It has been quite a turnaround for the Southern Stampede, which plays the Botany Swarm in the national ice hockey league final in Auckland tomorrow night.
After a "horribly disappointing" 2010 season, in which the Stampede claimed the wooden spoon, winger Brett Speirs says the Queenstown-based team is excited about the opportunity to win the title.
"It's going to come down to who wants it the most. This year we want it pretty bad," he said.
"I don't think it has ever happened that a team has gone from last place and the next year won it, so that's a pretty big thing for us to aim for."
If the Swarm wins, it will be its fourth win from five finals, but the Stampede has equal motivation, looking to claim its third championship in its fourth appearance in the final.
Despite the Swarm's home-ice advantage, the Stampede performed well in its first two opening games in Auckland at the start of the season, winning one of the matches against the top-ranked team.
Speirs said the squad was looking to do exactly the same there this weekend.
"They are always going to be a pretty difficult team to beat on their home rink.
"They have got a pretty young squad and they lack a little bit of respect for opponents and they have a few guys that we want to punish. Not physically, necessarily, but we want to bring the cup back to Queenstown."
