New Zealand NHL Round 1 Results

Defending champions Midlands got off to a good start in the Men's competition with a 6 - 4 win over Auckland. Malaysian import Raju Sandrakasi had a solid impact up front and Richard Petherick converted to drag flick penalty corners. Midlands went into half time 3 - 1 up and maintained the two goal buffer, by the completion of the match. North Harbour were as expected too strong for Northland, winning 6 - 1. Wellington were equally dominant over Central, winning 7 - 1. On Sunday Canterbury downed Southern 7 - 3, Hayden Shaw scoring a hat trick. Southern played creatively to score their three goals and were far from disgraced.

In the Women's competition defending champions North Harbour also had a solid start, beating Northland 4 - 2. The young Northland side could not contain the scoring power of the star studded side. Auckland, who on paper, many are picking to take out the League, had a disappointing start going down 2 - 0 to Midlands. Auckland have three Black Sticks strikers in their ranks, would have been disappointed not to get on the scoreboard. Players of the Day for Midlands were Cathryn Finlayson who created space well and got in behind the Auckland defence, while Gemma Flynn and Chloe Rogers dominated the midfield, controlling the game well. For Auckland Katie Glynn and Sam Harrison looked dangerous with the limited opportunities that they had. Central disposed of Wellington 5 - 0. Kayla Sharland and Michaela Curtis shone for Central, while former Black Stick Niniwa Roberts was Wellington's standout. Canterbury beat Southern 6 - 0 on Sunday.

Men's results

Bayleys Midlands 6 v 4 Land & Marine Aucklanders HT 3-1 | 2009-09-12 15:00
No Venue | New Zealand Men's NHL (Mens) | Match Report(s)

Kooga North Harbour 6 v 1 ITM Northland HT 3-0 | 2009-09-12 15:00
No Venue | New Zealand Men's NHL (Mens) | Match Report(s)

BDO Spicers Wellington 7 v 1 Central Mavericks HT 5-0 | 2009-09-12 15:00
No Venue | New Zealand Men's NHL (Mens) | Match Report(s)

Canterbury Cavaliers 7 v 3 The Southern Men HT 4-1 | 2009-09-13 13:00
No Venue | New Zealand Men's NHL (Mens) | Match Report(s)

Women's Results

Land & Marine Aucklanders 0 v 2 Bayleys Midlands HT 0-1 | 2009-09-12 13:00
No Venue | New Zealand Women's NHL (Ladies) | Match Report(s)

Kooga North Harbour 4 v 2 Mark Comie Holden Northland HT 2-0 | 2009-09-12 13:00
No Venue | New Zealand Women's NHL (Ladies) | Match Report(s)

Central Mysticks 5 v 2 Monteiths Wellington HT 2-1 | 2009-09-12 13:00
No Venue | New Zealand Women's NHL (Ladies) | Match Report(s)

Pica Print Canterbury Cats 6 v 0 Southern Storm HT 3-0 | 2009-09-13 11:00
No Venue | New Zealand Women's NHL (Ladies) | Match Report(s)

For more information on the leagues go to The Hockey New Zealand website