Over 40 hockey players from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Fleet Air Arm traveled to Gosport for the 3rd Annual Royal Navy Championships.

It was good to see some new faces take to the ice, and some old ones return in order to partake in some friendly but intense competition for the bragging rights within the senior service.

This year, in order to help space out games, members of the Southampton University Spitfires were invited to participate.  There is a close and amicable relationship between the Navy and Southampton Uni hockey teams at Gosport, so it was nice to be able to thank them for their support at sessions by providing the opportunity for some ice time against the service teams.

The round robin competition saw the Navy and Marines win their first 2 games against the Fleet Air Arm and University sides, setting the scene for a climactic winner take all final game between the 2 rivals, the winner would be crowned 2012 RN Champion.

After a full day of hockey, fatigue was starting to show on both sides. There were few scoring chances in a tight checking affair, neither team wanting to concede the advantage. Mne Brandon Hubbs would finally get one past Navy keeper Alex Blackshaw midway through the first period.  Marine team captain Cpl John 'moose' Underwood would also find the back of the net a few minutes after with an accuate low shot which seemed to steer itself through heavy traffic in front of the Navy net to beat Blackshaw low stick side.

Both teams took the opportunity to catch their breath during the intermission before returning to the ice for the final period.  The matelots came out hard, keen to claw back at the 2-goal deficit but Musn Jon Booth would slam the door shut in the marines' net, turning away every shot he faced.

As the ice began to slow from the accumulation of snow from some hard skating over the first 30min of play, the pace of the Navy attack started to reduce, providing the marines with a few chances.  Mne Hubbs would add a second goal to give the bootnecks a 3-0 lead with only a few minutes remaining.  He would complete his hat trick with another goal on the final buzzer.  Final score, Royal Marines 4, Royal Navy 0.

The Fleet Air Arm made an excellent showing with a number of new players making their first appearance, many from succesful Grass Roots Sports Events.  Lt John Rutter was satisfied of the performance of his young team noting that they improved in each game they played.

Final Results are posted below:

The Annual RM v RN Xmas Cup match will take place Tue 13 Dec 11 at 1300.  The Bootnecks have not lost to their Matelots counterparts in 6 head-to-head matches since the Marines won the inaugural RN Cup in Feb 09.

Both teams should be sporting full line-ups and the action is set to be fast-paced; the Navy are keen to get in the 'W' column for the first time and the Commandos want to maintain their bragging rights.

Admission is free for the 1300 face-off.