What an amazing event!  The 2013 Mega Ice 5's tournament in Kowloon City, Hong Kong proved to be spectacular in more ways that one.   This event hosting week long youth tournament activities against teams from around the globe.  Thunderbirds participating teams were U8, U10 Alumni, U10 Select, U12 Select. 

Congratulations goes to U8 team who won Gold, U10 Alumni who won Silver, U12 team who won Silver!  WOW!  Excellent hockey, great sportsmanship and many sore throat spectators from cheering you all on!  Thanks for a great week of hockey.

U8 Select Team - Silver Medalist
Hong Kong Mega 5 Tournament

Proud of our boys and their effort!  

Our U8 Shanghai Thunderbirds took to the ice in Hong Kong May 2012 attending one of Asia's largest ice hockey tournaments; The MegaIce 5's.  With a total of 53 teams in attendance, and 13 alone in the U8 division.  

The kids played 5 powerful games with fans and spectators on the edge of their seats.  Throats raw from cheering and encouraging their tremendous efforts and teamwork!  We are proud to close out the tournament winning a Silver medal after a "nail biting" round against Beijing Little Wolves.  

Along with our team joy, we had two Thunderbirds recognized for their efforts on the ice that week.  Ben Matts #12 was awarded Best Defensivemen and Owen Lee #8 awarded Best Goaltender of the Tournament. As if this was not enough, the tournament organizer recognized our Yellow team jersey as Best Jersey of the tournament.

53 weeks ago Sunday, we flew back from our first tournament representing the Shanghai Thunderbirds in the Beijing Imperial Guard Hockey Tournament in the U8 Division.

The team we took to Beijing, included kids who were 5,6,7,8 years old. We took anyone who wanted to come. During the tournament the boys took it on the chin, losing all five games by a total combined score of 1 -60. We played teams who consisted of ONLY 8 and 9 year olds, who were hand picked from a much bigger pool of players.

Last Sunday, the U8 Team returned from Hong Kong.  This is the biggest tournament in Asia, with 53 teams and 13 teams in our U8 age group.  The boys played five games, as they played the year before, but the result was much different both on and off the ice.

Both South Korea and North Korea were on high alert as the Shanghai Thunderbirds U8 Select Team flew into Incheon Airport Friday morning.  The DMZ had not seen this much action and tension in years. Nor could anyone anticipate the impact the Thunderbirds would have on their foes in South Korea during the weekend.

The boys entered the tournament with an undefeated season to date, 16-0-2. This weekend would put the team to the limit as they competed against the strongest teams they have met this year. After a Team dinner, the kids hit the ice well past bed time, at 8:00 pm Friday night.  Captain Sean Bradley called for the team to wear the yellow 3rd jersey to kick off the weekend.

After quick 2-0 start, the Blue Eagles tied the game back up at 2-2. The Thunderbirds kept the pressure coming and recaptured the lead with 7-3 by the middle of the 3rd period. As the clock struck 9:30 pm, the little legs were getting tired and the Blue Eagles soared back with 3 unanswered goals to get within 1 - a nail biting 7-6.  But the mighty Thunderbirds held on for the win.  The Team was led by the "Two Towers", Nico Sanabria and Matthew Lee tallying 2 and 1 goals respectively.  Sanabria was given a well deserved "Player of the Game" Honor!

Early start for the T-birds on day two, as the bus pulled out at 7:00 am for a 8:00 am start against the Tiger Sharks. The Tigers dressed 29 players (last count at the hand shake), but were no match, losing the game 9-1.  The best stats of the game were the shots on goals 60-3!! Defenseman Dylan Eliason captured POG for his smart heads up team play. The "Two Towers" netted 3 more goals - Sanabria with two and Lee with one.

The Team then headed for some site-sighting in beautiful Seoul.  The team returned to the hotel for some well needed R&R, to prepare for another late start on Saturday night. Coach Bradley called for the yellow jerseys again Saturday night, "we wear yellow at our night games" stated a confident Coach Bradley.  The puck dropped at 7:30 pm, against the Suwon Eagles - by far the toughest opponent of the weekend. The team was big and fast, but the Black, White and Yellow were ready for the challenge. The teams went back and forth for the first 2 periods, and was tied 2-2 at the end of two.

Coach Magnus Tedestedt pulled our three Swed forwards (Keden, Keden, and Tedestedt) aside at the intermission and issued them a challenge for the 3rd period in their mother tongue.  It must have been a motivating Swedish tongue lashing as all three came out flying.  The Thunderbirds went up 6-2, with four consecutive goals, although the ref called five consecutive penalties on the squad from Shanghai.  The Eagles closed the game with two goals, with a 6-4 final.

Although a tough game, the boys dug deep in the third, playing their 9th period of hockey in 24 hrs.  The Team was lead in game 3 by Captain Sean Bradley, POG recipient, demonstrating a clinic in forechecking and relentless back checking. This was consistent throughout his first three games of the weekend.

