The South China Ice Hockey League (SCIHL) kicked off the new season with the traditional opening puck drop at Elements ice rink in West Kowloon. Attending were special guests Lowie Edjan (Telford International, Sapporo distributer), Greg Smyth (China Hockey Group), Jeff Nankivell (Consul General of Canada for Hong Kong and Macao), Grace Hung (Sam Wai) & Art Tam (SCIHL Commissioner).
The opening game featured the two ever-present teams in the league, with defending champions Sam Wai taking on Bravo. In a high scoring affair, Bravo ran out 9-6 winners with Bravo’s new acquisitions Brad Wilson and Jeff Griffin netting hat-tricks. In a back and forth affair, Bravo came up big in the third period where they netted 5 goals to take home a big first win. Terence Chim of Sam Wai put up a valiant effort, netting an opening weekend high of 4 goals in a losing effort.
The second game of the night saw a new look InetAsia team take on Sapporo. There was a playoff atmosphere to the game and both goalies shone for their teams, with Sapporo walking out with a hard fought 2-1 victory. Ray Loo in the InetAsia net made a few spectacular saves despite his team losing, most notably against Justin Kuok while he was on his back facing a gaping net as he gloved a point blank shot.
The final game of opening night saw newcomers JOG Sports face off against China Hockey Group (CHG). It was more of the same from first overall pick Michael Yoshino as he led his CHG team to a 6-4 victory, picking up 2 goals and 2 assists in the process.
A great start to the season as all six teams look to be very evenly matched. It will be a race to the playoffs which will no doubt come down to the final game of the season as is so often the case in the SCIHL. A big thank you to all the sponsors and those that attended. We look forward to an exciting season ahead.
To follow the SCIHL visit their website or download the league app on iOS and Android.
SCIHL – www.SCIHL.com |