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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Germany | Korea | Malaysia | New Zealand | Pakistan |
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Canadian Team
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| Staff | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Shiaz VIRJEE |
| Assistant Coach | Nicki SANDHU |
| Physiotherapist | Scott FRASER |
| Umpire | Sumesh PUTRA |
| Friday April 2 | Saturday April 3 | Sunday April 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday April 5 | Tuesday April 6 | Wednesday April 7 | Game Reports |
| Thursday April 8 | Friday April 9 | Saturday April 10 |
| ROUND ROBIN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday April 2 | Score | Goal Scorers for Canada | |
| Malaysia | New Zealand | 1 - 4 | |
| Canada | Pakistan | 3 - 6 (detail) | Ian Bird (ps),
Peter Milkovich (pc),
Paul Wettlaufer (fg) |
| Korea | Germany | 3 - 4 | |
| Saturday April 3 | Score | ||
| Malaysia | Canada | 1 - 2 (detail) | Ken Pereira (fg), Sean Campbell (fg) |
| Pakistan | Korea | 6 - 2 | |
| Sunday April 4 | Score | ||
| Germany | New Zealand | 3 - 0 | |
| Monday April 5 | Score | ||
| Korea | Canada | 5 - 2 (detail) | Ken Pereira (fg), Andrew Griffiths (fg) |
| New Zealand | Pakistan | 2 - 5 | |
| Germany | Malaysia | 4 - 3 | |
| Tuesday April 6 | Score | ||
| Pakistan | Malaysia | 5 - 1 | |
| Wednesday April 7 | Score | ||
| Canada | Germany | 2 - 1 (detail) | Sean Campbell (fg), Andrew Griffiths (fg) |
| Korea | New Zealand | 5 - 1 | |
| Thursday April 8 | Score | ||
| Germany | Pakistan | 2 - 4 | |
| Malaysia | Korea | 1 - 3 | |
| Canada | New Zealand | 2 - 3 (detail) | Andrew Griffiths (pc), David Yule (fg) |
| Friday April 9 |
|---|
| Rest Day |
| PLAY-OFF | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday April 10 | Score | Goal Scorers for Canada | ||
| New Zealand | Malaysia | 1 - 2 | ||
| Germany | Canada | 3 - 2 (detail) | Peter Milkovich (ps), Wayne Fernandes (fg) | |
| Pakistan | Korea | 3 - 1 | ||
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April 10 - Classification 3/4 - Germany - Canada : 3 - 2
1st Period 19' 1-0 Germany, Sascha Reinelt 23' 2-0 Germany, Frank Gemmerig 30' 2-1 Canada, Peter Milkovich 2nd Period 39' 3-1 Germany, Bjorn Michael 53' 3-2 Canada, Wayne Fernandes
Canada lost to Germany 2-3 in the last game and finished 4th in the tournament. This is a reasonable placing as we are ranked behind Pakistan, Korea and Germany. However, we have improved in some areas and others need work. So we will concentrate on the weaker areas during training.
The loss was also due to some key injuries - Peter Milkovich, Ian Bird and Sean Campbell - also Alan Brahmst was being phased in and did not play the whole game. He played about 40 minutes.
The goal scorers were Peter Milkovich on penalty stroke and Wayne Fernandes from a penalty corner.
Although the Germans controlled the game in patches, we had a number of chances as well. Hari Kant played in goal for us and made some good saves and as did the German goalie. Both Andrew Griffiths and Ken Pereira had good game and came close to scoring.
| We left Malaysia with good relationship with our hosts and the media. The players felt that it was a good tournament and that we gained a lot playing some of the top teams. |
April 8 - Canada - New Zealand : 2-3
Canada lost to New Zealand 2-3 in a very tight match this evening.
A number of players are injured: Peter Milkovich as well as Alan Brahmst could only play half a game.
Canada opened scoring by Andrew Griffiths on a rebound off a penalty corner early in the first half. New Zealand scored a controversial penalty corner goal which the Korean umpire allowed... David Yule scored a field goal late in the first half after Andrew had done a great run down a wing and passed off to him.
The second half was very close and New Zealand scored a field goal after a defensive breakdown and then a few minutes later from a penalty corner. Canada had a number of scoring chances but the N.Z. goalie robbed Ken Pereira and Sean Campbell from close range. A good shot by Paul Wettlaufer was stopped on the line by a defender.
