This weekend, the Spanish playoff for men was held in Fuenlabrada, south of Madrid. Four teams had qualified for the finals: Fuengirola, Adil, UHK Madrid and CUF Leganes. In Saturday´s semifinals UHK Madrid won against Fuengirola 9-2 and CUF Leganes defeated Adil comfortably with 14-1.
The final on Sunday was to be a dramatic game between UHK Madrid and CUF Leganes. The two teams were very evenly matched in the first period with opportunities for both sides, but it was Madrid who broke the deadlock with a counter attack in the last minutes of the first period to get a 1-0 lead.
Leganés started the second period more aggressively to come back into the game putting a lot of pressure on the Madrid defense. Lack of efficiency in the scoring department however, kept the score unchanged and Leganés got some penalties instead. Oddly enough that did not help Madrid at all. A quick Leganés breakaway with a well placed wrist shot tied the game, and a couple of minutes later the scenario was repeated. Madrid trying to get their powerplay working, lost the ball and Leganés responded with a rapid turnover which ended up in an own goal. Then, Leganés took control of the game and scored a third and very psychological goal. The second period ended with Leganés on top 3-1 and everything pointed to a Leganés victory.
In the third period Madrid came out with a nothing-to-lose mentality and scored their second goal and they were in the game again. Leganés did not find a way to ride on their newly found momentum from the second period and looked a bit nervous. The last 15 minutes of the game were dramatic with lots of counter attacks from both teams. Leganés however, controlling the game. With three minutes left Madrid pulled their goalie playing 6 against 4 during a Leganés penalty in one last attempt to equalize but the reigning champions from the suburb kept their cool and did not give away anything more.
CUF Leganés showed its superiority one more year as they didn´t lose a single game during the entire season and grabbed their fifth title in a row.
Fuengirola took the third place after beat Adil.
Final top 4 men:
1. CUF Leganes
2. UHK Madrid
3. Fuengirola
4. Adil
CUF Leganés won the women´s Spanish Championship third time in a row
CUF Leganés won the women´s Spanish Championship third time in a row. Women´s finals were played in Paracuellos del Jarama (Madrid) in April. The ladies team from CUF Leganes defeated team Elfo in the final with a final score of 10-2. The third place went to the team Innebandy Paracuellos.
Final top 3 women:
1. CUF Leganes
2. Team Elfo
3. Innebandy Paracuelllos
