13.04.2003 - Tournament Report

What an Amazing weekend of hockey it was! A triumphant pinnacle for a great advancement for all Inline Hockey in Great Britain! The missing link between Juniors and Seniors - the University League came, saw and conquered!

Saturday morning, bright and early (unbelievable for students, I know), the first game of the tournament was played between the University of Portsmouth and the University of Wales - Swansea. Portsmouth started strong and after 34 seconds, Joni Rinta-Pollari finished off a beautiful team effort that saw everyone in the line touch the puck. Portsmouth dominated in every aspect of the game, but it was their first line that did the most damage to the Welsh. Setti Mulari and Dillan Dulabh both stacked up the points and made it to the Red Light district. The Swansea goalie, Leanne Emms, kept the scoring to a bare minimum and saved Swansea from an embarrassing final score. At the final whistle, Portsmouth won 7-0 with Andy Slater earning a shot-out despite a couple of dangerous Swansea shots! Skate Attack Awards went to Joni Rinta-Pollari and Leanne Emms.

In the 2nd game of the tournament, Team Ireland (Men) faced off against the Manchester Metrostars. It was a tough battle for every puck, but after 5 minutes the Irish scored with a great individual effort by Dave Healy. It wasn't to last forever, as Manchester answered just before the end of the half with a goal from Robbie Griffiths from a beautiful pass by Adam Perona-Wright. The 2nd half continued with an even struggle between the teams but the Irish scored with only 90 seconds before the end of the game with Sean O'Riordan being the hero of the game. Final score then 2-1 for the Irish. Skate Attack Awards went to Dave Healy for Ireland and Adam Perona-Wright of the Metros.

Game 3 between Swansea and Leeds continued the fast hockey we saw in the morning games. Richard Dempsel took Swansea to the lead on the 3rd minute, but Lee Hyde equalized only a minute after. Swansea took the lead once more, but after 7 minutes of play Leeds stepped up a gear and could not be contained. Final score 2-9 for Leeds with Skate Attack Awards to Tom Edwards (Swansea) and Ben Bliss (Leeds).

In game 4, the Metrostars took on the University of Southampton Spitfires and their multinational squad. The Metros started off strong and after just 4 minutes, they were 3-0 up. The Spitfires answered with 2 tallies but the Metros went 2 up again and dominated the game. Southampton dominated the last 10 minutes of the game and Janne Kaariainen took the Spitfires within a goal again and Southampton pulled their goalie. The Metros goalkeeper, Tom McDonald, faced a barrage of shots but kept the Spitfires at bay. Final score 4-3 to the Metros and Skate Attack Awards went to Adam Perona-Wright and Janne Kaariainen.

Game 5 was between Team Ireland (Ladies) and the Northern Champions University of Edinburgh. The girls put up a brave fight, but could not do much against the tough Scotts. Edinburgh got their entire team on the scoresheet and won the game 0-18. Skate Attack Awards to Emma Hopkins and Micky Kelly.

In Game 6, University of Leeds Mad Dogs took on Portsmouth and kept the crowd entertained with tough and physical hockey. Pompey was kept alive purely due to the sheer brilliance of Andy Slater between the pipes. Without this brick-wall at the Pompey goal, the numbers would have been a crushing victory to the Mad Dogs. In the end, however, Portsmouth outscored Leeds by 5-1 and Skate Attack Awards went to Andy Slater and Ben Green.

Game 7 was a battle between the Spitfires and Team Ireland (Men) led by the O'Riordan Brothers, Bobby and Sean. Just 48 seconds before half time, the Irish took the lead with a magnificent goal by Sean O'Riordan. The second half was Southampton domination. The Spitfires' imported Finns, Janne Kaariainen and Juuso Säntti tallied 5 points between them in just under 8 minutes. At the final whistle, Spitfires won 5-2 with Skate Attack Awards gone to Juuso Säntti and Sean O'Riordan.

END OF DAY ONE

Portsmouth started off the day against Team Ireland (Ladies) in the knock-off 2nd day of the Championships. From here on the team who comes 2nd can start packing their bags. Pompey played like Champions in making and got every player on the scoresheet. It was an un-even battle against the Pompey hockey stars, but the Irish put up a respectable fight in their defensive game. Final score was a Pompey victory by 23-0 with Caroline Wintour getting a shut-out at the Portsmouth goal. Skate Attack Awards went to Dillan Dulabh and Clare Moore.

