Hockey: Springfield's second half blitz too much for Bream Bay

Alma Quirey shows great skills on the burst for her Old Girls side against Bream Bay. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A second half blitz by a growing Springfield team saw them take a 7-1 win from their first game of the reserve grade hockey season against Bream Bay.

Springfield player Neal Martin said this year's team is a good combination of youth and experience, with most of the squad returning from last season.

He said of the younger members of the side "all those guys from last year have all stepped up ... they've basically grown six inches and their skill level and their speed and pace has all just gone up with it."

"It took us about 20 minutes to get into the game and they got an early goal against us."

Martin added: "Little things started coming right for everybody after 20 minutes."

The scores were locked 1-all at halftime with both teams having their share of possession.

Martin said Springfield's halftime talk revolved around wanting to play a short, passing game and having a bit of confidence.

"Once they got tired it gave us more space," he said.

The passing game worked well for Springfield as they combined to add six unanswered second half goals to end with a 7-1 win on Thursday night.

In other reserve men's matches, Hora Hora beat Mangapai 4-2 while Whangarei Boys' High School defeated Kamo High School.

In the reserve A women's first round, Whangarei Girls' High School beat Maungakaramea 5-3 while Hikurangi had a good win over Mangapai on Friday.

Old Girls beat Springfield 5-1 and Kamo High School beat Parihaka 2-1.