Sweeping hail and then snow dashed any hope Auckland entertained of taking both titles outright on an absorbing final day at the National Hockey League in Wellington yesterday.
After watching their women, led by a Katie Glynn hat-trick, beat Central 5-2 in that final to claim the honours for thefirst time in 10 years, the Auckland men went after the rare double against surprise finalists Central at the National Stadium.
Stung by an early goal from Ben Collier, Auckland hit back with Dwayne Rowsell drag-flicked goals from penalty corners either side of halftime to claim the lead. But just when it seemed Auckland would make a bold claim for the Challenge Shield, the weather intervened and match officials eventually had little choice but to abandon the game and declare the teams joint winners.
There were no such dramas as the Auckland women got their hands on the K Cup with a clinical display against Central who had set the pace through the early rounds of pool play and had beaten Auckland in their final round-robin encounter.
Two early Glynn strikes from penalty corners settled Auckland nerves and laid the foundation for their 2-1 halftime advantage after Erin Weber got one back in the 24th minute.
Glynn's third, also with a drag flick, stretched Auckland's lead before fellow Black Stick striker Krystal Forgesson added two to complete the comprehensive win.
Midlands collected bronze for the second successive year with their 2-1 win in the wet over Northland after Anna Thorpe had given the northerners their 1-0 halftime lead.
Gemma Flynn got Midlands back to 1-1 early in the second half with a shot which deflected off Northland legs. Jol McGarvey scored from close range to put Midlands ahead but a great save from goalkeeper Sally Rutherford in the dying minutes denied Northland the chance of taking it to extra time.
The Midlands men joined their women as bronze medallists in a high-scoring affair against Capital who had set the early pace in going through the opening rounds unbeaten to emerge as Challenge Shield favourites.
After racing to 3-0, Capital seemed set for victory but Midlands hit back to level at 3-3 and then take a 4-3 halftime lead as Nick Ross scored his second. Joel Baker levelled at 4-4 before Andy Hayward struck twice to take Midlands 6-4 clear.
Capital were not done with and goal-scoring stars Matt L'Hullier and Stephen Jenness scored to level at 6-6 and send the match to extra time.
The first period, with teams down to nine players, failed to find a winner but in the second period, with just seven players from each team, import Rob Reckers scored his second of the match to give Midlands their nail-biting 7-6 triumph.