Game 4 had an odd start.  Coach Eliason and Coach Bradley had to negotiate getting the 13 year olds from the host team the Blizzards off the ice. After a successful fight, the team took the ice with another strong start, scoring in the first minute of play. They never looked back completing the 4 game swept in Korea with a 6-1 win.  POG for game 4 went to Viggo Keden, not only for this performance in finale, but his dominating presence in the offensive zone all weekend.

As we sat on the plane Sunday night returning to the friendly confines of Shanghai, we reflect on another memorable weekend.  What lucky people we are to have such a wonderful bunch of friends and the chance to travel with our families for a hockey weekend in Korea.  Some of the best memories will be:

*       Our fantastic and wonderful hosts in Korea.  We could not have met more friendly and warm people.  We cannot thank Silvia and Peter Kim enough.
*       The beer by the elevator on Saturday night with some of the parents
*       The spring weather and blue skies in the beautiful city of Seoul
*       The team family picture in front of the pagoda at the base of the Seoul Tower
*       The kids singing to LMFAO on the bus ride home Saturday night - all very proud of themselves
*       Alma Keden making up and singing a Thunderbird's song for the boys
*       Erik and his sling-box
*       The mothers and daughters in their beautiful yellow Lova Scarves, designed by Lovisa - hockey mom, coach's wife and very talented designer

Yes we left Korea 20-0-2, as we had hoped, and yes the boys played exceptionally well, but it seemed a very small part of a special weekend.

Thank you to all the players and families, Ben & the Matts Family, Cormick & Jeff, Tao & Scott, Viggo & Malte and the Keden Family, Declan & the McNally Family, Ryan & the Gallagher Family, Nico & Jill, Sean & Matt, Max & Magnus, and Dylan, Erik, Jordan, and Lindsey, and especially Meredith and my 2 boys Owen and Matthew. I feel very lucky and indebted to all of you.

Next stop for the Team HONG KONG, May 1-5th!! This the largest hockey tournament in Asia, with 45 teams, 13 in the U8 division.

We have three weeks to prepare, as the Select season comes to a close.

Coach Joey
Beat reporter 

Nanjing Exchange
On February 18th and 19th the U8 and U15 Thunderbirds played host to teams from the Hong Kong Typhoons and Beijing Imperial Guard at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre.  Games started early both days and were all very competitive.  We would like to thank both the Hong Kong teams and the U15 Beijing team for joining us for the weekend and making it a success.  Also, events like this cannot happen without the participation of a number of volunteers but we would like to especially thank Joey Lee for leading the preparation, organization and execution of this event at all levels and Lindsey Eliason for keeping us on schedule, making sure the game sheets were signed and directing and coordinating the volunteers throughout the weekend and making our guests feel welcome.

The Select teams concluded their trip to Harbin on Sunday having learned a great deal about themselves and their competition.

The U8s provided the most outstanding performance of the weekend going 5-0 against teams from the Beijing Imperial Guard and the Harbin 1 and Harbin 2 teams.  They ended the weekend in dramatic fashion with a 2-1 Overtime victory over a re-stocked Harbin 1 team to win the weekend mini-tournament. The players, parents and fans were extremely excited about their performance and they made the Shanghai Thunderbird’s program very proud.

The U12 team ran into stiff competition against the Imperial Guard and the Harbin teams.  Although they went 0-4 on the weekend the team showed steady improvement and increased their intensity as the games progressed.  The team

ended the weekend in a mixed games where all three teams were combined into two and they played against each other.  This was a good way for the players to meet kids from other programs and play alongside each other in a good show of competitiveness and sportsmanship.

The U15 team had a successful weekend going 2-2 by beating Harbin in two very close 3-2 games but losing to the Imperial Guard in the other two games. This was the first time for some of the U15s to play against other programs at this level and the team was very competitive despite missing a few key players.

The most impressive part of the weekend was seeing the support each team provided to one another during their games and the way they bonded at the hotel and away from the rink.  It was nice to see the players cheering each

other on, especially the U8s in the final, as well as watching the younger players letting the older ones in on their mini-stick games.

Congrats to all the coaches and managers for their efforts and organization and thanks to the Beijing Imperial Guard who organized this weekend andallowed us to participate.

Last weekend 40 Select players from all three teams and almost 50 family members travelled to Okayama and Kurashiki Japan for a weekend of hockey. The kids played teams from the area including the Okayama Bruins, Hiroshima Collectors, Okayama Jr. and Kurashiki Jr.

The Select players made the Thunderbird organization proud with only one loss in 9 games.

The U8’s remain undefeated this season with two wins (7-1 and 8-3) and one tie (3-3). The boys played their hearts’ out despite having to board the bus at 5:15 a.m. on Sunday morning for their final game at 6:15 a.m.