One southern side will chase yet another crown but the other will again lament the feeling of holding the wooden spoon.
The Stampede and Thunder combined for two high-scoring games in Queenstown to end the New Zealand Ice Hockey League regular season at the weekend.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, their share of the 28 goals scored at the Queenstown Ice Arena was a mere four.
The Stampede sealed top spot and direct qualification for the finals with a pair of 12-2 wins over their out-gunned southern rivals.
The defending champions finished their 16-game campaign with 12 wins, an overtime win and an overtime loss for 39 points.
They will host the NZIHL finals against either the West Auckland Admirals or the Botany Swarm, who meet in the semifinal series starting on August 31.
For the Thunder, it will be another offseason to ponder the challenge of getting better as they reflect on a year that produced one win, one overtime win and three overtime losses for eight points.
The Stampede took control of game 1 in the derby on Friday night by scoring three unanswered goals in the first period and adding three more in the first eight minutes of the second.
Carlin Baumgartner and Jack Lewis scored to give the Thunder some hope, but the Stampede eased into an 8-2 lead at the end of the first period and fired in four insurance goals in the second.
Colin McIntosh starred for the Stampede with six points (three goals and three assists), while Lachlan Frear, Jett McCullum and Axel Ruski-Jones each scored two goals.
It was a similar story on Saturday night as the Stampede led 3-0 at the end of the first period and 8-1 at the end of the second.
Max Simpson and Ian Audas scored goals for the Thunder, who managed 28 shots but found Stampede goaltender Aston Brookes in typically sound form.
The Stampede forwards again led the way as Nolan Ross poured in four goals and had three assists, McIntosh added a whopping six assists to his two goals and Frear had three goals and two assists.
