TASMANIA’S state ice hockey players have returned with their heads held high from the Challenge Cup in Adelaide after making the quarter-finals in only their second assault on the cup.
Ice Hockey Tasmania president Mika Pallari was thrilled with the Titans’ performance.
‘The team looked good on ice and had a good chemistry during the training period and that gave confidence,” Pallari said. ‘The commitment of all players was considerably higher for 2015. We had a structured approach that set a solid foundation for the success in the tournament.”
After scraping through a tight qualifying group against two Adelaide teams, the Titans faced the Canterbury Kings, from NSW, in a quarter-final.
The Titans kept the match close until midway through the third and final period. The Kings, however, unleashed a barrage of goals to win 7-1, despite the Titans having 11 more shots on goal.
Brendan Rose scored the Titans’ lone goal.
Pallari hopes the Titans’ performance at the tournament will lead to further success next year.
‘We plan to start the team training program much earlier this year with a solid training program for the whole year leading up to the 2016 Challenge Cup,” he said. ‘I saw the 2014 Challenge Cup being a learning year, the 2015 Cup a transition year and the 2016 Challenge Cup to be the year of establishing our position as a team that will be able to reach the grand final.”
The 2015 Ice Hockey Tasmania season starts next month at the Glenorchy Ice Rink and has been re-branded as the Van Diemen’s League.
This article was originally written for The Mercury
Comments