2018 Club Challenge World Cup (U13 Tournament)

During Easter Holidays, our U9 HK Typhoons Selects team entered the 2018 Club Challenge World Cup (U13 Tournament) - Division B with something to prove, facing all Japanese teams in a competitive environment. The team got off to a good start, beating the Nikko Ice Bucks 3-0 with great teamwork. Next up was a match-up against the Fukuoka Selects, another convincing 5-0 win, with the group really starting to build chemistry and trust with each other. At this point a sense of belief became a part of our mindset, as the next test was a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Red Monsters Club. The team was tested in this one, running into a hot goalie and a fast skating opponent. Everyone battled hard showing heart and determination.

With the round-robin complete, it was on to the playoff round. In the semi-finals we came out flying against the Hokkaido Club Selects, scoring 3 goals in the first 2 minutes of the game. We never looked back after that, finishing the game with a 9-0 win. This presented us with an opportunity to make history; become the first Ice Hockey team from Hong Kong to win a championship in Japan. At the start of this tournament, our goal as a group was to get better with every game, working towards the ultimate goal of winning it all. We had one more obstacle in our way to accomplish what we had set out to do.

It was time for our date in the finals with the Tohoku Freeblades, our toughest test of the tournament but a challenge that our players were ready to meet head on. The game was tight from start to finish, with the score still 0-0 after the opening frame. Our opponent took the lead with a penalty shot during the second period and the stage was set for the comeback. Our players knew to stick with the game plan and keep battling through adversity. We came out with a purpose in the third period and took control of the game. Our players would not be denied, pushing the pace of the game and implementing an aggressive mentality, scoring 4 third period goals on their way to a championship victory, and a first for Ice Hockey in Hong Kong. A true team effort from start to finish, every player found a way to contribute and be a part of this special accomplishment. What a way to finish it all off, congratulations to our U9 group!

Our U12s started the tournament with a tough 7-1 loss to the Junior Nikko Icebucks. The team received a lesson on proper team play. A group playing as a unit will always beat a bunch of individuals trying to play their own game. We moved on to face the Red Monsters, another loss (4-2) but we showed solid improvement in all areas. Despite this, the more organized and cohesive Japanese squad taught us another lesson. 

After a team video session to correct our mistakes and give our players a chance to visually understand what we needed to fix, the team came out with a purpose, ready on face-offs, transitioning the puck with pace and playing as a real unit, winning 3-0 against the Fukuoka Selects. It was onto the Silver Cup Semi-finals, where we faced the Hokkaido Club Selects. It was a tight game for the first two periods, but the team came out flying in the 3^rd with four goals, winning 6-0. Facing the Fukuoka Selects in the relegation finals, we came out with another strong effort, capturing a 5^th place finish out of eight teams.

This was a great weekend for everyone involved, with team bonding and relationship building off the ice, and a healthy dose of lessons and improvements on it. The Japanese teams we faced showed us what it takes to play together, to be on the same page and to work as a team. We have a lot of work to do, but that’s what we love about hockey.

Having Fun in 2018 Young Stars Exhibition in Shenzhen, China (Jan 12th-13th and 19th-20th, 2018)

Over the past 2 weekends, HK Typhoons Selects U8 and U10 teams were invited by SWOT Hockey to participate in the 2018 Young Stars Exhibition in Shenzhen. Lots of excitements and fun.  

Recap of Shenzhen Return Cup Tournament (Dec 23rd-24th, 2017)

It was a fantastic weekend in Shenzhen with our U8 Selects winning the gold medal at the Return Cup. We played two extremely exciting games over the two days, first game against the Shenzhen Hornets and second game against the Beijing Victory Dragons.

Our first opponent, Shenzhen Hornets had a very similar style to our Team with a couple of core players leading the way offensively and defensively. Since it was our first game as a Team, we struggled to trust each other in our own end, players were having trouble staying in proper positions. However, we got better as the game went on, forcing the game into shootout 15 seconds to go in the third period with the net empty. Thanks to Eli Beselt who scored the tying goal from a spectacular dish from Tommy Kut. 3 shooters from each Team was not enough to end the game as we went into two rounds of sudden death shootout. Finally, we managed to pull it off with Tommy Kut scoring the game winning goal and spectacular goaltending by Danny Huang.

Like the first day, we did not start the way we wanted in the final game. Beijing Victory Dragons came out flying and caught us off guard by scoring a couple of quick goals to take an early lead. However, we started to bounce back, thanks to some phenomenal shifts by Jack Welch, causing chaos for the other Team by hard work, being super aggressive on the loose pucks and one on one battles along the boards. Also, all of our defensemen started to play more responsible in our own zone by covering the net area and keeping the puck out. It was also good to see some help from the forwards, especially Keefe and Eli who were great at knowing when to hang back to support our blue line. Offensively, Tommy Kut was on fire scoring over 10 goals this game and winning the MVP. It was spectacular to see the Team improve over just two games and come out with the best result. We as a Team still need a lot of work on positioning, passing and skating for further success in the future.

An Exciting Challenge - Beach Bash Pattaya Tournament (Dec 6th-9th, 2017)

The HK Typhoons & Selects U8 and U10 teams just finished competing in the Beach Bash 4 on 4 Youth Ice Hockey Tournament in Pattaya, Thailand.

