Lynn van Dieren’s first leg goal proved the sole difference as Braxgata ended Gantoise women’s reign as Belgian women’s champions as they won the two-leg affair 1-0.

Against initial predictions, Brax dominated the first leg but only had that van Dieren goal – a close range finish – to show for their strong performance.

The second leg followed a similar pattern in the first half with Brax making more of the play before Gantoise fought back in the third quarter and pinning their rivals back.

But they could not break through and so it provided the perfect send-off for a beaming Judith Vandermeiren, a child of the club, who savoured this success.

“Gantoise were favorites, but we were confident,” she smiled. “We had to not fall into their game, we had to control by staying calm, make them run and anticipate their counters. We were solid defensively but we still had difficulty scoring.”

They will now take their place in the EHL Women’s FINAL8 next year with Gantoise set for the FINAL12.

Gantoise completed an historic season as they won the Belgian men’s title to go along with the EHL title, edging out Royal Léopold in a shoot-out after two epic battles over the weekend.

Léo won the first one 3-2 with three goals from José Basterra helping them come back from 2-1 down.

The result was reversed a day later with Gantoise earning the 3-2 scoreline. They wiped out the Léo advantage through Charles Masson but Tom Boon quickly put his side back in front.

Alex Hendrickx levelled the aggregate score in the third quarter and another rocket in the fourth period had them flying high.

That was until Basterra deflected in the dying seconds to level at 5-5 overall, sending it to a shoot-out.

There, though, Gantoise produced a perfect set of five shoot-out goals while Nicolas Poncelet saw his effort come back off the post for Léo.

“It’s completely crazy,” admitted Pascal Kina, the Gantoise coach. “During the first leg, despite the narrow defeat, we had already shown good things. But we knew we were capable of much better.

“This last goal that really came out of nowhere, that’s sport. But we showed tremendous character, as is often the case, to bounce back.

“I don’t want to think about next season and our future goals yet. I’m going to celebrate first and then we’ll get back to work on Tuesday.”

The result means Gantoise will play in the EHL Men’s FINAL8 next Easter with Royal Léopold going to the KO16 in October.

Braxgata’s men will play in the EHL for the first time after they held off Waterloo Ducks 3-2 in the third place playoff on Saturday evening.

The Brabançons built up a 3-0 lead with goals from Jeff De Winter, Harry Van Bavel and Tanguy Clément. Waterloo fought back with two Tomi Domene goals in the closing five minutes but left it too late to force a shoot-out.

Loïck Luypaert and his teammates were able to rejoice and celebrate this great moment with their many supporters in the stands in Antwerp.

“We deserved this EHL ticket after finishing in 3rd place at the end of the regular phase and our semi-final second leg against Léo, which we won 3-4,” said Luypaert after the match.

“We can always be greedy and say that we have regrets. But this is the first time in three years that we have played in the playoffs again. We can be very proud. There is a lot of potential for the future.”

Club de Campo de Madrid will continue their unbroken run in the women’s EHL after they confirmed top spot in the Spanish regular season with a 5-0 win over Real Sociedad.

The goals were shared around with five different scorers on the mark during the contest, a result which keeps them out of range of Atlètic Terrassa.

They sit five points back despite a strong 1-0 win over Real Club de Polo with Sofia Belen Rogoski Curi getting the only goal.

Club Egara are also confirmed in the playoffs while Junior FC are within one point of making it, too. They sit in fourth spot, three clear of Polo, after a 4-1 win over UD Taburiente which also gives the Sant Cugat club a decent advantage on goal difference.

As such, Junior’s home game against Egara on Sunday will be key in formally determining the final playoff spot.

Real Club de Polo mathematically secured their place at the top of the Spanish men’s league to qualify for the EHL KO16.

They did so after beating third placed Atlètic Terrassa at the Eduardo Dualde Stadium with a 21st-minute goal from Xavi Lleonart, their eighth consecutive victory which has them six points clear with round to go

Club de Campo dropped back with its second consecutive draw, this time at the Pla del Bon Aire against Egara by 3-3. Campo will now – most likely – play Atlèti in the semi-finals of the playoffs.

Fourth-placed Junior added three more points in Las Palmas by defeating UD Taburiente 5-2. The Sant Cugat club are now 11 points clear of CD Terrassa in fifth spot.

Junior finish off the regular campaign this weekend against Club Egara; Polo go to CD Terrassa while Campo host UD Taburiente on Sunday.

The second EHL ticket to the KO16 will be confirmed at the playoffs in a couple of weeks time.

One of the EHL’s most decorated players, Marco Miltkau will join HC Bloemendaal next season, bringing his predatory instincts to bolster their forward line.

The experienced German striker comes over from Klein Zwitserland, bringing with him an impressive track record, including a silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, a World Cup in 2023 and a European championship in 2013.

In the EHL, he won the title twice with UHC Hamburg (2010 and 2012) and once with Rot-Weiss Köln (2017) as well as picking up silver medals in 2009 and 2019. In total, he scored 35 times in 46 games in the EHL, putting him second on the all-time goalscorer list.

“It has always been a dream to play for Bloemendaal,” he said of the move. “This step, at this point in my career, feels like pure pleasure.

“Every competition has its own style. That has made me richer. I hope that I can use all that baggage to contribute to the hockey that makes Bloemendaal so strong.”

Bloemendaal top hockey board member Michiel Hilders added: “Of course I am very happy with Marco’s arrival in Bloemendaal. He has been internationally known for years as a very strong striker, a real goalgetter.

“As a person I know for sure that he will fit in very well with the group. He is a real team player who is also coming to Bloemendaal to improve our young attackers with his quality and experience.”