Although we lost, we have managed to qualify for the 3-4 classification game with Germany, based on goal difference.
|
New Zealand cannot afford to underestimate the Canadians. Well-organised and disciplined on the field, they are lethal at set-pieces and New Zealand will have to be at the top of their game to maintain their unbeaten record. Matches between New Zealand and Canada are invariably tight and the last three meetings between the two teams have all finished drawn. In 1996, the teams clashed twice at the Preliminary World Cup Qualifier in Cagliari, Italy. In the pool match in September, the teams shared a 2-2 draw and in a pulsating final in October, the teams drew 0-0 after extra-time before New Zealand edged through 3-1 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out. Last year’s World Cup encounter was another thriller. Passion and drama was never far away as the two teams shared six goals in an incredible 3-3 draw. New Zealand looked down and out, trailing 3-1, but showed great determination to fight back with Umesh Parag levelling the scores with the last hit of the match. Keith Rowley, Press Officer, New Zealand Hockey Federation |
April 7 - Canada - Germany : 2-1
Canada defeated Germany 2-1 this evening in an exciting match. The score was 0-0 at the half.
Canada opened scoring in the 5th minute in the second half from a field goal by Sean Campbell. He shot in low into the corner from his left wing position. Then Canada scored a penalty corner goal but the umpire disallowed it as he claimed that he had been obstructed and did not see the deflection!!
Germany equalized at 30 minutes from a penalty corner rebound but with 2 minutes left on the clock, Andrew Griffiths scored a field goal from a rebound to give Canada a victory.
Mike Mahood played well in goal as did the rest of the team in front. The defence played well and we capitalized on some of our opportunities. The play was fairly even: Canada had 2 penalty corners to 3 for Germany and the number of shots at net was even.
Bindi Kullar had been sick but managed to play and he celebrated his 50th cap for Canada. I presented him a mug on behalf of the team and FHC.
Tomorrow, we will play against New Zealand in an important match for the classification game.
|
CANADA STUNS GERMANY Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Canada scored a huge 2-1 upset victory over world power Germany today in international field hockey. Andrew Griffiths' last minute goal gave Canada, world #8, it's first-ever victory over 3rd-ranked Germany. The Germans had leveled the score at 1-1 with 5 minutes left, but the Canadians kept running hard and were almost too tired to celebrate after netting the game-winner with two minutes left on the clock. What had been a hard-nosed defensive battle, 0-0 at the half, opened up after Sean Campbell (Victoria, BC) fired in the go-ahead goal in the 46th minute and the Germans pressed up into attack, leading to scoring chances in front of both goals. "It was an exciting team win" said Canadian coach Shiaz Virjee. "It's a step in the right direction in our preparations for Olympic qualification. Playing the best in the world is the only way we're going to know how our preparations are going." Canada's road to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games takes them to Winnipeg for the Pan-American Games in July, where they must win Gold to make the Olympic cut. Any other result at the Pan-American Games would mean a trip to a tough qualifying tournament in Japan next February. Canada's previous best result against Germany was a 4-4 tie at the 1998 World Cup in Holland, but Germany had prevailed in all prior encounters between the two teams. The win also puts Canada back into contention to make the final of the 6-nation Sultan Azlan Shah invitational tournament. A win against New Zealand on Thursday and the right combination of other tournament results would put the Canadians in Saturday's final. Six of the world's top 11 teams are playing in the tournament. Canada has had mixed results so far, with a win over Malaysia, and losses to Pakistan and Korea. |
April 5 - Korea - Canada : 5-2
Canada lost to Korea 2-5 this evening in an exciting match.
I know that it would be difficult to understand when I say that Canada outplayed Korea and yet we lost. But look at the statistics:
We played Korea at the World Cup and the results were 1-1 and 2-4. This game was quite a bit different and we had excellent opportunities to get a positive result.
The game story: Korea opened scoring from a penalty corner rebound early in the game. But from that point on until half time, we had numerous opportunities but could not score. In the second half it was the a similar story except, this time, the Koreans counter-attacked with long passes and created quick , fast breaks and scored on us. Hari Kant and the defenders tried their best but could not stop them.
It was a difficult result to accept as we should have scored at least 5 or six goals in this game. Ken Pereira scored a field goal on a cross from Ronnie Jagday and Andrew Griffiths scored on another cross from Ronnie late in the second half.
The Koreans had scored one penalty corner in the first half and the other four in the second half from the field.
We have a rest day tomorrow and then we play two consecutive matches with Germany and New Zealand.
Everyone is healthy but disappointed with the loss.
