The sound of the ball smacking against the backboard brought feelings of relief to Ex-Services X-Men skipper Daryl Kennewell.
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X-Men took out the Orange Hockey division one men's grand final on Saturday with an extra-timer winner from Adam Skelton overcoming Feds 3-2.
Earlier the minor premiers looked set for a shock defeat before Charlie Howarth found an equaliser late in the game to send it into extra-time.
Kennewell said the conditions made life tough for both teams.
"It was awesome to see the ball hit the back board and the feeling was one of relief and accomplishment," he said.
"It was a hot day and every player for both X-Men and Feds was pushing through the exhaustion in extra time.
"It's hard to say [who was man of the match].
"From the back we defended really well and up front we had so many chances. The Charlie Howarth equaliser was crucial in the dying minutes to push into extra time, but I think Adam Skelton was the man of the match with a solid performance up front and scoring the winning goal in extra time."
In the women's division one grand final CYMS completed the perfect season by defeating Ex-Services 1-0 in a nail-biter.
In third grade men's CYMS Colts beat CYMS Gurus 3-2, in second division women's Canobolas Tigers beat Molong 2-1, in third division women's CYMS Vics overcame Waratahs Wildcats 2-1 and in fourth grade women's it finished 1-0 to Waratahs Warriors over CYMS AWE.
Kennewell, who also serves as president of Orange Hockey Incorporate, said the day was a "perfect" celebration of the hockey community.
"Grand final day was perfect, the sun was shining, the crowd was very supportive of their teams and there was a good community vibe around the hockey block," he said.
"I was there from 8:30 until 5pm doing multiple jobs as a committee member and I think the highlight for me was, not only winning the grand final, but seeing so many hockey members and supporters around the sport we love, enjoying our community and seeing some good hockey games with some great sportsmanship.
"All games were either within one or two goals or went into extra time. It was a very enjoyable day played in the right spirit of hockey."
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