match with a goal each from Ee Wui Yang (26th) and Mohd Atiq Abdul Aziz (31st).
“The team played well together throughout the league,” added Alarcon.
After an untroubled first half, Dragons goalkeeper Zach Rominees allowed Stars to break the duck when he came second best in a one-on-one confrontation against Ryan Edward Monteiro’s solo effort.
Stars coach Jonathan Wright said they had a better second half because the players managed to push the puck forward to attack.
“We struggled a bit with positioning our defensive line in the first half. Our forwards could have created more chances by taking the opportunities in front of the opponents’ goal,” added Wright.
In the Division One match-up, Fangs were stronger in the first and third periods to fend off the challenge from Serpents to flex their domination with a 7-3 victory.
Following a 4-1 advantage in the first 15 minutes period, Fangs allowed Serpents to claw back and narrow the deficit to a goal (4-3) going into the second interval.
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A shot at goal: Fangs’ Alex Kam (no. 7, white) and Chris Doyle (no. 12, white) mounting an attack against Serpents (in blue).
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In the first period, Fangs' Chris Doyle registered a hattrick (ninth, 10th and 13th) while Guallaume Desgranges also netted a goal in the ninth minute.
After a goal in the first period through Jamie Dragon (sixth), Ivan Velasco contributed two goals (15th and 28th) to keep Serpents in contention.
But, it was all lost for Serpents in the final period as Fangs took control of the match with two goals from Patrick MacDonald (31st and 40th) and Doyle (37th) adding another in between.
Fangs captain Alex Kam said it was a closer contest than the score suggested.
“Serpents lost the momentum when their captain Johnny (Boulianne) picked up an injury. But, they gave us a good run. Our goalkeeper (Peter Karlsson) showed that he is a worthy recipient of the top goalkeeper award with another good effort today,” added Kam.
Meanwhile, Thunders continued their gallant run and gave a truly commanding performance to lift the challenge trophy in Division Two.
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Teamwork: Thunders’ Herman Tan (left) picking up the puck as his teammate Zach Rominees loses his balance.
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In the semi-final playoff a day earlier, they had come through with a closely contested 2-1 penalty-shootout over league champions Piranhas after the score was tied at 1-1 in regulatory time.
Likewise, Isam MIH Cardinals had also upstaged Vipers 5-4 with a golden goal in the semi-final to set up a final encounter against Thunders.
After the score was levelled at 1-1 in the first 15 minutes period, Thunders hit five goals in the final two periods to wrap up the match.
Cardinals slotted their solitary goal through Lim Seh Zun in the 10th minute.
In contrast, Thunders hitman Zach Rominees was in good form and registered a hattrick with the opening goal (ninth) followed by another two in the second period (19th and 28th).
“We took a while to settle down. But, we had a good game for the win after coming so far,” said Rominees.
Johnson Choh (23rd), Aris Samad Yahaya (27th) and Mashiko Tadayuki (41st) contributed a goal each for Thunders.
“Although we have an even track record against the Cardinals, we were confident of taking them on. Today, we worked hard on the ice as a team and produced good passes,” added Choh, who captained the side.
Dexion Asia managing director Frank Johnstone, Sunway Pyramid Ice Rink assistant manager Bryan Low and StarMetro deputy editor Brian Martin gave away the prizes to the winners.
Subang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng was also present to witness the Division Three final.