April 3 - Malaysia - Canada : 1 - 2
Canada defeated Malaysia 2-1 in the second match.
It was an exciting match with Malaysia scoring from a penalty corner in the 4th minute. The ball was flicked low and deflected off a defenders stick and into the net. Hari Kant had no chance on it.
Canada generated a couple of p.c.s but they were well defended and as well Canada had several field shots but non went in. The score was 0-1 for Malaysia at the half.
Canada came on stronger in the second half and we had 5 corners and several field shots. Paul Wettlaufer worked hard in the left side of the field and managed to pass the ball into the circle and Ken Pereira scored while down on the turf! That goal provided a further push and Andrew Griffiths crossed the ball from the right side for a good goal by Sean Campbell into the roof of the net at the 65.00 minute mark. and I presented the game ball to him after the match.
The team played better and we got Alan Brahmst into the game in both halves. He is much better and seems to have recovered from the flu.
Tomorrow we will play Korea. In another match Pakistan defeated Korea 6-2.
Happy Easter from the team !!
On the first day of the tournament Canada lost to Pakistan 3-6.
We did not play upto our standard and I am disappointed with our performance. We were down 0-3 before Ian Bird scored on a penalty stroke to make it 1-3 at the half. Early in the second half , Pakistan made it 1-4. Canada then scored a penalty corner goal by Peter Milkovich and a field goal by Paul Wettlaufer to get to 3-4. We then had a penalty corner but unfortunately Wayne Fernandes flicked it over the net or we would have tied the game 4-4! Pakistan then scored 2 goals on defensive breakdowns to make it 3-6.
It was Sean
Campbell's first match for Canada and after the game I presented
him with an engraved mug on behalf of the team and FHC. He appreciated it very
much.
Team Diary !
| April 1: Andrew Griffiths | April 2: Hari Kant | April 3: Mike Mahood | April 4: Ian Bird | |||
| April 5: Alan Brahmst | April 6: Wayne Fernandes | April 7: Rick Roberts
and Paul Wettlaufer |
April 8: David Yule |
Dear Diary: Today proved to be yet another eventful day both on and off the field.
First, it was the day that I discovered what it really means to be a hockey superstar. As a group of us got on the elevator this morning, a few young Malaysians approached us to ask if they could take some photographs. Naturally, we graciously smiled for the cameras, and then things got a little more serious: I was asked to have some pictures taken alone with these "super-fans". Again, my generosity was overwhelming. Several pictures were taken, by myself and with each of these fans, but I couldn't help but wonder why the heck they were taking these pictures. As if reading my mind, one of the girls blurted out shyly: "You look like Hansen!". Naturally, this drew a resounding laugh from the rest of my Canadian Hockey teammates, and I've been hearing "Hansen" cracks from them all day! Hansen, it turns out, is a band whose members all seem to have copied my hip look: they all have long blond hair, and are wildly popular with teeny-boppers around the world! After breakfast, this same group of super-fans accosted us again, this time asking for signatures in their autograph books, and more photos. Oh yah, the life of a star!
The rest of the day was spent mostly resting for the evening's game (or recovering from enlarged egos from the morning) - the Shirts road hockey team also declined our valiant and gracious game-5 challenge.
Tonight's game was a typical Canada-New Zealand battle. Each team played a tough style, with hard tackles, solid defending, and lots of emotion. New Zealand scored a very controversial short corner goal to squander our 1-0 lead in the first half, only to see us come back again to take a 2-1 lead into half time. However, they managed to tie the game, and then score a winner very near the end of the second half to take the game 3-2.
That was the bad news. The good news is that although we are tied with points with NZ, our goal difference is greater, and thus we will be meeting Germany on Saturday to play for the bronze medal! Yet again, the Germans will feel the heat from the Canadians!
Tomorrow is a much needed day off - sure to be full of more swooning fans, an enjoyable sleep-in, and a chance for us to sport our A-wear suits at the tournament's formal banquet with the Sultan. Nighty-night!
Boleh Canada. Wettlaufer and I are sharing the duties of today's log-write because #16 won't come around 'til next tour and at that point I'll be neck-deep in schoolwork. Paul's snoozing presently so I'll get things going and let him close off later.
Those of you who read Al's account of two days ago will have noticed that his hiatus did nothing to quell his unique ability to bluntly state the obvious. However, he was undeniably accurate in his account of the game. We definitely picked things up for this game and it showed. We created some excellent scoring chances, were tight in the mid-field and from my viewpoint as a defender, were outstanding at the back.
