KIHL WINS AT ACC

The KIHL Young-Guns and KIHL Taniwha have won their respective Divisions at the Australian Club Championships 2025 in Moe, Victoria, Australia. 

Kiwi Inline Hockey League will return to New Zealand as Champions in Division 1 and Masters Division after a successful campaign at the Australian Club Championships. 

KIHL Young-Guns and KIHL Raiders had great success throughout pool play with the Raiders topping Pool B, while the Young-Guns finished second in Pool A.

This meant our Kiwi teams would face-off in the Division 1 Semi Finals. The Young-Guns taking down the Raiders 3 - 1 to advance to the Finals.

The KIHL Young-Guns would face the Snipers who had beaten them during pool play. However the Young-Guns had plans to spoil the party and managed exactly that. Daniel Middleton found the back of the net midway through the first half. This led to increased offense by the Snipers with the Young-Guns showing their defensive strategies.

The second half seen the Young-Guns defend for long lengths of time but they remained composed. With less than 3 minutes left another rare opportunity to generate some offence. Daniel Middleton finding Ryan Williams moving forward and a great one-timer catching the Goalkeeper out of position giving the Young-Guns a 2 - 0 advantage.

But the Snipers weren't done yet managing a late goal with a minute left. Young-Guns managing to box out the Snipers and WIN the Division 1 Australian Club Championships. Zac Williams stopping 19 shots of 20 attempts. 

KIHL Taniwha started their campaign strong and only got stronger as the tournament progressed topping the Standings and advancing straight to the Finals. Kiwis certainly didn't have it their way throughout the Finals although managing a 2 - 0 half-time score. The Lilydale Rats scoring early into the second half creating a close fought battle until the end with the Taniwha holding on to win 2 - 1 and handing KIHL its first ACC Championship.

KIHL Warriors Pro Team had a mixed bag of results through the round robin format but finished 3 in the standings. This led to a face-off with the Dogs in the Semi Finals. The Dogs putting 3 quick goals on didn't look like the Warriors would recover from it going into the half down 3 - 1. 

However a different Warriors team came out firing and putting 3 goals back and taking the lead 4 - 3 with only 2 minutes left, however the Dogs found the back of the net in regulation, pushing the game to Overtime. The Dogs taking the Win and advancing to the Finals ending the Warriors tournament. Oriol "Uri" Morera named as a Pro Division Tournament All-Star.

Congratulations to all KIHL players their families and friends who made their way to Moe, Victoria with us. We really appreciate all the support from around the country. We look forward to having you join us on future campaigns. Nga mihi