The Blue Stars team caused the first upset of the Geotech Drilling Eastgate Memorial hockey tournament beating favourites New Zealand Barbarians 3-1 yesterday.

The win at the National Hockey Centre was a good start for the team hoping to win the tournament for fellow player David Bennion Jnr.

Coach David Bennion Snr’s namesake, fondly known to many to as DJ, died in May.

“We have to wear black arm bands in memory of my son David,” Bennion Snr said.

“He was our centre forward and always looking forward to playing in the Marist tournament.

“These boys are playing for him and it is an extra motivation for them to win this tournament for David.

“It has not been quite the same without him but so far we are doing really well.”

Blues Stars are the only team from the Western division to win the Marist tournament.

“We were one-time winners and now we have built up our team again thanks to Geotech Drilling who have been our sponsors,” he said.

“We have been the only team from the west to have won the Marist tournament in 2007. We won the plate in 2003 and we promised ourselves that we would win the main one in five years and we did it in four years.

“There are lots of young boys in our team and most of are students or ex-scholars of St Thomas High School.