Top row from left: Herminio Cheng, Eugene Ho, Steve Allison, Henry Tong, Grant Phillips (Coach)
Middle row from left: Danny Chen, Adrienne Li (A), Sabrina Wong (A), Donald Wong (A), Daryl Wong, Grant Chan, Stanley Seto
Front row from left: Wesley Yau, Don Ho
From May 8th-11th, Sammi’s Superstars were in Hong Kong to compete in the Asian B Division at the 2012 Hockey 5′s at the Megabox in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong. Gathered from friends and family of Samantha Wong, it was the first time playing together as a team.
Led by our true captain, Sammi #16, the team made its debut against HKAHC. Both teams kept it even with a score of 1-1 as Herminio Cheng netted the team’s first tournament goal. Following that morning game, Sammi’s Superstars played a second game that day and tied Homely Sportswear 1-1 with the lone goal scored by Steve Allison. Wesley Yau maintained his phenomenal play between the pipes to keep the close scores.
With two ties under their belt, it placed Sammi’s Superstars in 2nd place in their pool and slotted them to face the #2 seed, Gold Club. Unfortunately, they fell short to Gold Club (and the eventual winners of the Asian B division) with a score of 3-0. With the loss, the team had to face off against the #1 seed, the Bangkok C Warriors, to gain a spot in the semi-final.
By far, it was arguably the best game Sammi’s Superstars played all tournament. Bangkok scored the first goal and from there, the teamworked together to force a comeback. Shortly after the Bangkok goal, Donald Wong scored off a feed from Don Ho and Sabrina Wong to make it 1-1. In the second period, Bangkok scored again to lead the game 2-1. The team answered back with a goal from Danny Chen from the blue line to even up the score 2-2. Minutes later, Don Ho released a booming clapper from the hash marks to give Sammi’s Superstars its first lead of the game, 3-2. At this point, the Megabox was buzzing with supporters all around the rink!
Despite the positive vibes from our bench, Bangkok was able to tie the game 3-3 to keep the crowd at the edge of their seats. With a tied game, and minutes to go in the third period, both teams were trying to force the win before the buzzer. Unfortunately for Sammi’s Superstars, Bangkok silenced the crowd with a breakway goal in the last minutes of the third period. With many close calls to tie the game in the dying seconds, the Bangkok C Warriors eliminated Sammi’s Superstars out of the semi-finals with a 4-3 win.
With a tremendous effort from all team members, they ended their run with an exciting game that was sure to make Sammi a proud spectator. In all four games, Sammi’s #16 ‘C’ jersey hung behind the bench to serve as a constant reminder for the team and for the audiences of her contribution to hockey in Hong Kong.
We would like to thank all of the support coming from all parts of the world for our participation in this tournament. Special thanks to Nikkei Canada for their sponsorship and Avida Sportswear for the amazing jerseys! Also, thank you to Grant for being our leader behind the bench, Kevin for his management and support, and Jeremy for the photos!
Until next year,
- Sammi’s Superstars
Nikkei (Canada) Marketing Limited | www.nikkeicanada.com
Avida Sportswear | www.avidasportswear.com
Jeremy Jude Lee Photography | www.jeremyjudelee.com
For more photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79253660@N07/sets/72157629877982726/
