Bay 1 beat clubmates in razor-edge men's hockey final

Bay 1 player James Rawnsley, left, and Sean Findlay of Bay 2 are all focus during the men's hockey final at Park Island. Photo / Paul Taylor

A tense division one men's hockey final ended in Bay 1 Independent clinching the title on penalties over Bay Independent 2.

Bay 1 goalkeeper Jack McGrail was instrumental in keeping the game level and topped off a man-of-the-match performance with a shootout-winning save against Black Stick Shea McAleese to beat their clubmates.

After regular time finished with the teams tied 2-2, Bay 1 were crowned champions courtesy of a 6-5 shootout victory at Park Island on Saturday afternoon.

It took until the third quarter for Bay 1 to open the scoring, and Bay 2 responded instantly with a goal from New Zealand representative Sean Findlay.

Bay 1 were soon up again, but their celebrations were short-lived as their opponents struck back quickly to level the scores in the closing minutes of the third quarter.

Neither team caved during the final quarter, with a number of penalty corners and shots being saved by both McGrail and Bay 2 goalkeeper Logan Geary.

The shootout was as intense as the fourth quarter, with neither team able to pull ahead, ending in a sudden-death scenario.

Sixteen-year-old McGrail denied veteran McAleese's initial attempt and defended his goal for the full eight seconds - securing the victory for his team.

McAleese said it was fitting that McGrail won the game for Bay 1 in the shootout after a great performance throughout a very even match.

"Their player of the game was Jack, the goalie," he said,

"In the game he saved five or six shots that were just like 'woah'. He's a proper good goalkeeper and showed his worth in the shootout as well."

Reflecting on the season for both Bay Independent sides, McAleese said it was the right decision to split their squad into two teams.

McAleese added: "When you draw and it goes to a shootout, that's a reflection of how even the teams are - which is what we were trying to achieve."

As star of the show, McGrail put his title-winning performance down to pure confidence in the shootout. He was playing through the pain after having a nerve-root block injection in his back just two days prior to the final.

"I knew they had three class players, three New Zealand reps and I thought 'it's okay if they score, but I've got to save at least two'," he said.

"It was great to get one up over Shea, who has a few hundred caps for New Zealand now. That always feels good."

Bay 1 player-coach Charles Jenkins said the young goalie's impact on the game was incredible, especially after medical treatment just days before.

"We would've lost without a performance like that," Jenkins said