2006 Deaf Ice Hockey Championships

[showtyme21]

Before you pass this thread by, I just thought I'd let every one know about this exciting hockey tournament. While this isn't of the skill level of a lot of other leagues we all follow religiously, it is still quite amazing to see some of these players play. You'd be surpised to see how a deaf or hard of hearing player finds the open man (usually seeing the reflection in the glass is enough), or how they react to the whistle (usually don't hear it, but there's lights all around the boards that flash rapidly).

The 2006 Canadian Deaf Ice Hockey Championships take place every 4 years in a Canadian city. 8 years ago, it was held in Ottawa where the team from Western Canada (BC, AB, SK, and MB), 4 years ago it was held in Winnipeg (my hometown) and the Prairies (MB and SK) won. Now it will be up to a team from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to try and hold off the rest of Canada in this 4 team tournament held in Calgary from May 4th to 7th. If you're in the area, feel free to come and check us out. The games will be held at the Centennial Arena (2390-47 Avenue SW).

Just thought I'd let everyone know of this tournament as it is something that means a lot to all the deaf and hard of hearing players that take part. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and would be interested in playing in future tournaments, feel free to contact me and I will direct you to the correct people.

Thanks for listening.

Sheldon

[the Cunning Linguist]

Cool.

[Broda]

I think that htat is really cool.. seriously though it isn't any different than nhl , i think thats awsome. Same thing with the Canada sledge hockey team, they won gold against Norway i think it was who is a perenial power house in the sport.

[showtyme21]

and the tournament is done.

Ontario defeated Western Prairies in the final game 4-2. It was a great tournament with some great hitting (which I'm not used to anymore), and even some some great dirty plays. But after each game, it was excellent to see all the comaraderie of the players. Not one was left out, and we all had a great time renewing friendships and making new ones. For all those who care, here's the scores of the games in the tournament:

Round Robin
Western Prairies vs. Ontario (5-6)
British Columbia vs. Quebec (6-2)
Ontario vs. Quebec (12-0)
Western Prairies vs. British Columbia (5-4 Shootout)
Ontario vs. British Columbia (6-2)
Western Prairies vs. Quebec (8-0)
British Columbia vs. Quebec (8-1) Bronze Medal Game
Ontario vs. Western Prairies (4-2) Gold Medal Game

Once again, if you are hard of hearing or deaf, feel free to let me know and I'll get you in touch with the appropriate people. I'm sure we have a sport that you can play to get to know others with some of the same difficulties that you may have experienced.

[showtyme21]

Again, I'm not trying to force this on anyone, just informing you guys and gals of some good hockey. Right now the World Deaflympics are going on in Salt Lake City, Utah. This includes the hockey team (which, sadly, I did not get to play on - because I don't play physical enough:() which has won one game (against Germany 17-0), and tied one (against Russia 2-2) and are in 2nd place (Finland is in 1st with 3-0 record).

The format is a round robin tournament, and whoever is in first at the end of the round robin, wins the gold. Wierd, I know, but that's the way it is.

Anyway, most of the games are being streamed via the internet, which is kinda cool for guys like me who have a bunch of friends playing on the team. Next game is tonite against the US at 8:00 MT. If you're bored, check it out.

http://www.deafnation.com/2007deaflympics