Israelis lose rough one to Croatia in hockey
Apr. 16, 2004 0:17
By LIONEL GAFFEN
The Israeli National hockey team was crushed 7-0 defeat at the hands of Croatia on Thursday, in their third match of the International Ice Hockey Federation Division II World Championships, Group A round robin series being played in Jaca, Spain.
But the team is keeping the loss in proportions.
“Actually, given the circumstances, the team played quite well against Croatia,” Sergei Matin, president of the Israel Ice Hockey Federation told The Jerusalem Post from Jaca, shortly after the game ended. “We managed to keep them down to a 1-0 lead after the opening period, and considering the strength of their team, that was an accomplishment in itself.
“We had a serious lapse during the second period between the 8th and 12th minute, and in all, allowed five goals to be scored against us. However, we managed to keep them at bay in the third period, and only allowed one more goal, and managed to skate with them. This will be good for us in our next two games, against Australia and then Luxembourg.”
Israel is playing short-handed, without top-scorer Sergei Zak who was unable to renew his passport, the Eisenman brothers who are abroad on scholarships, and Max Birbrayer whose season in the NHL minor leagues has yet to end.
Israel lost its second game to China, a tough match against a former Division I team by a 5-0 score. An early goal , followed by two tough goals when Israel was short-handed due to penalties in the first two periods, set the pace for China, which outshot the Israeli team by a 36-13 margin. Two more goals near the end of the third period completed the scoring.
In the other completed matches on Tuesday, Croatia cruised past Australia by an 8-2 count, while Spain walloped hapless Luxembourg by a 16-0 margin.
The weekend games against Australia, with the series ending match against Luxembourg, will determine whether Israel will be demoted to Division III next year, or will manage to remain in Division II and be able to regroup during the coming year.
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