Birdie continues to experience anxiety if he doesn't get the ball every thirty seconds, or tell someone else how to play their position. He is certainly enjoying the echo of Bukit Jaheel Stadium. Bindi's cool hairdoo and feminine bandana help to ease the situation. He had his 50th Cap yesterday: talk about a sweet 50th!!! Ronnie continues to dance with the wolves. He seems to love dabbling with the ball on the left side, waiting for four Germans to surround him, THEN he takes off up the line and creates a foul. Big Kahoonas Roonie! Nice to see in a young lad! Smith staked out a large piece of real estate in the D, waving around his big butt in Jan Tewes's face. He's working harder now and should be pleased with his performance thus far. Campbell, the youngster from Victoria (how I love that!), is having a rookie tour of a lifetime! Four caps, two goals, one of them a game-winner against the Malays, the other our first against Germany. He hugged me so hard after the German goal that he almost broke my neck. The embrace didn't do much for my ear infection either!! Griff scored our game-winner with a nice off-the-back-foot-to-off-wicket cricket shot that was reminiscent of his school days on the paddocks of Reptum Preparatory School. It's a good thing he nailed that one because he's sent a few too many into the stands on this tour - "Andrew, sixes do not count in hockey."
Wettlaufer and physio Scott Fraser are racing neck in neck for the team's "Whitest Man" competition. Without Gacek here, things are tense and tight as we approach the final leg of the tour. Whitelaufer is definitely leading the way in the turf-burn department. The turf remains sharp as hell, but the ball rolls like Wordsworth's poetry so it's an acceptable trade off.
Hari had to sit on the bench today as punishment for the body-check he delivered to me, his own teammate, during the Korea match. I was chasing down a through pass in our D, with the left winger closing in, when, without warning, Hari runs in, clears the ball and gives a hip-check that Dave "Cementhead" Semenko would have loved. I've never heard Shiaz laugh so hard as when he replayed it for me on video five times over! It would be nice to make the daily highlight reel for something other than a 2.2 scoring 3/4 cartwheel with a 1/2 twist. No respect!!!
We had a smoking evening at the Canadian High Commissioner's house yesterday. Tooley and I hit the grand piano and enlightened the crowd with some oldies but goodies, while Kenny and Rob did their best to pick-up the Commissioner's daughter - nice public relations boys!!
I requested a sub three times during the German game and was refused three times by the coach, who later explained that he could not here plea over the roar of the crowd.
Several of my hockey friends from Hamburg are on the German Team so it was an especially sweet victory for me. There was no dancing on the field after the game, but the handshakes post-game were extra-special. The Germans lost graciously and congratulated us on our efforts. The Pak boys were almost as pumped as we were: they were shaking our hands and smiling form ear to ear. Sweet bunch of fellas!
Hari and Pete purchased a new ghetto blaster for the team and Snoop Doggie is in full style, reverberating through the walls of the dressing room and pumping us full of vital energy. Birdie is trying to rally the troops for an ice bath. Ya, OK Birdie. I'll be right down. Ya, right!!!!
Well my post game celebration was short lived as I was led through the stadium to the doping control center for the random drug test. Just my luck, while Rick and the rest of the boys were off savoring the big win, I had the doping officials watching my every move. I guess it's not the end of the world: all the Sprite I could drink and more importantly it kept Fraser out of the sun for a couple of hours while he helped with the paper work (I need all the help I can get). I'll do anything to keep Fraser out of the sun. It is definitely going to be weird without Rick's company on the next trip. It is never the same without him constantly providing the team with something to laugh at. I am sure the Germans will appreciate him.
Anyway this is Rick and Paul signing off. So long from KL.
"WE HAD NO BALLS!!!"
The stage was set. Parking lot 3B was vacant as usual and both teams were prepared. Who would be triumphant? Would it be the explosive creative playing of the Shirts or would it be the sit back, trapping tactics of the Skins? Game five, the deciding game that would put the winning team in a good situation to take the Cup. With a short line up (our two top goal scorers got the am/pm switch mixed up on their alarm clock and missed the first half of the game....), the Shirts had to keep quick line changes. The Skins came pumped and ready to play, scoring the first two goals of the contest by Sean Campbell and Scott Smith. But in an attempt to increase their lead, they let down their strong defense and Rob Short and Rick Roberts scored in reply for the Shirts, bringing the contest back to even grounds. Then, with little time left, the Skins got caught with too many men on the lot. The consequence, a penalty shot! The free shot from the center was missed by the Shirts, missing out on the chance to take the lead.
