On Sunday, 6th November 2011 the IIHA in conjunction with the Hawks InLine Hockey Team based in Athlone, Co. Westmeath held the first ever InLine Hockey Halloween Cup. Four teams took part in what turned out to be a riveting day of hockey in Athlone. It is planned for the InLine Hockey Halloween Cup to be an annual IIHA event organized by the winners in the previous year. It will be a tradition started by the Hawks InLine Hockey Team in Athlone.
The Dundalk Bulls, Flyers IHC, Hawks and Dublin Rovers all took part with the Dundalk Bulls coming out victors after an emphatic 8 – 1 win over the Hawks in the final. The Hawks had tied 6-6 with the Bulls earlier in the day but couldn’t hold on in the final which was closer than the score suggests. In the opening minutes of the game, the Bulls were awarded a penalty shot that was saved by the Hawks’ goalkeeper. However, the Bulls took the lead shortly after the penalty shot but the Hawks managed to equalize before the Bulls scored 7 unanswered goals. The final score was 8 – 1 to the Bulls with some top class saves by both goalkeepers.
In the 3rd/4th place play-off, the Rovers and Flyers matched up against one another for a second time in the day with the Rovers out for revenge having lost 5 – 3 in the earlier encounter. However, the Flyers took the lead early on and were leading 6 – 4 with less than three minutes left in the game. The Rovers pulled two goals back to tie things with less than thirty seconds left and things looked like they were heading to a penalty shootout before a last gasp goal from the Flyers sealed a 7 – 6 win and 3rd place in their first InLine Hockey tournament.
An excellent day was had by all and a huge thank you goes to the Hawks for organizing everything on the day as well as to all those who took part including the spectators.
The final standings after all games were played were as follows:
1. Dundalk Bulls
2. Hawks
3. Flyers IHC
4. Dublin Rovers
The results for all games on the day were as follows:
1. 10:00 – 10:40: Hawks 5 – 7 Rovers
2. 10:40 – 11:20: Bulls 9 – 1 Flyers
3. 11:20 – 12:00: Bulls 6 – 6 Hawks
4. 12:00 – 12:40: Rovers 3 – 5 Flyers
5. 12:40 – 13:20: Hawks 7 – 4 Flyers
6. 13:20 – 14:00: Rovers 3 – 9 Bulls
7. 14:30 – 15:10: Rovers 6 – 7 Flyers (3rd/4th Place Playoff)
8. 15:20 – 16:00: Bulls 8 – 1 Hawks (Final)