Bream Bay United will take some confidence going into the first round of play-offs in the men's Northland Premier Hockey League this weekend, after beating Springfield 3-1 in the final round of round-robin play. Goals to Ben Kingi and Sharn Dehar saw them sink the second-placed team in the competition onSaturday, with Springfield only able to manage a reply by Troy Barrell. It was the first win of the season for a young Bream Bay side who have struggled from the start - the team have only managed two draws in their 11 previous matches - but they clicked on Saturday. The team now face third-placed Mangapai in a sudden death contest on Saturday. The winner of the third- and fourth-placed play-off will go on to play the loser of the first- and second-placed teams, Maungakaramea and Springfield, when they meet in the other match on Saturday at ITM Rosvall Stadium. Unbeaten Maungakaramea could only manage a draw in their final round-robin match with Sam Webb scoring a double and Cameron Hellier replying with two for Mangapai. Meanwhile in the women's competition, Hikurangi bounced back after their previous defeat at the hands of Kamo High School, to knock the schoolgirls out of the competition. Kamo had no answer for Hikurangi, who were in a rampant mood in the match, with Dene Cheeseman and Jo McQueen scoring doubles. Alyx Pivac, Katie Rood and Courtney Phillips also got on the scoresheet. Hikurangi will go on to play the form team of the competition this season, Old Girls, in the semifinal this Saturday, with their side hoping to cause an upset. In the other semifinal, Maungakaramea, who finished in second place in the regular season, take on third-placed Whangarei Girls High School looking for a place in the final.
