Botany Swarm champion again

The Botany Swarm won the regular season of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) with 12 wins in 16 games. In the final, which was just a single game, the Swarm faced the Southern Stampede, who finished the league on 33 points, the same as the third-place Canterbury Red Devils, but with a better goal difference. The Dunedin Thunder and West Auckland Admirals were far from the final.

Thanks to the better placement in the regular season, Botany played the final game on home ice. The game was a close story. It was tied at 1 after two periods and the Stampede even took the lead when their captain Simon Glass scored early in the third period. But the Swarm’s Estonian import Alex Polozov tied the game with 14 minutes to go and then the Swarm ran off to a 5-3 win.

This was the Swarm’s fourth championship. They were also successful in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

2011 NZIHL League awards
MVP Red Devils - Kyle Papai
MVP Dunedin Thunder - Cameron Frear
MVP West Auckland Admirals - Blake Jackson
MVP Southern Stampede - Simon Glass
MVP Botany Swarm - KC Ball
MVP League - Gino Heyd - Dunedin Thunder
MVP Finals - Alexandr Polozov - Botany Swarm
Top Points Scorer - Chris Eaden - Canterbury Red Devils
Best Defenseman - Daniel Nicholls - Canterbury Red Devils
Top Goalkeeper - Zak Nothling - Botany Swarm
Top Rookie - Jerreau Hohaia - Canterbury Red Devils

 

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