For Southern Stampede coach Stephen Reid, his first year in the hot seat has been a memorable one.
Now the Stampede has a chance to do something quite special.
Reid is in charge of a team that has staged a remarkable turnaround, from placing last in the National Ice Hockey League last year to making tonight's final in Auckland against the Botany Swarm.
Previously involved as a goaltender for the Queenstown-based team, he said the new experience had been a "highly enjoyable" one, with committed and passionate players on the ice and "a great support team" behind the scenes.
"For myself, coming in as a brand-new coach for the league, with some new ideas, the guys have been fantastic in supporting me ... and everybody turns up to training. It had been a problem previously but this year, everyone wants to win."
Key players and top scorers for the Stampede have been imports Tommy Zizian (Canada) and Adnan Mlivic (Sweden), and Ice Blacks Brett Speirs and Simon Glass.
Reid said Glass, despite returning from a season off, had quickly found his footing again "and helped bring the team culture back to the boys".
He credits this return of team culture for the Stampede's form this season, and has high hopes for the final.
"I mean, there's no doubt the Swarm's a good team - they've got some Ice Blacks - but we're going in as the underdogs and that's what we like."
Without giving too much away, Reid said the game plan was to play "good, hard physical hockey, regardless of what the Swarm had planned.
"They are really a no-frills team and they play a pretty standard style and will be relying on their more experienced players to hold their head and minimise the risk from our players, instead of having the whole team step up.
"Obviously, it's always a home advantage having that home ice, but I think they play better while on the road and so do we, I suspect. Being the underdog means that we can just go out there and play hockey."
The team has struggled to get together over the past two weeks, with younger members playing at the national championships, and some senior members playing for the Ice Blacks in the Winter Games.
However, Reid said the players were confident.
"Texts have been flying around between the team all week. The vibe around the team is fantastic, and they are looking forward to the weekend."
