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April 19 - Canada vs. Scotland : 1 - 2 (Half-time: 0 - 0) 1st Period (no score) 2nd Period 38' 1-0 CAN, Mike Oliver, fg 47' 1-1 SCO, fg 49' 1-2 SCO, fg Report from Eric Broom, Manager: In the fast paced game, Canada started slowly and Scotland dominated play in the first quarter. With six new caps in the team, all of whom were given plenty of opportunities to play by coach Gene Muller. It took Canada about fifteen minutes to develop rhythm, and for the rest of the first half play went from end to end. At the 38th minute, a quickly taken free hit by Scott Sandison from the left found Mike Oliver, who was lightly marked at the top of the circle. He controlled the ball, pivoted and hammered the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal. For a five minute period in the middle of the second half, Canada lost its depth in defence and Scotland scored twice in the 47th and 49th minutes. Canada responded with threatening attacks and could have scored on at least three occasions, twice from penalty corners. The new caps in the team acquainted themselves well after overcoming initial shock of the much faster pace of international hockey.

April 20 - Canada vs. Scotland : 1 - 3 (Half-time: 1 - 1) 1st Period 0-1 SCO, fg 1-1 CAN, Cregan Joseph, fg 2nd Period 1-2 SCO, fg 1-3 SCO, fg Report from Dave Hammond: The Scots had most of the possession for the first half and converted on a defensive lapse halfway through. Still, we won 2 strokes, but failed to convert on either. Shortly before halftime, however, Cregan Joseph crept into the D and slotted a nice touch from Mike Oliver to register his first international goal in only his second cap. The Scots scored twice in the second half. The score ended an unsatisfactory 1-3.

April 21 - Canada vs. Scotland : 0 - 3 (Half-time: 0 - 1) 1st Period 17' 0-1 SCO, fg 2nd Period 57' 0-2 SCO, fg 63' 0-3 SCO, fg Report from Eric Broom, Manager: Canada started strongly, taking the game to the Scots. In the ninth minute, a hard-hit through ball from Mike Lee found Ronnie Jagday cutting into the circle. His deflection, with the goalkeeper beaten, glanced off the top edge of the crossbar. At the 17th minute, Scotland worked the ball down the left side and a hard cross was deflected into the Canadian goal. After that, Scotland put pressure on the Canadian defence for the remainder of the first half, but the defence held. In the second half, play went from end to end. Canada had shots from two penalty corners slide wide of the post and two Scotland corner shots were saved by the Canadian goalkeeper. Finally, in the 57th and 63rd minutes, Scotland converted corners to end up clear winners.

April 24 - Canada vs. President XI (Wales) : 4 - 0 (Half-time: 1 - 0) 1st Period 22' 1-0 CAN, Ranjeev Deol, fg 2nd Period 40' 2-0 CAN, Mike Oliver, fg 44' 3-0 CAN, Steve Davis, pc 61' 4-0 CAN, Wayne Fernandes, ps Report from Eric Broom, Manager: This game, the first in Wales on this tour, was against a slightly lower level of competition than those against Scotland. In consequence the team was better able to put into practice the lesson they have learned in both training camps and on this tour. Canada started slowly and the Welsh team had a deflection just wide of the post in the second minute. This early scare awakened Canada and, apart from the occasional sortie from the Welsh, Canada dominated the half and won three penalty corners and one corner from which Ranjeev Deol scored. In the second half, Canada increased their pressure and for long period confined the Welsh team to their own half of the field. From a movement that took the ball down the left flank the ball was crossed and, after scrappy play in the circle, Mo Oliver persisted and scored in the 40th minute. Four minutes later, Steve Davis scored a hard shot following a penalty corner. Following this Canada camped in the Welsh 23m area and forced a series of penalty corners. The fourth goal was scored by Wayne Fernandes from a penalty stroke (won by Ranjeev Deol) with a flick high into the right corner. In the final five minutes of the game, Canada bombarded the Welsh goal but did not find the target. A slight adjustment to their sights and a little more control of their excitement will produce goals. Coach Gene Muller said he was pleased with the effort from the whole team. The players are getting tired and are suffering from a few injuries but are looking forward to the two test matches on Saturday and Sunday.

