Sharks attack!

The Sharks skated their way to victory over the Warriors in the inaugural Bahrain Ice Hockey League to clinch the title and hold aloft a prize trophy, writes Mai Al Khatib-Camille.

The league began on May 18 with a round-robin system and ended the season earlier this week.

After the top four faced each other for the end-of-season cup, leaders Sharks defeated second place Warriors 5-4 in the final thanks to four-goal American ace Jason Mejia, who lives in Adliya.

Third place Raptors beat fourth-placed Grizzlies 3-2 in the earlier game on Sunday night.

Each team featured seven players, a multi-mix of sports-loving nationalities from Bahrain, the US, Canada and Europe. They have faced off twice-a-week, every Sunday and Tuesday evening, at Funland Ice Rink in Manama.
 
In total, the league attracted around 30 players with a passion for one of the coolest sports on the planet and reigniting its place on the kingdom’s sporting calendar.

Tamer Fakhroo, president of the Bahrain Sharks Ice Hockey Club, and team captain, said the league has been a huge success attracting a growing number of skaters and spectators.

He said: “We are very proud and happy to be the first title winners in Bahrain. It was a successful season and we can’t wait for the next one, which will probably start around the end of October.

“It was amazing to experience the roar of cheering crowds in Bahrain. To play in front of a large vocal crowd changes the entire game and atmosphere. All the teams did a great job.”

With fire in their hearts and ice in their veins, hockey devotees have been keen to set up a league for years. Thanks to DHL Express becoming its title sponsors, the dream became a reality.

Fakhroo added: “What people don’t realise is that there has always been a hockey following and our fight to make this league a reality just goes to prove it.

“Since it started, our games have been attracting a growing number of spectators and raised the general interest in the sport. We have had newly-arrived expat North Americans as well as Bahrainis wanting to become a part of this fast-paced and intense sport.

“We now have a mixture of locals and expats playing together and it’s a beautiful sight. This league has been in the making for some time now. There are leagues in all the GCC countries so why not in Bahrain?

“It is time for us to develop our local players and through this league we can get in the necessary play time to compete in regional tournaments.

“I would like to express my gratitude to DHL Bahrain for sponsoring us to help develop ice hockey in the kingdom as well as our American members who have stepped in to coach some of our players and share their hockey knowledge with us.”

It is hoped that the annual competition will attract more players and also act as a spring board for those wanting to gain experience in order to challenge more established teams across the region.

Fakhroo added: “The Sharks were originally formed in 2008, although ice hockey has been growing in popularity on the island since 1992. We were 15 players, five of which were Bahraini and the rest American, Canadian, European and Russian.

“We practiced as much as possible and competed where we could. Some players had to leave but we never gave up on the dream of putting together a league.

“This league will act as practice for us during the year, preparing us for upcoming competitions such as the one in November in Abu Dhabi and we have also set our sights on perhaps playing international tournaments in the future.”

The Sharks have achieved several accolades over the years such as being crowned champions of the Desert Cup in Doha, Qatar from 2010 to 2012. They also took second place in the Capital Cup in Abu Dhabi in 2011 and won the Dubai Mighty Camels Cup in 2010.

In 2011, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman, urged the formation of an all-Bahraini team to skate on behalf of the kingdom in the Asian Winter Olympics in Kazakhstan under the sponsorship of BOC.

The Bahrain men’s ice hockey squad gained respect for holding its own and making its debut on the international stage. Last year the Bahrain team came runners-up in the Dubai Mighty Camels Cup tournament playing in the final against a strong Swiss team.

Fakhroo said: “The whole crowd cheered us on and we only lost during a sudden death play-off. We were proud of how far we had come. The Bahrain National Ice Hockey team is talented and the players have really progressed in the sport.

“We have been doing so well that five of our members were invited to play for the Qatari team in The 2014 Gulf Ice Hockey Championship that took place from June 6 to 12 in Kuwait, under the International Ice Hockey Federation.”

The players were Sameh Al Hegazi, 28, Salman Thawadi, 30, Salman Slybeekh, 33, Hassan Habib, 29, and Abdulla Shukrallah, 29.