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It may be premature to say the defending Vancouver Island Field Hockey Association champion Tigers are once again the team to beat in the competitive division, but it is fair to say they’ve turned the corner.
After an up-and-down start that saw them post just three wins in their first eight games, the Tigers have ground out two straight wins over quality sides to pull their record level at 5-5-0.
The latest was a 4-2 decision over the first-place Rebels, the same team that beat Tigers 9-1 just three weeks ago (see: Rebels pad comp. division lead with win over partly keeper-less Tigers https://bit.ly/41pllak ) .
Josh Brown led the winners’ attack with a pair of goals, while Parm Sahota and Javier Virk notched a goal apiece. Gavin O’Halloran, who scored the game’s first goal, and Bevan van de Berg tallied for the Rebels.
The second competitive division game of the day, between Victoria League Selects and UVic Vikes, was cancelled due to a shortage of players.
In the morning’s recreational division game, Hawks’ Gurcharn Athwal made the most of his opportunities, scoring three times to lead his team to a decisive 5-1 win over the Marauders.
Hawks midfielders Amit Dillon and Gursharan Kalar gave Marauders defenders fits with their ball control through the middle, and their forays into the opposing end saw them rewarded with a goal each.
Tom Vincent, found alone deep in the circle with a pinpoint pass from Will Cuddihy, scored the lone goal for Marauders.
VIFHA now enters its mid-season break, returning to action on Sunday, Jan. 14.
Find photos by Don Descoteau from today’s Tigers Rebels game at https://www.facebook.com/GVmensFhockey/ .

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(This version of the story has changes not included in the original post)
The absence of some key personnel made for a pair of atypical games in Vancouver Island Field Hockey Association competitive division play Sunday at UVic.
Tigers were without a goalkeeper for the first half of the day’s middle game, during which they played with 11 field players against Rebels 1. The latter bagged a couple of goals, despite being “shorthanded” for a half, then continued their scoring barrage when the keepers arrived in posting a 9-1 win.
Johnny Jacoby managed to elude the Tigers defenders and find the net three times for the Rebels, who got single goals from Dale Kirk, Ethan Picard, Dash Nelson, Ben Wheatley, Bevan Van de Berg and Chris Dahl. Rajiv Dillon notched the loan goal for Tigers (3-5-0).
While the victory may not have been as satisfying as its four previous wins, Rebels (5-2-2) did use the points to open up a five-point margin on the second-place UVic men.
The Vikes (4-5-0) were again bitten by the short lineup bug and were forced to default their Sunday contest to the Victoria League Selects (3-3-2) due to the lack of players. Those on hand did, however, create two even teams to play a friendly.
The day’s recreational division game saw Rebels 2 post a 2-0 win over Marauders, paced by goals from Chris Dahl and Clive Wheatley.
Next weekend’s actions opens with the jamboree games for the rec players, followed by Tigers vs. Vikes at noon and Rebels vs. Selects at 1:30 p.m.
Find a collection of photos from today’s games on Facebook .

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Top spot in the Vancouver Island Field Hockey Association’s competitive division changed hands Sunday at UVic, but most of the excitement came in the middle game of the day.
Down 3-2 at the half to the always dangerous Tigers, who carried much of the play in the first two quarters, the Victoria League Selects put together a big second half and overtook the men in black to post a 5-4 victory.
Derrick Norton and Sanjiv Galhon scored a pair of goals each for the Selects (2-3-2), while Kai Lawrence bagged a single.
The win spoiled a brilliant three-goal performance from the Tigers’ Josh Brown, whose first two goals came off lightning-quick spinaround reverse stick shots. Parm Sahota scored the other goal for Tigers (3-4-0).
Some apparent confusion late in the fourth quarter, with Tigers scrambling to get the 5-5 goal, ultimately took away the team’s last-ditch momentum.
A Tigers defender who had been issued a green card and a two-minute suspension with just under two minutes to play, stepped back onto the field well before his time was up and was involved in an attacking play. Play was whistled down and he was sent back off, while the Tigers’ captain was handed a yellow card for the team playing with too many men.
The late game of the day saw Rebels 1 (4-2-2) down a shorthanded Vikes side 5-1 to leapfrog ahead of UVic atop the competitive division.
Johnny Jacoby notched a pair of goals in the win, while singles came from Owen Dahl, Ricky Kong and Gavin O’Halloran. Chase Martin scored for the Vikes (4-4-0).
The recreation division game to start the day saw Hawks pad their lead with a 5-1 win over Marauders. Still undefeated at 4-0 to start the season, Hawks got goals from Gurcharn Athwal, Bobby Virk, Amit Dillon, Vardeep Gill and Shawn Kalar, while Kirn Khaira tallied for the Marauders.
Next weekend’s games open with Marauders taking on Rebels 2 at 10:30 a.m., followed by Tigers vs. Rebels 1 at noon and Selects vs. Vikes at 1:30 p.m.