April 26 - Canada vs. Wales U-21 : 4 - 0 (Half-time: 2 - 0) 1st Period 17' 1-0 CAN, Mike Oliver, pc 29' 2-0 CAN, Ranjeev Deol, fg 2nd Period 45' 3-0 CAN, Mike Oliver, fg 68' 4-0 CAN, Peter Kendrick, fg Report from Eric Broom, Manager: The Welsh Hockey Academy (or nursery) Team played with great spirit but were no match for the Canadian team, despite feeling a little tired after having played five games in seven days. Most of the play was in the Welsh half throughout the game and it took twenty-five minutes for Wales to get its first shot on goal, which hit the side netting. The Canadian penalty corner attack is not yet as proficient in competition as it is in practice. Both the timing and the accuracy needs more fine tuning. Canada had many penetrating attacks, a good number initiated from deep in their own half, but their finishing let them down. The players are learning to be much more patient, carefully choosing the moment to both break out from deep defence and strike in attack. All members of the team are communicating much better and Mike Lee from cover defence is particularly good in this respect. The players are eagerly looking forward to Saturday's and Sunday's games against the Welsh national team which will bring the tour to a close. The facilities at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff, where the games are being played, make us all envious, particularly when we learn that within the next two years the Centre will be completely re-modelled in phases and will then be the home of five elite-level sports.

April 27 - Canada vs. Wales : 0 - 1 (Half-time: 0 - 0) 1st Period (no score) 2nd Period 60' 0-1 WAL Report from Eric Broom, Manager: A hard-fought game between two even teams. Play went from end to end throughout the game. Both teams were kept off the scoreboard by excellent goalkeeping and inaccurate shooting until the 60th minutes when a defence miscue by Canada let in Wales. The Canadian team continued progressing, both technically and tactically. They were much more patient and organized in defence, more controlled in midfield and moved the ball around until the opportunity to strike came. Great improvement was made in the their movement to support the man with the ball. The morale of the team is high and the players have gelled into a cohesive unit. More experienced players help those new to the team. Their team spirit and high morale was demonstrated in a nice little incident today. Due to a technical hitch it was not possible to play national anthems prior to the game. The Welsh, who are famous for their male voice choirs, stood silently in line; the Canadian team, support staff and women's team sang "O Canada".

April 28 - Canada vs. Wales : 3 - 1 (Half-time: 1 - 0) 1st Period 20' 1-0 CAN, Peter Kendrick, fg 2nd Period 40' 2-0 CAN, Mike Oliver, fg 53' 3-0 CAN, Ranjeev Deol, pc 62' 3-1 WAL, Smith, fg Report from Eric Broom, Manager: On a wet, blustery day in Cardiff the young, fast-improving Canadian team put it all together in the final test match of the tour of Great Britain. Although the Welsh team were slightly weaker than their team of the previous day, due to several players having commitments with their English league clubs, there is no question that the Canadian Team raised their level of play to heights not previously attained on the tour. The tactics and skills which had been emphasized by coach Gene Muller throughout the two week, 8 game trip, which the players had worked so hard to master, all came together. All the key elements -- on-field communication, cover in defence, patience in defence, working out of deep defence with short attacking passes before opening the opposing defence with through balls, support for the ball carrier, sharper leads -- showed a marked improvement. The determination to do well and to demonstrate their improvement were evident in the post-game team meeting the previous evening and in the pre-match meeting, and their domination of the game cemented the success of this development tour. The tour has been an educational experience for everyone. In the twice-daily team meetings, the coach outlined the tactical approach and this was followed by discussion in which everyone contributed. Following this, the team broke into groups -- defence, mid field, forwards -- for more specific discussions and finally came together as a group for further discussion and questions. The foundation for this approach was provided by video analysis. Every game was filmed and some recently-obtained software enabled a much more sophisticated approach to studying both the games and the players. Throughout the tour the mutual respect between players and coaches was evident. The team spirit throughout the two weeks was high and Canada has every right to be proud of this group of young men. The short, intensive development tour was a great success. Well done, Canada!

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