Leeds faced off against Team Ireland (Men) in another ultra-physical game match-up for the title. The teams were equal in scoring until the last 5 minutes of the game when Leeds to control and outskated the Irish. Final score was 5-2 for Leeds with Skate Attack Awards to Ben Bliss and Victor O'Brien.

Edinburgh took on Swansea in the third game of the day and the Northern Champs gave little chance to the Welsh in the game. Indeed the Welsh were sent home early in the game dominated almost completely by the Scottish. Final score was 9-1 to Edinburgh and Skate Attack Awards going to Andy Macmillan and Tom Edwards.

Southampton faced off against Manchester in another very even game between the two teams. It was an incredible battle for every puck at both ends of the rink. Adam Perona-Wright took the Metros into lead after 9 minutes of play, but Janne Kaariainen equalized for the Spitfires a few moments before the half time. Perona-Wright scored his 2nd goal just 2 minutes into the 2nd half and the Spitfires began an intense chase for an equalizing goal. The time ran out and it was the Spitfires who got to pack their bags for the day. Final score of 2-1 to Manchester with Skate Attack Awards for Adam Perona-Wright and Janne Kaariainen.

Portsmouth took on Leeds for the 2nd time in the tournament with a place in the finals at stake. This time, however, the Pompey boys gave little chance to the Leeds side and started scoring goals early in the game and did not stop until the last minute of play. Again, it was the now infamous Pompey 1st line that did most of the damage. Leeds just did not have the depth to fence off the purple Pompey side. Final score was 7-1 for Pompey with Skate Attack Awards to Joni Rinta-Pollari and Ben Green.

In the last semi-final Edinburgh played against the worn-out Manchester team who only had 7 players left. Adam Perona-Wright took the puck from behind his own net, through the entire Edinburgh squad and scored a magnificent goal to put the Metros ahead, but the fast pace of the game took its toll on the Metros and they conceded 2 goals in the 2nd half. It was a tough game and with a couple more players the Metros might have turned the tables around. Final score 2-1 for Edinburgh and Skate Attack Awards went to Andy Bridgewood and Tom McDonald.

As if the semi-final wasn't enough for the Metros, they played again straight away against Leeds in the Bronze medal game. It wasn't the fastest game out there, but the two teams seemed to want that silverware more than anything. End-to-end hockey with some amazing skills were displayed for the roaring crowd. At half-time, Leeds was 4-2 up, but the Metros came within one goal with 10 minutes left in the game. Leeds pulled one back only 45 seconds after the Manchester goal and the game picked up momentum. The Metros chased the pucks with the last of their strength and scored again, but with only a minute left in the game Leeds played smart tactics and kept the puck and played the time. Final score was 5-4 for Leeds who came 3rd in Britain at the first BUIHC Championships! Skate Attack Awards went to Chris Hayes-Hall in Leeds goal and Dave Wright of the Metros.

The final game was played between Portsmouth and Edinburgh. Edinburgh wanted the title and pressured Portsmouth from the start. After only 80 seconds, Andy Macmillan scored the first Edinburgh goal with an accurate shot from 15 metres out. Edinburgh glory wasn't to last though, as Joni Rinta-Pollari equalized after 13 minutes by taking the puck all the way to the Edinburgh goal un-opposed by the Scottish defence who were both tying up Setti Mulari off the play. Shortly afterwards, Andy Macmillan scored another low shot in the bottom corner sending Edinburgh to the lead once again. It wasn't to last though, as Setti Mulari released Joni Rinta-Pollari onto a one-on-one with the goalie with one of his trademark passes. Equalized once again, but now Portsmouth was a completely different team to the early game mishaps. Edinburgh was not given a chance to score again and Pompey kept pounding the Edinburgh goal relentlessly with Joni Rinta-Pollari tallying two more goals and Matt Freeman getting one as well to push the Northern Champions deeper into despair. Final score was 5-2 for Portsmouth who were crowned the British University Champions 2002/2003! Skate Attack Awards went to Andy Slater and Andy Gillies to show the high level of goaltending for both teams.

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