Ho ho ho, merry pub crawlers! The most wonderful time of the year is upon us, and it’s time to sleigh the night away on Saturday, 14th December. Join us for the annual 12 Pubs of Christmas as we jingle our way through the Fitzroy area! Starting at 4.00pm @theevelynhotel, we’ll be unwrapping the pub list closer to the big day, and the Santa Tracker will be live on the MUHC Instagram stories for any late comers (come when you can, the more the merrier)! Mark your calendars, pull out your most tacky Christmas attire, and let’s make this a night to remember—because this event will be snow much fun! With @australianvenueco vouchers & other fun prizes up for grabs bring your best Christmas spirit & festive cheer! Don’t miss out on what’s sure to be a tree-mendous time! #muhcsocialshoppers #12pubsofchristmas #festiveseason 🎄🎅 🧑‍🎄 🎁

🚨 Win 1 of 4 double passes to watch HC Melbourne take on @tassietigersh1 on Friday 22 November in Round 7 of the Hockey One League. Make sure to follow us and @hcmelbourneh1 on Instagram and then simply tag a friend you would like to take to the game in the comments below to go in the draw. 📆 Games start at 6.30pm @statesportcentres , Parkville. 🎟️ Winners announced on Tuesday 19 November. 👀 Don’t forget you can also catch all the action of tonight’s games live on @7plus with HC Melbourne taking on @canberrachillh1 in Canberra. @h1league @hockeyvictoriaofficial 🏑 #hockey #hockeyone #giveaway

🏑 Come join us at our mixed social summer hockey competition played on Thursday nights @statesportcentres Parkville! 🏑 The Mixed Summer Comp is all about the fun & laughs, players of any gender, skill & ability are welcomed! So if you’re missing hockey after a few months break from the winter season or keen to get back on the field after a more extended break - fill in the EOI (link in bio) & we’ll be in touch soon! #muhchockey #muhcmixedsummercomp #thursdaynighthockey @melbunisport

Can you believe it’s been a month since the 2024 season wrapped up? We’re still riding the high from grand final weekend! 🏆 🏑 For those itching to get back on the field, stay tuned for upcoming details on the mixed MUHC summer hockey competition - for what’s sure to be another epic summer season full of fun! 🎉✨ 💙🖤💙 #muhchockey #summerhockey #shoppers

Towards the end of September a number of Shoppers represented MUHC at the @hockeyvictoriaofficial 2024 Awards Night! It was a fantastic night celebrating the achievements of many individuals & clubs across Victoria. Congratulations to our VL1 Premiership players Elise Facer-Childs & Neive Campbell on their selection in the 2024 VL1 Team of the Year. 💙🖤💙 #2024season #muhchockey #awardsnight #socialshoppers @melbunisport

Shoutout to all the incredible MUHC fans, from friends & family to fellow Shoppers turned supporters! Our 2024 season & strong finals campaigns wouldn’t have been the same without the unwavering enthusiasm & dedication of our crowds cheering us on. Sticking it out - rain, hail or shine, while clocking up the miles to get behind all of our teams - our 2024 success on the fields is a credit to the community that is MUHC & we couldn’t have done it without you! 💙🖤💙 #shoutouttoourshoppers #shoppers #shoptillyoudrop #muhchockey #muhcfamily #muhcshirts 🏑🏆🙌

The Women’s Vic League 1 Grand Final was always going to be a hotly contested match, with MUHC & MCC having a great on-field rivalry. It only took six minutes, for @agustina.venegass to make a scorching run up the right wing, drilling a perfect ball for @amy_grassom to make a diving deflection into the top corner giving Shoppers the 1 nil lead. MUHC’s second goal came quickly when an MCC defender was blown for a deliberate breakdown tackle inside the D rewarding MUHC with a stroke. Faith Freeman calmly nailed the stroke into the roof of the net. This second goal seemed to be the strike that invigorated MCC and it suddenly took off as a contest with helter-skelter action from one end of the field to the other with MCC pulling one back just before half time. As the 2nd quarter resumed, MUHC continued their strong attacking play and were rewarded when an MCC defender made a costly mistake, giving the umpire no option but to award stroke number two. Once again, Faith knew what to do, scoring her second textbook goal. Less than two minutes later, MCC determined to stay in the game, brought the scoreline to 3-2. MCC started the 3rd quarter hot and nabbed an equaliser five minutes in when, off a short corner breakdown, the ball found an unmarked MCC player on the back post for a simple deflection. Shoppers reclaimed the lead just before 3/4 time when a wayward clearance fell in front of Elise Facer-Childs, who buried it into the corner of the goal. Spectators were on the edge of their seats and in for a hell of a finish to this action-packed encounter as MCC went on the hunt for an equaliser in the 4th quarter, drawing a great glove save from @hanneke147 with an early play. With just four minutes on the clock MCC pinched the equaliser & just as we were all thinking it was heading to a shootout, MUHC was awarded a short corner with around a minute left. In the most dramatic finish of the day, co-captains @charlottegiesbers and @eliserose77 played a nifty one-two finishing with Charlotte flicking the ball past the goalkeeper to lock in the win. 💙🖤💙 #2024season #grandfinal #shoppers #muhchockey #grandfinalwrapup @melbunisport @hockeyvictoriaofficial

