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The life of being an advocate for a minority sport in New Zealand isn't always an easy one. The most common response to "Oh, I can't, I've got ice hockey tonight" seems to be "oh, you can play that here in New Zealand?" That's why this weekend's double-header test match between Australia and New Zealand is big. Super big. It's not just the fact that Australia is the traditional rival for New Zealand in so many sports (in ice hockey Australia was one of the first teams New Zealand played in international competition, a complete whitewash that finished up 58-0 to Australia in 1987, a score of astounding proportions in the sport where scores of more than 10 are very unusual. The two teams were much closer when they played in the Division II World Champs in Australia in 2008 when the score was 4-2 to Australia).
If you tune your decoder to watch (or troop down to my second home, the Dunedin Ice Stadium) what will you see? The Ice Blacks are a team that often struggles internationally. They frequently win the (bottom) third division of the World Championships (most recently in Dunedin in April, where they were unbeaten), and then struggle to stay in the tougher second division. They're a team on the rise however. The creation of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League four years ago has raised the level of ice hockey in this country and pushed the national team to new heights. They have a strong belief that by rights they're a second division team, and they'll be looking to hold that position at the Division II World Champs in Estonia next year. They're a young team that has now been together for a couple of years, and there's some tremendous talent in their ranks. Australia are a superior country in ice hockey talent, and in normal circumstances their team should beat the Ice Blacks. But recent results have been close enough that the one-off nature of this double-header, and the fact that Australia are having to throw their team together without being able to call on all players, means that New Zealand could be in line for their first victory (in ten attempts) over their trans-Tasman foes. There's anticipation in the air and both sides are looking forward to a terrific couple of matches. As for the game itself? Fast. Not fast like rugby, not fast like twenty-twenty cricket. Other sports pale in comparison to ice hockey by relying on the speed at which the human body can move on earth. Skates make the human body fly. Fast like almost fifty km/hour up and down a block of ice padded in body armour, crashing your opposition into boards that move up to six inches to absorb the impact. Fast like a 3 inch disk of frozen rubber which players shoot at speeds of up to 150km/hour. Fast in that players change 'on the fly' every forty-five seconds or so, so that they never have to stop the eternal sprint that is top level ice hockey. Territory matters in ice hockey, but not like rugby where the ball is kicked back and forth in some eternal desire to get down the other end. One pass to a player in motion and your defence is suddenly offense. One bad pass and your offense is suddenly defence chasing the opposition. There is no stop in ice hockey, no pause while the ball clears the ruck, no resetting of defensive lines, no taking in of breath. The sport is 100% go. When a player intercepts a pass and breaks in alone on the goalie as the other team desperately tries to catch him before he gets the shot, the crowd takes to their feet and roars in the three seconds it takes from him from leaving his own zone to raising his arms in celebration. This is the fastest team sport in the world, and there's nowhere better in New Zealand to watch it than the million dollar facility of Olympic sized ice than the Dunedin Ice Stadium, which seats well over a thousand. You want to see a New Zealand sportsperson physically own a player in green and gold? Come see Queenstown's Hayden Argyle step up and put the opposing forward down on the ice on the blue line. He hits like a mac truck and loves it every time. You want to see speed and hunger, come see Christchurch's Chris Eaden and Auckland's Jordan Challis (18 and 17 years old respectively) playing together on what New Zealand ice hockey fans call the 'kid line'). Chris Eaden scored four goals and two assists in the recent world champs in Dunedin, including the sudden death overtime goal against Greece that confirmed the gold medal for New Zealand. You want to see reactions that will blow your mind, a player putting his body in front of rocket launcher shots that come in from high in the zone? Come see Dunedin's Rick Parry, one of three team goalies who will do what ice hockey players call 'standing on his head' to keep his team in it, scrambling to cover rebounds while his team mates battle the opposing forwards who are all crashing his 'crease' to deny Australia the puck in the back of the net. Speed, passion, aggression, skill, ice hockey has it all, there's no sport like it in the world. If you're in Dunedin, make sure you get to one of the matches. Saturday 7pm, Sunday 5pm, Dunedin Ice Stadium on Victoria Road. There's nothing like ice hockey live in front of you, the speed, the sound, the power of the players as they throw their bodies into the game. Tickets are between $10 (children) to $20 (adults). If you can't make it to the game, Saturday's will be shown delayed on Sky Sport 3 this Sunday at noon, Sunday's game will be live on the same channel at 5pm. You never know, you or your kids might like to try the sport your local rink and association would welcome you into a beginner programme. Tickets available through Ticket Direct For more information: New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation New Zealand Ice Blacks Dunedin Ice Hockey Association New Zealand Ice Hockey League Winter Games Kyle Matthews President Dunedin Ice Hockey Association Comments here
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