With the playing ground being on the third floor, balls were limited and constantly flew off into the Malaysian streets. With only one ball remaining, and beginning to rip and tear, we nevertheless continued. But the ball became flat and unable to play properly with... As a result, we ended up postponing the game. What a way to leave it!..
The rest of the day was left up to all of us to do whatever we wanted. Some went to the mall, some spent the day pool side, and others slept the day away. At night the team was invited to the Canadian High Commissioner's house. Cocktails, snacks, and plenty of interesting conversations filled the two hours while we were there.
Mainly a relaxing day for the team in preparation for the game against Germany.
Canada 2 - Korea 5... No sense talking about Breakfast selection, when that score is fresh on your mind!
Not a very good day for the team, which didn't appear to be a team once it counted. A lack of intensity, even in one position - and we could talk about more than one - certainly won't get a team any points at this level.
Marking - call it soft marking - continues to be a problem in getting us into nasty situations again and again. I've not seen as many 3 on 2's in a game against Canada during the past 4 years as today.
Communication is not sufficient and simply non-existent from some parts of the field.
The attitude and drive to win, that this team has relied upon for a number of years, is alive and well and has even increased with some of the players. The reason why we win as Canada is simple: 16 guys share this attitude and drive to win. We lost today because we didn't have that attitude, or the drive to win, throughout the team.
Seems like we learned a lot today and that's what we came for. Attitude is a tough thing to coach, teach or inject. Certain surroundings will simply install it in a player.
Nice piece of diary from #4, huh? But, hey, maybe we'll all read it and it'll save a speech.
Otherwise things are cool and today brought us a step closer to once again singing our favourite song: "... don't cry for me Argentina..." in early August and somewhere, probably drunk, out there on the prairies.
Dinner was lovely!
Did you know that room 505 is leading the goalscoring standings in both road hockey and on the turf? That's right! Ken Pereira and I have resurrected our supremacy after a couple of tours with other sorry-ass roommates. Too good!
Did you know that Ronni Jagday has entered the import business? A few watches, 4 wallets, a dozen t-shirts and 3 belts was the total haul from the central market.
Did you know that there are two Goliaths? Goliath and the other Goliath (aka Galiatha): source, Scott Smith.
Did you know that the Shirts have guaranteed a victory in Game 5 (rescheduled for tomorrow)? Rick Roberts, live on Malaysian TV: "I just can't see anything but a big win tomorrow - let's face it: the Shirts have more firepower. We will win Game 5."
Did you know that free-agent Al "Uwe Krupp" Brahmst is being courted by the injury depleted Skins team? Brahmst has been a hold-out since the preseason. How many beers will the market bear? Negotiations continue in the War Room.
Did you know that Scott Fraser is eating for two? Or so it seems...
Did you know that Rob Short is currently shopping for a pet mouse to take home to Holland? Everybody needs companionship.
All in all a relaxed rest day. No hockey. A little pool time, shopping trips, laundry adventures, Havana coffee, Ronny Macs, backgammon bets, CNN indoctrination, guitar playing, and Payback-starring Mel Gibson.
Hello everybody, it is 10:30 Saturday night and I have just returned from supper
following a 2-1 victory over Malaysia. Sean Campbell followed up his
first cap with his first international goal, it was the game winner coming in
the 65th minute!
As tomorrow is a day off, the big event will be game five of the Concorde Hotel Cup. With the series a two all deadlock this game is pivotal. The inside track is that the Skins will be very intense and physical. Game four saw the Shirts out-work, out-hit and show more emotion than the Skins. My gut feeling is that the Skins will make amends for that dismal performance.
As tomorrow is an off day I am exited to go to the Havana. The Havana is a bar/restaurant/coffee shop-cigar shop that I found on Thursday. I was a little antsy hanging around the hotel so I decided to check out what a Malaysian travelers hostel was like - turns out they're quite nice. Anyhow, on the way back I stumbled upon the Havana which satisfied the need I had for a coffee and a place to read. The Havana was perfect considering I am reading a book about Fidel Castro's lover as he completed the revolution in 1959. The Havana has bags of coffee all over the place, cigars and pictures of Fidel and the Cuban countryside. I sat and read for over two hours and drank four cups of coffee, it was absolutely perfect! I hope to do the same tomorrow.
Other than coffee and reading, I should also do some homework, I must complete a little five page report before I return to Vancouver and the U.B.C examination period...
