Orange's Edwina Bone and her Canberra Chill side opened their Hockey One campaign in perfect, albeit nail-biting, fashion on Sunday afternoon, edging out the Brisbane Blaze in a thrilling, round one shoot-out.
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The two sides couldn't be separated at 2-all at the end of regular time at Lyneham Hockey Centre and as Brooke Peris stepped up to take the Chill's fifth and final shot of the one-on-ones, they were also deadlocked at two goals apiece.
True to the name of her side, the Olympian proved she has ice in her veins by calmly slotting the chance to give the Canberra side a 3-2 win in the shoot-out.
Faced with that pressure, she simply though "no worries".
"As I walked out [my teammates] said, 'if you get this, we win.' But I don't really feel the pressure, I love that stuff," Peris said.
"I knew she was going to dive so I waited an extra second and then just pushed it in. It was great to get the win today."
Canberra goalkeeper Sakiyo Asano made three crucial saves in the decider, while Bone was in the thick of it too, converting the Chill's first one-on-one chance.
Neither team managed to find the back of the net in the opening half, before Brisbane's Rosie Malone broke the deadlock with three minutes remaining in the third term and nailed the conversion to give the Blaze a 2-nil lead.
Canberra fired back in the fourth quarter, creating chances for Kalindi Comerford and Beckie Middleton, before Naomi Evans scored the equaliser not long into the final term.
She beat Brisbane shot-stopper Hannah Astbury again with the conversion to equalise, with the clash going to one-on-one's as per the new competition's new rules.
Along with Bone and Peris, Evans nailed her one-on-one, while Jordyn Holzberger and Ash Fea converted for the Blaze.
"It was a tight contest but we stayed calm because we could feel it coming and had to be patient," Evans said.
"Brisbane hold a big standard so I'm proud of how we handled today and our win," Peris added.
"They have a few Hockeyroos and former Australian players so it proves when you show up on the day, anyone can win. It's about hard work and Evans' goals were incredible.
"Hockey is about those incredible moments and executing them when the time arrives."
The Chill's season continues next weekend against the NSW Pride. Parkes' Mariah Williams and Lithgow's Abigail Wilson were in the Pride side that was beaten 2-1 by the Adelaide Fire last weekend.
- CANBERRA CHILL 2 (3) (Naomi Evans 2; Shoot-out: Edwina Bone, Evans, Brooke Peris) def BRISBANE BLAZE 2 (2) (Rosie Malone 2; Shoot-out: Jordyn Holzberger, Ash Fea)
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