photo: © Andrew Mackey
League champs crowned
The 2025 domestic-league season ended in New Zealand last month. The SkyCity Stampede won their fifth consecutive Birgel Cup on the men’s side, while the Aukland Steel claimed the Goulding Cup as women’s champions.
The Stampede swept the Botany Storm in two games of the best-of-three by scores of 8-0 and 6-3, after which Colin McIntosh was named playoff MVP. The 38-year-old Canadian has played all over the world, from Germany to Poland, France, and Romania, but since 2019 he has skated exclusively in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. This has made him eligible to play in the IIHF World Championship program, and this past season he led the national team in scoring with eight points in the Men’s World Championship, Division II-B.
The Birgel Cup is named after Guenther Birgel, who started the NZIHL in 2005. Although the league is professionally organized in every way, players are not paid. The league consists of six teams, three from the north island (Aukland Mako, Pure NZ West Aukland Admirals, and Swarm, all of which play out of Aukland) and three from the south—Phoenix Thunder (Dunedin), Canterbury Red Devils (Christchurch), and the Stampede (Queenstown).
The Mako are a mostly under-23 team intended to help develop the nation’s younger talents. The team includes some veterans from the other five teams who move in and out on a rotating basis to help mentor the young stars while playing as a sort of “guest team” in the league. For instance, goalie Joel Gerard plays for the Mako, and he also had a 3-0 record with New Zealand’s U20 team that won III-A in WM20 play this past year.
All teams played a 16-game regular season, and although the Red Devils won only one game, the other four were tightly packed in the standings. In the end, the Swarm (10-0-1-5) were one point better than the Stampede (10-0-0-6).
In addition to McIntosh, the Stampede have several other players who represented New Zealand at the WM-II-B, which was played in Dunedin. Defender Stefan Amston, brothers Mitchell and Lachlan Frear, Axel Ruski-Jones, Callum Burns, Colin McIntosh, Dylan Devlin, and Jordan Challis all were on the national team, so it’s no surprise of the Stampede’s success in league play.
New Zealand finished in third place in II-B, recording a big, 3-2, win over Bulgaria along the way. McIntosh had a goal and assist in that game. Their most doinnant win was a 7-1 thumping of Thailand, McIntosh again leading the way with four points (1+3).
The 2025 domestic-league season ended in New Zealand last month. The SkyCity Stampede won their fifth consecutive Birgel Cup on the men’s side, while the Aukland Steel claimed the Goulding Cup as women’s champions.
The Stampede swept the Botany Storm in two games of the best-of-three by scores of 8-0 and 6-3, after which Colin McIntosh was named playoff MVP. The 38-year-old Canadian has played all over the world, from Germany to Poland, France, and Romania, but since 2019 he has skated exclusively in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. This has made him eligible to play in the IIHF World Championship program, and this past season he led the national team in scoring with eight points in the Men’s World Championship, Division II-B.
The Birgel Cup is named after Guenther Birgel, who started the NZIHL in 2005. Although the league is professionally organized in every way, players are not paid. The league consists of six teams, three from the north island (Aukland Mako, Pure NZ West Aukland Admirals, and Swarm, all of which play out of Aukland) and three from the south—Phoenix Thunder (Dunedin), Canterbury Red Devils (Christchurch), and the Stampede (Queenstown).
The Mako are a mostly under-23 team intended to help develop the nation’s younger talents. The team includes some veterans from the other five teams who move in and out on a rotating basis to help mentor the young stars while playing as a sort of “guest team” in the league. For instance, goalie Joel Gerard plays for the Mako, and he also had a 3-0 record with New Zealand’s U20 team that won III-A in WM20 play this past year.
All teams played a 16-game regular season, and although the Red Devils won only one game, the other four were tightly packed in the standings. In the end, the Swarm (10-0-1-5) were one point better than the Stampede (10-0-0-6).
In addition to McIntosh, the Stampede have several other players who represented New Zealand at the WM-II-B, which was played in Dunedin. Defender Stefan Amston, brothers Mitchell and Lachlan Frear, Axel Ruski-Jones, Callum Burns, Colin McIntosh, Dylan Devlin, and Jordan Challis all were on the national team, so it’s no surprise of the Stampede’s success in league play.
New Zealand finished in third place in II-B, recording a big, 3-2, win over Bulgaria along the way. McIntosh had a goal and assist in that game. Their most doinnant win was a 7-1 thumping of Thailand, McIntosh again leading the way with four points (1+3).
Women’s league also includes players with IIHF tournament experience
On the women’s side, the Steel won the double, finishing first in the four-team regular season and then defeating the Canterbury Inferno, 2-1, to claim the Goulding Cup for the second time in three years. The trophy is named after Jan Goulding, a prominent name in the support and development of women’s hockey in New Zealand.The two other teams, Dunedin Thunder Women and Wakatipu Wild, played for the bronze medal, the Wild coming out on top, 8-0. The regular season consisted of 12 games, Aukland finishing on top with 23 points, one more than Wakatipu.
The Steel were one of the three founding teams of the newly-created NZWIHL in 2014. The others were the Canterbury Devilettes (which later became the Inferno) and the Southern Storm. The Steen won the championship that first season and have now claimed six titles overall.
As on the men’s side, the national league is amateur in status but is integral to developing players who represent the “Ice Fernz,” as the national team calls itself. Helen Murray, Anjali Mulari, Lily Hansen, Rachael Richmond, Alex Hefford, Katya Blong, Hannah Shields, and Jasmine Horner-Pascoe all play for the Streel and the national team. Blong, in fact, led New Zealand in scoring at the Women’s Worlds II-B last season, also played in Dunedin, with seven goals and nine points. The hosts finished second behind Australia, the difference being the penultimate day when the Aussies won, 4-3, in a shootout over their rivals.
Kellye Nelson of the Wild led the league in scoring with 28 points in 13 games (including playoffs), and teammate Caitlin Heale was second with 21. Both also played in WW-II-B. Although the majority of the players are native New Zealanders, the league does have representation from North America (mostly Canada) and Europe.
Most important, these two leagues have shown a resilience through the COVID years and are now looking at expanding, supporting the building of new arenas, and improving the quality of play. Fans support has also been on the rise, all of which suggests a small but strong hockey program that is looking not just to survive, but to thrive and prosper.