Rested and rejuvenated, Goulburn Valley Hockey Association players suited up for battle following a break over the school holidays.
And for the men, it wasn’t strictly business as usual.
Breaking away into the Regional Hockey League, the GVHA A-grade sides went mano-e-mano with Bendigo-based opposition as a high-scoring epic kicked off the action.
Strikers went down in an 11-goal thriller versus Sandhurst, losing by a goal despite a Herculean effort from scoring machine Xavier McBain.
He struck three goals during Strikers’ 6-5 loss, with James Black also getting in on the action.
Other RHL fixtures had Strathdale take on Echuca-Moama and SYC play Eaglehawk, but the results weren’t available at the time of print.
Meanwhile, Women’s Vic League Two play pitted Mooroopna against top-seeded Werribee.
Despite skipper Kerry Gannon hitting the back of the net, the Cats were sunk 3-1 to barrel out of the top four.
Back in the GVHA landscape, a women’s clash between SYC and Strikers went the former’s way 3-1, having the Scorchers fly up the ladder to sit two points off top.
Sue Trevaskis, Kim Starkey and Tayah Irwin got their names on the scoresheet for SYC, while the Strikers’ goal was scored by Renee Whatman.
An Echuca-Moama derby had little surprises in store, with Courtney Thompson’s three-piece pushing Green out to a 7-0 result and a five-point lead at the summit.
And in the B-grade men’s, Echuca-Moama bettered Strikers 1-0, while SYC outlasted Mooroopna 2-0.
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