2024 Harbin Mayor Cup Harbin, China 

(July 18-20,  2024)

We evaluate the tournament in Harbin positively. In the first game, we were wandering around for a while, attributing that to the travel from the day before, but we managed to win. We won the next three matches in the group without losing a point. So we went to the semi-finals from first place. In the semi-finals, we faced the team that finished second in the second group. The boys were a bit tired, but we still believed in each other. At the same time, we knew that it would not be an easy match. The game had energy from the start. Peking Capitals 13 played more as a team compared to us and thus deserved the lead in the game. The game was played at both ends. We tried to reverse it with too much individual approach. The puck will always be faster than the player. After a good play with six players, we managed to reduce the difference to a single goal shortly before the end, but unfortunately, we could not tie the game.

The match for third place followed a similar course, and we finished the tournament in fourth place. Overall, it was a very good tournament for the pre-season period. The boys are individually very skilled in terms of skills. Of course, we need to work on our skating and physical condition, but we also need to improve the team elements of the game so that the guys will know each other better in different areas on the ice. That was the biggest difference in the last two games.

Finally, we want to thank all the players for their performances and the parents for creating a great atmosphere throughout the whole tournament.