Premier Hockey League Finals Weekend
PHL 2025 Final Placings
Men’s Competition:
Gold – Alpiners | Silver – Mavericks | Bronze – Falcons
Women’s Competition:
Gold – Tridents | Silver – Falcons | Bronze – Alpiners
The Premier Hockey League concluded its season this weekend at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Auckland, with teams putting on a high-quality display of hockey as they fought for their place on the podium. The 2025 season marked another successful campaign for the league, with matches staged across the country from Whangārei to Dunedin, showcasing a strong blend of emerging debutants and experienced Vantage Black Sticks in a competition that highlighted both depth and development.
Friday’s bronze medal opener between the Alpiners and Mavericks women delivered a tense contest. The Mavericks earned the best chance in the first quarter when Antonia Cortesi was stick-hacked inside the circle, resulting in a penalty corner, but the Alpiners' goalkeeper Kirsty Nation produced a diving save to deny the lead. The deadlock continued through the second quarter as the Mavericks’ slick link-up play went unrewarded, while the Alpiners tested keeper Grace O’Hanlon late in the half through a series of penalty corners. With no breakthrough in regulation time, the match was decided in a dramatic penalty shootout, where Nation and O’Hanlon held firm for an extended tie. The moment arrived when Millie Calder broke and the Mavericks couldn’t follow, securing a 1–0 shootout victory and the bronze medal for the Alpiners women.
Intensity continued as the men’s bronze medal clash saw the Falcons take on the Tridents. The Tridents dominated early, testing Falcons goalkeeper Luke Elmes through three consecutive penalty corners as the Falcons struggled to clear their half. Momentum shifted when a Falcons player was tripped inside the circle, earning a penalty stroke that was slotted by captain Dylan Thomas, who added a conversion to give the Falcons a 2–0 lead. Falcons pressure continued into the second quarter, though Tridents goalkeeper Reagan Harnell produced an outstanding double save to keep his side in contention. Patience paid off after halftime as Sajan Patel finished a goal-mouth scramble, before the Tridents struck back through Maks Wyndham-Smith, bringing the score to 3-1 heading into the final quarter. Early in the fourth, Falcon’s Oli Bowmar beat three defenders to fire home, before Isaac Houlbrooke responded for the Trident’s with an absolute crack from the top of the circle off a PC, following with a spectacular conversion. Despite the late surge, the Falcons secured a 5–3 win to claim the men’s bronze medal.
Saturday’s women’s gold medal match between the Falcons and Tridents lived up to expectations, with both sides trading chances early. In the final minute of the first quarter, Tridents’ combination play set up Maddie Harris to open the scoring, marking one of her first goals of the PHL season. Late in the second quarter, a green card to Tridents’ Petrea Webster gave the Falcons a one-player advantage, which they capitalised on as Emma Rainey threaded a pass to Olivia Shannon, who scored and converted to take a 2–1 lead into halftime. The Tridents nearly equalised through Emilie Logan, but the goal was disallowed on umpire referral for obstruction. Undeterred, Breana Catley struck with a creative reverse shot to level the match at 2–2 heading into the final quarter. Maddie Harris then scored her second goal of the season, cementing the Tridents’ 3–2 success and the women’s gold medal.
The men’s gold medal clash saw the Alpiners take on the Mavericks in a high-stakes finale. The first half remained scoreless despite an early chance from George Baker for the Alpiners, with Mavericks goalkeeper Felix McIntosh keeping the match level. Early in the second half, Patrick Ward found space at the top of the circle and fired home, adding a conversion to extend the Alpiners’ lead to 2–0. The Mavericks responded quickly with a penalty corner, worked through multiple players before Luke Aldred tucked one in to close the gap to 2–1. In the fourth quarter, a quick turnover allowed an overhead to be sent down the turf to Sam Lane, who calmly struck home and converted. Moments later, he added a penalty stroke to complete his hat-trick, taking the score to 5–1. Despite the margin, the Mavericks showed grit and determination, but the Alpiners ultimately claimed a convincing triumph and the men’s gold medal, going back-to-back with year-on-year wins.
With the finals concluded, the 2025 Premier Hockey League season came to a well-received close. Across six weeks, players were tested under pressure, and the depth of our domestic game was shown. That intensity now rolls into the international stage with the Summer of Hockey. In January, the Vantage Black Sticks women will take on the United States, India, Japan and Korea alongside the New Zealand A women’s side in Dunedin from 18–25 January. Then the Vantage Black Sticks men will head to Hamilton from 30 January–3 February for a four-nations series against Malaysia, Japan and Korea.
Tickets to the Summer of Hockey can be purchased here: https://www.blacksticksnz.co.nz/fixtures