The back-to-back defending champions prevailed 3-2 in a shootout win over Waikato to grab the bronze medal.
That result reversed an earlier shootout loss to Waikato during the round robin.
Canterbury beat North Harbour 2-1 in the final to bring Otago’s run at the top to an end.
Otago player-coach Blair Tarrant summed up the mood best.
"We didn’t come here to come third", he said.
"It was a good effort but we wanted to be in that final."
Otago blooded nine new players this season, so they were not the same team they were in previous seasons.
They still had a core of experienced players, though.
All three Ward brothers stood out.
Jordan Ward’s drag flicks were lethal and he drilled another in the bronze medal game to get his side back on track after they conceded two early goals.
Finn and Patrick Ward were both creative in the midfield and caused problems for the defence whenever they were in possession.
Young striker Oliver Battrick impressed up front and Felix McIntosh was one of the form goalies at the tournament.
Charles Darling was solid in the middle of the park and back-up keeper Hugh Nixon did a tremendous job in the shootout.
Otago found themselves trailing 2-0 early on in the playoff for third and fourth.
Jordan Ward wrestled back some momentum with his strike from a penalty corner and James Nicolson deflected in the equaliser.
"Honestly, after [those two opening goals], we probably played our best hockey of the week, which was pretty pleasing", Tarrant said.
"We would have liked to get them in normal time and beat them on the field, but it was good to beat them in the shootout."
Otago women lost the bottom-four final 1-0 to Hawke’s Bay.
But just reaching the final was a big achievement for a young team.
Coach Hymie Gill believed it had been a decade since the Otago women had last registered a win but they managed to post two wins in the campaign, including one over Wellington.
"They’re normally a top-four team, so that was great for us", Gill said.
"But, unfortunately, we lost the fifth-sixth match. We missed a stroke and we had a goal disallowed, so it just wasn’t our day."
Tessa Jopp, who had an outstanding tournament, missed the stroke. And it was her goal which was disallowed, too.
The officials ruled she made the strike outside the circle.
It was one of several opportunities Otago had to find an equaliser in the final quarter.
"Next year’s going to be a different story. We’ll be a year older and we’re going to be a year better, and who knows what can happen."
Jopp and striker Kelsey Smith had strong tournaments as expected.
Young defender Ava Beens impressed in her first year in the team, rookie Hannah Cormack was calm under pressure, and midfielder Hayley Cox was solid.
Ella Greenwood and Annabelle Schneideman had their moments up front.
"They’re all under 21, so we’ve got a bright future if they stick around."