Our U8 team finished 3^rd place and lost to the semi to a very strong Canstar Rangers Team.    They competed hard every game and the highlight of the tourney was giving the Championship Winner Alpha Jr a real score, losing 5-7 in the opening game and being tied in the last 3 minutes of the contest.    Jantis Kasserra was in goal that game and came up big with many saves to keep our team in the contest while everyone on the team contributed.  There were a few strong performances with George Soloviev scoring 9 goals and Ajax Chan, Eli Beselt and Henrik Pang played hard in both the defensive and offensive zones and being the back bone of our U8 team.

Our U10 team lost in the final to the Bangkok Warriors and while the game was not close, the team never gave up and showed charade playing hard right to the end.   The team had 2 exciting games against the Canstar Rangers  winning 6-4 in a round robin game and 8-7 in the semi-final.  The semi was a very entertaining intense game with our U10 coming back to win in the last few minutes.   The team finished with 5 wins and only 1 loss for the tournament finishing 2^nd out of 7 teams in the division.   While it was definitely a team performance with every player contributing in their own way, there were a few strong showings with Miles Leung and Jacob Cheng playing strong defence and also dipping in offensively.   Caden Wee and Lleyton Lam were tenacious in their puck pursuit and scoring some big goals.   Finally Samuel Wong winning the Best Forward of the division with many end to end goals, literally taking the team on his back at time with his outstanding play.

All in all, a strong performance by both our U8 and U10 teams while giving the HK Selects & Typhoons Team members a good indicator on what they all need to improve on get to the next level.

Typhoons Selects Take On Singapore & Japan

On March 9 - 11 the Typhoon Selects headed to Singapore to particiapte in the Ice Dragons Tournament. The Typhoon Selects took 4 teams (1 U10, 2 U12 an 1 U14) in what turned out to be a very busy few days.

U10 - The team came out with a very impressive round robin defeating the Ice Dragon Juniors 9-0, Shanghai Thunderbirds 5-2, and Singapore Ice Dragons White 9-0. In the Semi finals they pushed through the Singapore Ice Dragons Red 3-2 setting them up to play a team from Hubei who brought a team that was overmatched for the level of play requested by the tournament. The players played their hearts out in the finals but were unable to defeat Hubei falling 6-0  taking a Silver Medal which was better then any other team had faired during the tournament.

U12-1 The team came out also with a very strong start taking defeating Team Malaysia 9-0 in game 1 and Singapore Ice Dragons White 6-0. In game three they would be overcome by a strong Shanghai Thunderbirds team 4-2 to finish the round robin. In the Semi Finals the players all players their hearts out but were beat out by a lucky shot in overtime by the Pilipinas with a final score of  2-1

U12-2 Started the round robin with another strong start against Team Malaysia winning 6-0 then topping Singapore Ice Dragons Red 3-1 before closing the round robin in second over all by defeating the Singapore Ice Dragons whithe 6-0.  As a result of a 2 min penalty in the final 5 min of the final round robin game they ended up drawing the Shanghai Thunderbirds instead of our own Typhoons Selects U12-1 team. The players each put their best on the line however the Thunderbirds who the Selects previously beat in Korea proved to much winning 3-1 in a tight contest.

 U14 - Also Started the Round Robin strong against team Singapore Ice Dragons White 6-0. Up next came team Malaysia who narrowly edged out the Typhoon Selects with a 1-0 win and while outshooting them their goaltending proved to be to much. Up next was Singapore Ice Dragons Red and it was the Typhoons Wolfie Ho who played outstanding earning the 1-0 win. The semi finals saw them playing the Singapore Red again who this time got the better of the Typhoons only after an overtime period and 6 shooters in the shootout! They would bounce back to take Third place beating the Singapore Ice dragons White 4-1

 We are very proud of the way each team played in the tournament, each player was able to take something away that they learned. It is also worth noting that there was a large number of players who participated in two divisions as well another large group who took part in their first tournament with the Typhoons Organization. We look forward to working with the Singapore Ice Dragons on future events for the Typhoons.

The Hong Kong Selects U-17 squad travelled to Karuizawa, Japan for a weekend of competition and camaraderie. The first 2 games of the tournament the team played like a team that never practices together, while the last 2 games of the tournament chemistry was discovered and a better brand of hockey was played.

Highlights of the weekend included competitive spirit and leadership of forwards Lokel Wong and Preston Kwok and top notch play between the pipes by goalie Julian Mak. The defensive unit as a whole was solid and physical, and improved in their own zone with each consecutive game and even contributed offensively along the way.

Players worked hard on the ice and conducted themselves professionally off the ice, showing signs of maturity and personal development from previous years. If they would only believe they had a chance to win the tournament they very well could have, rather than playing with a second (or third) place mentality. At the end of the weekend the team walked away with that third place medal but each player became better through the experience.

Overall any experience to travel to another country and play the game you love with your friends should be considered a great trip, and we are thankful to the parents and the Typhoons Hockey Club for making such opportunities possible.

Typhoons Off-Ice Training

Shooting Training and Physical Training, improve power, accuracy and release.http://hktyphoons.com/index.php/news/11-uncategorised/front-page/91-typhoons-off-ice-trainin

Shooting training, correct technique and improve power, accuracy and release.  Practice turning a bad pass into a good scoring chance.

Mini games for younger players to enjoy the fun of hockey.

Increasing foot speed to allow you to beat your apponents to the puck more often.  Increasing leg power allows you to skate faster and come out of the corner with the puck more often.

Inreasing upper body strength allows you to shoot harder contain checks better and hold on to the puck longer using body positioning.

http://www.health-calc.com/exercise/push-up-test

http://www.upsd.wednet.edu/Page/2007 

Check the above websites to see if you can keep up with North American averages for Push Ups! 

If you want to take your game to the next level head over to Synthetic Ice Training to sign up.