Czech „street hockey Mekka“ city of Most will welcome 10 best teams in youth categories from 6 countries in June 2 – 5, 2010. The venue will take place in two arenas, one of which is the first covered street hockey arena in Europe! Most celebrates 20 anniversary of the city league which belongs to the best in the country. Follow the www.most2010.com for more information.

With teams now joining the Mekong Cup from as far away as Europe (and the fact that last year was the first (and hopefully the last) year the Finals were rained out), we have brought the date of the 16th annual Mekong Cup forward into the hard of the dry season. Saturday, March 13th is confirmed !!!...[more]

I just wanted to take a moment to touch base with a little information about the 2010 Sin Shootout Street Hockey Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the last several months we have been fielding inquiries and concerns regarding the 2010 dates and potential conflicts with the Olympic schedule. We have listened to the concerns of the Greater Ball & Street Hockey Community and have moved the dates from February to January in 2010 to avoid any/all potential scheduling conflicts.

To clarify the divisional format: teams/rosters will have to be approved for the C/D and Rec Divisions, just as last year. It should be noted that unlike some advertised "Rec Divisions" that turn out to be of a level comparable to the Novice and lower D Division teams at Nationals, the Sin City Shootout has and will continue to offer a "recreational" division intended for women and men with minimal to no tournament level experience. A/B caliber players are prohibited from participating in the division, with C/D caliber players requiring permission after a review of all team rosters in the division. Basically, the C/D Division is equivalent to Novice and lower D teams at the USA Nationals, and equivalent to mid-level C and below in most Canadian leagues. We've done a tremendous job in maintaining a competitive balance in our events in the past while using this format, and will continue to do so in the future.

To reserve a spot for your team in the 2010 event, you will need to submit a deposit of $250 (U.S. currency) via check or money order to the following:

SoCal Street Hockey Inc.
14623 Poner St.
La Mirada, CA 90638

You may also submit deposits via PayPal to Terry@socalstreethockey.com , but it must be equivalent to $258 in U.S. currency (3% PayPal processing charge included). Included with the deposit will be the following information:

** Team name
** Division of interest
** Location
** League and division team normally participates
** Contact information

To secure a spot in the event, the remaining entry fee balance must be paid in full by December 30, 2009. It should be noted that we do have a maximum capacity of 28 teams each weekend of the event, so

As there is but one non-ice hockey rink in all of Las Vegas, we are limited as to rink time available to us for this event. As such, we continue to employ the roller hockey tournament format to our event (two periods, each 15-minutes running time in length). Once registration has concluded, we will complete the game schedule for the event.

For those who are interested, we have a Facebook Group (Sin City Shootout Street Hockey Tournament) and have some informatiuon posted on the www.socalstreethockey.com website under the tournament section. We are currently working on host hotels and finalizing sponsorships for the event. As further information comes in, we will be posted it on both the website and the Facebook Group.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all regarding the event. I hope this finds you and yours well!

Warmest regards,

Terry Cox...[more]

ISBHF Vice President Mr. Jaroslav Melisek completed successfully his mission in Asia in recent days. His aim was to enlarge the pool of participating nations in upcoming WC in Bratislava, Slovakia. Mr. Xiang Hanping from China was mandated by WC organizing committee to support this task in Asia. Mr. Hamping will also be in charge of securing participation of the National Team of the China in the World Championships in senior and women categories.

ISBHF annouces that no European street hockey association submitted a bid to host EUROCUP 2009. ISBHF currently inquires after an alternative site and date, likely in January 2010.

