Senior B - 2007 Champions

The road to Victory

Finishing on top of the ladder the minor premiers, we were keen to regain the trophy loving referred to as "JP" and return it to its rightful home. Over the past 10 years the Demons have had their name inscribed on “JP” 7 times and have represented the club in the Grand Final all but two of these seasons.

This year we were keen to avenge our loss in last year’s preliminary final, and fortunately enough for us – the team who knocked us out then (The Braves) were to be our opposition in this year’s grand final.

In 2006, we were unable to beat the Braves. In 2007 we were unable to beat the braves – that is in the home and away regular season. Not winning against this team in over two years – this was going to be a test of our mettle. We played the braves three times in the regular season: Round One: 1 – 4 Loss, Round Eight: 2 – 3 Loss, Round Fifteen: 2 – 2 Draw. They had the mental upper hand and were looking to press home the advantage.

So – the scene was set for a Demons vs Braves best of three showdown.

Grand Final Series

Game 1 saw the Demons come out of the blocks hard and fast, scoring 4 unanswered goals. The Braves fought hard but last years form seemed hard to find. The final score ended Demons 5 Braves 1.

Game 2 was a different affair with the game forced to a second 4 on 4 overtime period before the Demon’s were able to finally quell a fighting Braves team to clinch the series, and the game went a little like this….

The Braves scored with a great play to take an early lead, with the Demons levelling the scores 5 minutes later with a “freak shot” batted out of the air bouncing into the net. The even status of the score line a reflection of the tense battle ensuing on the ice.

With little more than a few second remaining in the first period the Braves were able to score a second goal, taking the lead on the score board and an undeniable lead in momentum flowing into the first break.

The game continued as a wrestling match from then on with many good shots being blocked by the goal tenders at both ends of the ice. With no scoring for either side the second period ended as the first finished 2 - 1 Braves.

The last period was a battle of wills with momentum’s pendulum stuck mid-swing and both teams giving their all, until with around 30 seconds to go in stop time the Demons managed to score the equaliser from a terrific setup after a face-off in their offensive zone.

The puck was passed back to the point-man, slid across the blue line and a one two pass and goal from the forwards and we were off into golden goal extra time. The momentum had swung and the seemingly ageless Demons were skating with a “spring” in their blades!

The first overtime period had many attack plays without result for either side, and after 1min 50 secs into the second extra time period Randy Lamb scored the equivalent of an after the siren kick at goal and the game was won.