Northland finish last after extra time loss

Northland Men's wooden spoon performance at the 2010 National Hockey League was not all doom and gloom, says coach Mike Delaney.
After their sole win during pool play - against Canterbury on Thursday - Rosvall ITM Northland Men lost Saturday's semifinal 2-0 to Southern, leaving them to play Canterbury again, in the final for seventh place yesterday.
Leading 3-1 at halftime, and then 4-2 at the start of the second half, Northland were reeled in by Canterbury, who made it 4-4 as the final hooter went. Northland replacement import Josh Miller scored two for his side, while Brendon Wild and Duncan Pearce scored one each.
The game went into extra time and after the sides were reduced to seven-a-side, Willie Davidson sent home the winner for Canterbury, placing them seventh - lower than their fourth place in 2009 - and handing Northland the wooden spoon.
"We had a bit of an unfortunate run there and a few calls go against us at crucial moments ... all the guys were buggered after it, I couldn't have asked for more from them," Delaney said.
Delaney admitted his team's eighth place was a poor result for the province, who have struggled at the annual tournament for over the past 10 years. Since their runner-up status in 2000, Northland Men have had a run of eighths and seventh places - where they finished last year - with a couple of fifths and sixths thrown in.
"We were definitely aiming to finish higher this year ... however, there were positives we can take out of the tournament," he said.
"A lot of the younger players improved during the week, and we now have a few systems in place - game plans and strategies - that we can build on for next year. We were extremely happy with our guest players - I think we had the best imports in the tournament - the Northland players learnt a lot off them, and [the imports] learnt a bit off us as well, which is good."
The new coach for this campaign puts the men's struggle in the NHL down to a simple lack of players in the province.
"They have all left Northland or they stop playing hockey to do other sports. We hope to set up an academy to engage players a bit more," he said.
With the nucleus of the team returning next year to build on their experience, and Delaney wanting to coach again if Northland Hockey will have him, the future hopefully looks a bit rosier for Northland Men.
Meanwhile, the 2009 runners-up Capital claimed the men's national title by beating Midlands, 2-1.