The Sharks may pride themselves on defence but their offence delivered another ball hockey trophy.
For the second straight season, the white and blue crew are the local champions. The Sharks beat the Barracudas 4-1 in the Cayman Islands Ball Hockey Association 2011-2012 Fall league final at Kings Sports Centre.
Leading the way for the repeat champions was winger Derek Bruce, 37, who scored the game’s final two goals late in the second half. The South Sound resident states it was a tense encounter.
“It was a great game and my guys were churning on all cylinders,” Bruce said. “The defence played awesome, Shawn Lunt stood on his head in goal and from top to bottom no one let up. The teams were evenly matched with good forwards.
“I’m used to shooting first and looking for rebounds second. To me, I just got lucky on Thursday night.”
The championship match was a tale of two halves. In the first period Jan-Michael Maw got the game’s first goal and by half-time the Sharks were ahead 1-0. From there the offence picked up as Rob Seward tied the contest for the Barracudas at the start of the second half. Marty Tammemagi soon put the Sharks ahead 2-1 before Bruce’s scores put the game away during the last four minutes.
All of those goals would be buried past Barracudas goalie Randy Cannon, 27. The native of Prince Edward Island in Canada states his side did not get enough breaks to win.
“The team played hard and with three full lines it was a fast-paced game that could have gone either way,” Cannon said. “There were not too many bounces our way though. You’re not going to win many games scoring just one goal.
“From the onset we knew they’d be tough. We went up against a good defence and our guys didn’t have much time to set up and shoot. I feel good about the way I played. Other than allowing one goal which was soft, I gave the team a chance to win.”
The Sharks’ victory caps off what was a solid year. In the regular season the side finished 7-5 to earn a third seed thanks to a three-way tie with Coconut Joes (who they beat in the semi-finals) and the Barracudas. Thursday’s finale was their third consecutive title game appearance, losing to the now defunct BDO Pirates last January before beating the Pirates in June.
Maw played for the Pirates originally before joining the Sharks this season. He states a positive attitude helped his squad win.
“There was a lot of talent and depth for both teams,” Maw said. “It could have gone either way but we worked hard for the win. We had more shots and pressure in the second half and we had a player in Derek who had a pair of good goals.
“The great thing with this team is everyone is positive. Everyone feels like a contributor. It makes a big difference.”
The Sharks will have little time to rest on their laurels. The Spring 2012 season starts on Thursday, 26 January at 8pm with games continuing until late May.
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