With the winter finals done and dusted, Goulburn's hockey players have been busy gearing up for the indoor season.
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However, Hockey ACT announced on Wednesday last week that the following day would feature the inaugural Capital League All Star matches.
Two clashes, one a women's match and one a men's, took place on Thursday night featuring a host of Canberra's best from the preceding Capital League One season.
Ten players from Goulburn were named across the four teams, including:
- Glenn Turner
- Zac McGregor
- Jake Staines
- Brad Smith
- Daniel McPherson
- Dean Evans
- Annabel Croker
- Makayla Jones
- Georgie Smithers
- Chloe Montgomery
The teams were named Avalanche and Blizzard - a continuation of Hockey ACT's Chill representative branding - with the Blizzard victorious 5-3 in the women's encounter and the Avalanche winners 8-3 in the men's.
However, as the Avalanche teams accumulated the most points across both games, they won the inaugural All Star Trophy. and both of the winning teams received $500 vouchers for Pick Up Stix kitchen and bar.
The matches were played under Hockey One rules, which meant that each goal (excluding those scored off short corners) was rewarded with an additional conversion opportunity.
Turner, who played for the victorious Avalanche men's team, is a big fan of the idea of All Star games.
"I think it was a great concept, it was a lot of fun," Turner said.
"The game was a bit more even than it looked on the scoresheet, we were lucky enough to finish a lot of our chances. It was really good to get together with everyone again. It was fast and the fundamentals were really good."
Turner is no stranger to playing against his teammates, which he did last Thursday evening. Though it was an exhibition match with nothing at stake, he enjoyed reviving an old rivalry against fellow Gecko McPherson, who played in goal for Blizzard.
"I think I had about three or four shots and Macca saved them all early," Turner said.
"I was lucky to slip one past him late in the second. It's always been competitive, I've played against him for years when he played for NSW, but I think he won Thursday's contest."
Originally developed as an idea to trial potential Canberra Chill players ahead of the 2021 Hockey One tournament, the All Star matches became something Turner hopes will continue into the future.
"In my opinion it should keep going somehow, in some form," he said.
"It's great exposure for anyone, even if they're playing for different states. You want to get the best players in that comp together, and a few of the Goulburn girls are really young and played really well in the match before ours."
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