Our Women’s Vic League 1 Reserves team were out to put the icing on the cake that was their 2024 season! It wasn’t until early in the 2nd quarter, that @lil.fulford found the net much to the delight of the gathered supporters. The Shoppers cheer squad had barely got their breath back when @clarissabeukes knocked in goal number two. TEMs, whose attacking attempts had been well snuffed out by a dominant MUHC midfield and defence, managed to nab one back to leave the score at 2-1 at half time. The 3rd quarter started with a more even spread of play and MUHC’s defence getting a bit more of a workout. Despite TEM’s increased pressure, MUHC struck first from a short corner when @annabelleharg shot from the top was deflected in by @katierlang , giving the Shoppers in the stand plenty to shout about. MUHC continued to press in attack but, with time ticking down in the quarter, TEMs went hunting for goals and were awarded a penalty stroke when @prudence.grant lost her footing at the spot and took the opposition player down with her. While a stroke seemed inevitable, Prue also took a rest with a ten-minute yellow awarded. The striker went low stick side and goalkeeper @hay_ley_286 , who had already made some solid saves including a great one-on-one, was very unlucky, having picked the direction, she got a touch to the ball but just not enough to keep it out. Heading into the 4th quarter at 3-2 was a slightly edgier affair as MUHC were forced into more defensive positions while down to 10 players. Despite their numerical advantage, the Shoppers defence held steady & TEMs were unable to convert on their opportunities. With a minute on the clock, @oh_really_keeley made a gut-busting 80m sprint to the attacking line where, on receiving the ball, she proceeded to use her experience to wait out the clock & secure MUHCs victory! 💙🖤💙 #2024season #finals #grandfinal #shoppers #muhchockey #grandfinalwrapup @melbunisport @statesportcentres @hockeyvictoriaofficial

Last weekend our Men’s Pennant D North West Grand Final was a repeat of the 2023 clash against Altona & we’d have done anything for a repeat of the weather too. MUHC found the back of the net early with a goal from prolific scorer Rob Hale and while further attempts were made by the Shoppers, Altona’s defence held strong. In the second half, Altona made some sweeping runs, through collectively younger legs, but the experienced MUHC defence marshalled them well. Despite dropping to ten men in the middle of the match when James McCaw picked up a yellow card Shoppers remained composed & kept control of the game. Late in the 3rd quarter, Hale decided that the ‘1’ on the scoreboard was getting lonely and went on a driving run from midfield. Jinking the ball past a number of Altona defenders, he laid off to Dan O’Connor who ran the end line before slicing a peach of a pass back to Hale on the P-spot for the simple tap in. Shoppers had it in the bag when they got their 3rd goal in the 4th quarter when running the right wing, Stu Moore drilled a long diagonal ball toward the back post where Taj Darvall, having lost his defender, made the run in to land a spectacular deflection into the roof of the net, sparking wild celebration amongst the gathered MUHC supporters. As the clock counted down, the experience of the MUHC ‘Old Boys’ shone through as the ball was passed up the wing to club legend Boltie who, once in possession, was harder to rob than Fort Knox. However, his proficiency on the ball wasn’t enough to save him from a getting a card for a “spirited discussion with his Altona opponent” which, dished out with just 30 seconds on the clock, didn’t do much to damage the final score. Champagne was flowing in the Footscray carpark, with a flag to take home (that was almost lost less than hour after the game) as the cherry on top of another hugely successful year for this stalwart group of players. 💙🖤💙 #2024season #finals #shoppers #muhchockey #grandfinalwrapup @melbunisport @hockeyvictoriaofficial

Last Saturday, our Women’s Pennant D North West team had a repeat of their Week 1 final clash against Essendon. No one was surprised to see the Melbourne weather throw a little bit of everything at us. MUHC started strongly & the whole game was a tight encounter with both side’s defences being called into action multiple times. Shoppers had many chances including six corners in row but just couldn’t find the back of the goal. It was with just nine minutes to go in the 4th quarter, that Shoppers finally broke the 0-0 deadlock when @pennywilliamsonn found the net on well worked penalty corner. An invigorated Essendon responded less than four minutes later when a scrappy ball entered the circle and trickled over the line. With shootouts looming and time ticking down quickly, both teams went in search of the winner. With two minutes left, it was another chaotic play in the MUHC defence that saw bodies on the line and unfortunately another goal for Essendon. Shoppers women never gave up, continuing to hunt for the equaliser and with an attacking penalty corner on the siren, while epic it was sadly not the finish we hoped for. While disappointing not to get the gold, the women were all smiles, holding their heads high and justifiably proud of an incredible season. Their Minor Premiership success means that MUHC will have the opportunity to field teams in Pennant A, B and C grades next year. 💙🖤💙 #2024season #grandfinal #muhchockey #shoppers #minorpremiers #runnersup #grandfinalwrapup