Game one of the two game series was won convincingly on Saturday night by the Canterbury Red Devils, 10-1. The Admirals, in their home opener, came out flying against the favoured Red Devils who have ten current or former Ice Black national team players on the squad. However, the Red Devils absorbed the pressure and then took it to the Admirals.

The first period was hotly contested, with both teams trading scoring chances, and the Red Devils were lucky to end the first period up 2-0. The NZIHL's leading goalscorer, Chris Eaden, was handed a rare penalty shot which he converted after being tripped up on a breakaway. The Red Devils then got a lucky break when the West Auckland goaltender, Mike Parsons, came out of the net to play the puck and passed it straight to Canterbury forward Kyle Papai, who slotted it home into the empty goal.

Canterbury came on strongly in the second period. Two goals from Adam Soffer, plus a powerplay goal from Ryan Ruddle and another by Papai put them well into the lead. Yin-Man Chan replied for the Admirals, but the second period came to a close with the Red Devils up 6-1.

The Admirals changed goaltenders to Luke Christie, trying to halt the Red Devils offense, but Canterbury kept pouring on the pressure and added another four goals. Justin Findlay finished a solid game in net for the Red Devils, having let in only one of the 21 shots pointed his way.

Game two on Sunday was a different story, but the result was almost identical. After blasting the Admirals with 3 goals in the first 4 minutes, the Red Devils rode their momentum for an 11 - 0 win, outshooting their opponents 61 to 22.
Chris Eaden was the star of the night with 5 goals and 4 assists, and he gave the Admiral defence a world of problems with his speed and stickhandling. Ryan Ruddle also chipped in with an amazing 6 assists. The game was not all one-sided, but when the Admirals did get a good scoring chance Vince Mitalas in the Canterbury goal came up with the save and finished with the shutout.
Four goals by the Red Devils in each of the last two periods gave them two important wins and certainly stamped a strong mark on the start of their season. In only four games they have scored 44 more goals than their opponents! The Red Devils will have some time to rest before facing the Botany Swarm in Christchurch on July 11th and 12th.
The Admirals, by contrast, are hosting the winless Dunedin Thunder on July 4th and 5th at Avondale rink and will be fired up to try for their first win of the season. Come down to the rinks and check out the action!

Scorers

Game 1

Goals

Red Devils - Chris Eaden (2), Adam Soffer (2), Ryan Ruddle (2), Kyle Papei (2), Loren Nowland (1), Dale Harrop (1)

Admirals - Yin-Man Chan (1)

Assists

Red Devils - Paris Heyd (2), Dale Harrop (2), Stefan Speck (2), Brett Salsl (2), Mitchell Oak (1), Ryan Paskell (1), Loren Nowland (1), Jaques Kemp (1), Chris Eaden (1), Kyle Papei (1), Jordan Henare (1)

Admirals - N/A
Shots on Goal

Canterbury 52 - West Auckland 21

Saves

Red Devils - Justin Findlay (20)

Admirals - Mike Parsons (31), Luke Christie (13)

Game 2

Goals

Red Devils - Chris Eaden (5), Paris Heyd (2), Loren Nowland (2), Stefan Speck (1), Dale Harrop (1)

Admirals - N/A

Assists

Red Devils - Ryan Ruddle (6), Chris Eaden (4), Paris Heyd (3), Mitchell Oak (1), Dale Harrop (1), Adam Soffer (1)

Admirals - N/A
Shots on Goal

Canterbury 61 - West Auckland 22

Saves

Red Devils - Vince Mitalas (22)

Admirals - Mike Parsons (50), Luke Christie (0)