The feeling amongst the team is very upbeat tonight and with our first win under our belt we are ready for Korea. See ya!
Well this is the first day of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. We have a 6:00 pm start
today and that makes for a long day of meetings, meals and anticipation. Everything
in our schedule is geared towards our first game against Pakistan.
We started our day at 8:30 with Game Four of the Concorde Hotel Cup, the premier road hockey tournament in KL. Coach Milkovich, sporting the black (track) suit, had the Skins leading the series 2-1 with a combination of the defensive trap and game delaying tactics. But a dryer concrete surface today catered to the Shirts attractive passing and running style. The trap was broken early for a 3-0 lead. Skins then had to open up the game and while they clawed back with often controversial goals, their defense was left exposed and Shirts rallied late for a convincing 7-4 victory. The road hockey certainly met its purpose of getting hearts thumping and legs pumping. The consensus is that this is much better than the usual morning jog.
We followed with breakfast at 9:30. The odd item on the buffet menu today was baked beans with mysterious pink dumplings floating around. Needless to say we stuck with the fruit, cereal and bread.
Our pre-game team talk was next at 10:15. For a top 6 ranked team like Pakistan there is plenty to cover. For those of us who thought they had finished school, our education is continuing on the National Team. Notepads are mandatory and you are expected to ask questions as well as answer them. As Rick Roberts will tell you "There is no such thing as a stupid question"!
We had some free time after the meeting before lunch. This time is spent in a different was by each guy. There is a lot of taping of sticks and equipment, sleeping, and watching of match videos. There are also smaller meetings with groups of players and the coaching staff. After lunch, we packed our bags and double-checked for uniforms, equipment, and water bottles.
We left at 4:00 for the match. Normally this would be a 1-hour trip to the field in traffic, but we had a police motorcycle escort and the time was cut down to 25 minutes. Good chatter in the bus over the pumping sound of the ghetto blaster. We arrived at the field with the Malaysia-New Zealand game already in progress. The hometown crowd was not happy with the scoreline with the Kiwis leading 2-0. We watch for a bit before starting our own warmup.
The match was disappointing. Shiaz' match report summarizes it well. We realize that against teams like Pakistan, we need a big match out of all our players to get a result. After the initial feelings subsided, we found some good points from our effort including Sean Campbell's first Cap for Canada. The trip back was upbeat. We were looking forward to fixing some of the errors and turning things around against Malaysia the next day. With less than 24 hours between games there is little time to look back. Until tomorrow!
Welcome all to the players' diaries. Each day when the National men's field
hockey team is on tour, an different athlete will write his thoughts on the
day's events. It promises to make interesting reading from diverse perspectives!
Our fourth day in Kuala Lumpur... I think the team is pretty much used to the weather and the time change by now. It took some time to adjust to the humidity and the 13 hour (for some) time difference, but we seem ready to go for the first game of the Tournament against Pakistan tomorrow.
Road hockey has been one of the highlights of the tour so far - Birdie had the most excellent idea of bringing ice-hockey sticks and tennis balls with us to play some Canadiana in the hotel parking lot (this supplements our morning stretching workouts to get the legs going). It's been tough learning for the road-hockey-rookies like myself - I'm learning fast from Scott Smith and Kenny Pereira. The intra-squad games have been great, and this morning the lively Skins team took the 2-1 series lead with a resounding 5-3 victory over the hapless Shirts. I'm sure later diary entries will have a different editorial slant on the teams... I confess, I'm a Skin!
The other (field hockey) teams have arrived now, so we've been sizing up the opposition, and talking about past games with our German, Korean, Pakistani, Kiwi, and Malaysian foes. We're pointing out familiar and new faces in the players' dining room, and even socialized a little this evening at a casual social/welcome event.
It's been a good rest day before the big push-back tomorrow. Now the fun starts. Stay Tuned!!!
Canadian goalkeeper Mike Mahood and Andrew Griffiths show the Malaysian players how to play the game after presenting them with ice hockey sticks yesterday! | March 31: A truly friendly encounter
S. Ramaguru, Star of Malaysia Kuala Lumpur: it was billed as a friendly match. And the Canadians truly made it one. During the match against Malaysia yesterday, they stopped in mid-stream to hand over ice hockey sticks to their opponents. The practice game was played in three sessions of 25 minutes each and the presentation was made just before the final third. The match ended 2-2 but the result was secondary. The Canadian gesture laid to rest all speculation on the often-fiery relationship between the two teams. |
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