In what was the final event of an action-packed Varsity 2023, the ice hockey promised to provide a spectacle to all fans making the trip to the Utilita Arena.
Hallam started well with a precise flowing move which allowed captain, Dani Haid to have a crack at goal but his effort sailed over the bar.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the early exchanges with both sides spurred on by their energetic supporters in the arena.
Moments later, it was Uni Of’s turn to carve out a goal-scoring opportunity as Sam Parkin raced through the middle ending up one on one against James Harman but Nathan Bennett was able to recover and put in an excellent last-ditch block to keep the scores even.
Uni Of’s number 14, Joffray Hargreaves received a penalty four minutes in because of repeated tripping meaning he was sin-binned for a total of two minutes.
The end-to-end action continued as Oliver Keeling was found in acres of space on the right meaning he was able to produce an effort at goal but William Haile was equal to it as he caught the puck with ease.
In a carbon copy of the previous penalty, Hallam’s Sam Colton was punished at the six-minute mark due to another tripping violation.
As both sides searched for the opener, the match became physical with players smashing into each other at every possible opportunity, in typical Varsity fashion.
Uni Of thought they had opened the scoring after Michael Szollosy desperately tried to squeeze the puck in after a manic goalmouth scramble but to no avail.
It was a fast-paced, frenetic and physical first period but neither side could find that moment of quality to take the lead in the opening 20 minutes.
The second period started off much like the first, scrappy and cagey yet the first real moment of quality when Sam Rodgers displayed some brilliant close control to beat three Uni Of defenders but he couldn’t get his shot off.
However, the deadlock was broken soon after when Radu Nicolae capitalised on a Hallam turnover before feeding Lawson Glasby, and the captain made no mistake in slotting home confidently to take the lead.
An opportunity arose for Hallam after Szollosy was given a penalty for excessive boarding giving them a man advantage for a short time.
And they made the most of that advantage as they levelled the scores after a ferocious strike into the top right corner from Colton assisted by Nathan Otley.
Hallam were starting to strut their stuff as the game progressed, letting a barrage of shots off at Yuki Haguchi’s goal but the Uni of man had been superb after coming into the second period, producing save after save.
Into the third period, it was more thrilling action as Hallam’s Colton raced through on goal but was met with more Haguchi heroics as he wiped out the attacker to prevent the shot.
Despite nothing notable happening in the first ten minutes of the third period, controversy struck as Adam Brooke-Smith saw his effort nick off the post but Uni Of were strangely awarded the goal. However, after some deliberation, the goal was chalked off and the score returned to 1-1.
But it was the team in maroon who scored the next all-important goal after Josh Humphreys struck well from a distance which forced a spill from Haguchi which left Ryan Marsden on hand to tap the rebound into an empty net.
In the dying embers of the game with three minutes remaining, Uni Of scored after a neat cut-back from Lewis Jones found Parkin who was able to sweep a cool finish into the bottom left which all but confirmed that overtime awaited.
Overtime consisted of a four versus four match for five minutes and if a goal is scored the match was over. It was all to play for.
The introduction of overtime upped the intensity of both sides whilst staying cautious to not commit too many men forward due to the reduced number of players.
Haguchi was the man of the moment for Uni Of in overtime pulling off stop after stop and capping off his man-of-the-match performance.
Now onto the penalties and both the first efforts were saved by Haguchi and Winters respectively.
Nicolae was next to take for Uni Of and he superbly rounded the keeper and slotted home to take a 1-0 lead.
The score stayed 1-0 for the next round of shots and it was more of the same from Haguchi as he successfully kept out number 8’s strike.
Rodgers stepped up for Hallam in their last penalty and he didn’t let the pressure get to him as he saved his team by powering a strike into the net, 1-1.
Sudden death time and Nicolae glided towards Winters before squirming his effort just under the netminder to take the lead.
It was all down to Haguchi to win the game, and he responded brilliantly stopping the Hallam shot with ease to win the game and round off a comprehensive overall Varsity win for the University of Sheffield.
