Ice hockey team to defend Challenger Trophy

JAMAICA’S SENIOR men’s Ice Hockey team will continue its defence of the Challenger Series tournament in Montreal, Canada, next week with matches against Puerto Rico, Lebanon and new entrants, Greece.

Jamaica won the tournament last year, beating Lebanon in the final played in Toronto, after wins in Chicago and New York earlier had given the team the advantage going into the final. This tournament was played for the first time last year and involved three teams, Puerto Rico, Lebanon, and Jamaica,

The team has to win all three matches in Montreal to retain the trophy having got off to a bad start in Chicago in May, losing all three games it played there.

The team for Montreal has been significantly strengthened by the return of at least three of its players who did not compete in Chicago due to injuries and by the addition of three other senior players drafted in to fill key positions.

Jamaica start their defence on the 10th at 4:30 p.m. against the very strong Greece side, who are the current leaders, followed by the match against Puerto Rico the following day at 5 p.m. and will round off their schedule playing Lebanon at 5 p.m. on the 12th.

All matches will be played at the Ice Arena in Sportplexe, Pierrefonds.

The team has a very positive win-loss record to date, having completed 21 victories against eight losses. The Challenger Series is the second trophy the team has won, since it started to play competitively in 2019, having already comprehensively triumphed twice in the LATAM played in Fort Lauderdale in 2019 and 2021. In that tournament, Jamaica beat Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Mexico.

Jamaica were denied the right to defend their LATAM trophy in 2021 on the grounds that the team was too strong for the opposition.

Nate Robinson, a former professional player and now a coach based in Germany, will take charge of the team.