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Rajiv Dillon and the Tigers made the most of set piece plays Sunday on the turf at UVic, knocking off Rebels, the hottest team in the Vancouver Island Field Hockey Association’s competitive division, by a narrow 3-2 margin.
Dillon pulled the trigger with no time remaining in the fourth quarter and the teams tied 2-2. His third goal of the contest, all of which came off penalty corners, ended the game on a positive note for Tigers.
The victory not only avenged a 3-1 loss to the Rebels in the teams’ previous matchup on Oct. 29, it pulled Tigers (3-3-0) to within two points of Rebels for second place with a game in hand.
Alex Moore and Bevan Vandenberg tallied for the Rebels (3-2-2), who were handed their first loss in five games.
Division-leading UVic Vikes had the weekend off for reading break.
The day’s recreation division game saw Hawks run Rebels 2 out of steam in the second half en route to a 3-0 victory. The game was scoreless at the half, but the as-yet unbeaten Hawks (3-0-0) got goals from Hardeep Grewal, Rishi Sharma and Gursharan Kalar to put the game away.
Rebels fell to 0-2-1 on the season.
Next weekend’s return to a full slate of games sees Hawks take on Marauders in rec play to start the day at 10:30 a.m., followed by competitive division matches at noon (Tigers vs. Victoria League Selects) and 1:30 p.m. (Vikes vs Rebels 1).
Inset picture: Rajiv Dillon (left, in black), had the literal eye of the Tiger on Sunday at UVic, scoring three times off penalty corners to lead the Tigers to a 3-2 last-play victory over Rebels 1. (Photo by Don Descoteau)

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The UVic Vikes may be cultivating a new nickname for themselves after Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Victoria League Selects: The Magnificent Seven.
Down several players for the entirety of their Oct. 29 contest in Vancouver Island Field Hockey Association play at UVic, the Vikes (4-2-0) managed to generate a full squad’s worth of offence and maintain their lead atop the competitive division table.
Phillip Steeves scored twice and Ryan Knight and Grant Simpson once each in the win over a Selects team that looked suspiciously like the old Mutineers – right down to the green jerseys – with a handful of Marauders rec players bringing the numbers up and contributing significantly.
Callups Tom Vincent, Mark Baggott and Iosvani Marrero scored for the Selects (1-3-1) in an impressive show of support for their team’s competitive affiliate.
The day’s late game saw Rebels 1 (3-1-1) keep pace with the Vikes with a 3-1 victory over Tigers. Gavin O’Halloran scored twice to lead the Rebels attack, while Dale Kirk added a single. Javier Virk tallied for Tigers (1-3-0).
The Sunday opener saw Rebels 2 erase a 2-0 deficit to Marauders and come back to post a 2-2 tie in rec division action. It was the first point of the season earned by both teams.
Solid pressure around the Rebels net yielded tap-in goals by Marauders forwards Don Descoteau and Jay Flye to make it 2-0. But the Rebels mounted a sustained attack of their own and got second-half goals from Clive Wheatley and Simon Lightbody. Rebels continued to press in the game’s final stages, but some timely defensive clears allowed Marauders to preserve the tie.
Next weekend opens at 10:30 a.m. with the second rec division jamboree of the season, followed by competitive games at noon (Selects vs. Rebels 1) and 1:30 p.m. (Vikes vs. Tigers).
Photos from today’s action can be found on the VIFHA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GVmensFhockey

Photo insert: Rebels’ Ray Bailey looks to send a ball into the D, where teammate Clive Wheatley waits for a tip-in opportunity, while Marauders defender Thomas White (right) prepares to help out keeper Kelvin Kum. (Photo by Don Descoteau)