Down two goals heading into the third period, the hometown fans were awfully quiet. The Slovaks seemed to have drained both the Czech team and the Pilsen crowd with the two powerplay goals in the second period that opened up a 4:2 lead, but that was short lived. The magic of sport is its ability to erupt endless emotion from its spectators that feeds the adrenalin of the players. In the first minute of the third Czechia got a powerplay marker of its own. It only brought them within one but by the reaction of the fans and its team you would have thought the game was won. From that point on the Czech Republic squad had the ball on a string, always in command of its movement. Their pressure was relentless and it paid off with the tying score with less than 5 minutes remaining. The already chanting crowd found an even higher decibel when its favourites rocketed the 5:4 overtime winner from the point off a well won faceoff in the Slovak end. Tomas Rejthar has catapulted to local hero. This one goal may be remembered for a long time if the Czechs can complete the dream on Saturday, June 20.
The India v USA tilt was true to expectations with high speed high octane offenses dominating this game with end to end rushes and scoring chances. Trading leads several times, Dampy Brar and Andrew Hildreth were in on much of the action for their teams. Hildreth contributed 3 assists for the USA, while Brar chipped in two goals and one assist. Pavan Basi’s goal at the 40 minute mark nullified the USA miracle moment though, providing the 5:4 lead that India would not relinquish. The young American team was exciting to watch, their young stars Bobby Housser and Denny Schlegal are sure candidates for major awards, and their incredible rise from B-Pool to the final four will be talked about for a while. They could add to the legend by taking bronze, but the mighty Slovaks will do their best to prevent that.
The men’s A-Pool final show down, India versus the Czech Republic, will prove to be a superbly entertaining match. Both national teams are filled with skilled players, and it will be interesting to see if the Czechs try to tighten up the floor to contain their opponents, or run-and-gun with reckless abandon to equalize scoring opportunities. Either way we can expect counter-attacking at its best. The Indian powerplay has been a force during the championship tournament and may be the deciding factor if the Czechs get into any kind of penalty trouble. Further intrigue is stimulated by the obvious mental debate rattling in the head of the Czech coach regarding his starting goaltender. Their number one Petr Sulan was pulled after two periods against Slovakia, and replaced by Filip Sindelar who did not allow a goal the rest of the way. Sindelar has allowed two goals in 108 minutes of play, while Sulan has given up four in 120 minutes. Hmmmm, I am glad it is not my decision to make.
The Gajdosova’s Maria and Ivana combined to score Slovakia’s opening goal against Czechia in the women’s A-Pool semi-finals and it would be enough in this tightly played match which ended 2:0. Ivana was an all-star in WC07 and once again leads her team to the finals, this time she hopes it will be gold hung around her neck. Canada rejoins Slovakia in the final by way of an impressive 9:0 win over USA, and continues an incredible run of 5 games without allowing any goals. Seven different players contributed in the scoring against the Americans, including Caroline Berube who scored her tournament leading ninth. In 2007, the Canadians only allowed one goal in the 6 games required to win the gold medal. Can they do one better in 2009? Or will Slovakia turn the table and reverse the 0:2 loss at the hands of Canada in the last WC? The two did not meet in the round-robin and their three common opponents, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, surrendered 34 goals to Canada and 32 to Slovakia. That’s pretty even in my books, so I shall use it as my gauge to call this one a close match.
Austria was outshot 16:47, almost by triple the amount, and yet came away with a 6:3 win over Switzerland in their B-Pool semi-final. Marco Del Fabro was brilliant in goal for the Austrians, while Benjamin Petrik provided 3 goals. Disappointed not to have a shot at the A-Pool, Austria may have caught a break with gaining a day of rest, they next line-up against Greece for the B-Pool championship. During the round-robin the two met and tied 4:4, making this game too close to call. Greece cruised to a 8:1 win over Hong Kong, scoring in the game was Gus Kourousis, the same Kourousis who played for Canada in 1996 and was named most valuable player of the tournament. His return from long-time retirement from the sport has to be considered a success as he leads the Greek team in scoring. Initially brought on as Head Coach based on his bountiful experience, his playing skill level was still too valuable to leave behind the bench. Can Gus be the Golden Goose once more? I will venture to say that he will be one of the stars of the game.

WC09 DAY 5 REPORT: Endings and New Beginnings
Michal Hrivnak scored an exciting game-winning breakaway goal one minute into the third, and it was only one of the many great plays featured in this premier level contest between Slovakia and Portugal. With the win, the Slovaks have earned a rematch against Czechia, this time in the semi-finals with much more on the line than just round-robin bragging rights. The key point in the match will be the third period when we will see if the extra game the Slovaks were required to play will diminish their energy level. Emotion and adrenalin may help, but a strategy of four lines rolling at a high tempo has a way of wearing down even 22 players full of adrenalin. The human body can only take so much. For Slovakia my take on it is they need to get an early lead and hang on!
Steve Gregory scores in overtime. Is it another miracle for USA? The Americans stopped 4-time defending champion Canada in a thrilling game that never had more than a one goal spread at any point in time, finishing 5:4. Denny Schlegal continues to look like the best pure sniper at this WC scoring the first two for USA, and added an assist in another strong performance. Take it to the bank that their semi-final matchup against India will be another high scoring affair, as both teams are pure offence. For Canada, it marks the first time at the senior level that they will not medal. All things come to an end, it was just not how most expected their run to end. The game is played with a ball, and the ball bounces, sometimes to the good, and other times to the bad. The Canadians had more than enough chances to extend their streak, including a powerplay in the final minute of regulation and the early part of overtime.
Harpreet Kalkat scored two of India’s goals, including the game winner with 10 seconds remaining. The 3:2 win over Italy sends India into the final four of A-Pool for the first time. The tightly played game was as equally entertaining as CAN v USA. The matchup with the USA guarantees that for the first time there will be one new team other than Canada, Czechia, or Slovakia in the final. Whether it will be India or USA will depend on which of the two can keep enough of a defence intact in what may be a wide open affair. Both clubs have been pleasant surprises at WC09 and full value for the rewards they are about to receive.
After two tough losses to open the tournament, the USA women responded with two big wins, the first over Switzerland 10:2, and the other against Austria, both of whom were ahead of USA in the standings at one point. The turnaround has landed them in the A-Pool semi-finals against one of the pre-tournament favourites Canada. We shall find out tomorrow if they have momentum on their side for at least one more game.
The Canadian defence continues to be impenetrable as the women finish with 4 wins, all of them shut-outs. Meanwhile the other team with the unblemished record, Slovakia, gave up a point to the Czech Republic in a 2:2 tie, setting themselves up for another game against each other, but this time it will need a deciding goal as it will be in the other semi-final. The question will be whether we will see mainly the offence of the 7-minute span when all four goals were scored, or the defence of the other 38 minutes. Here’s hoping for more of the offence. Goals are just more fun to watch.
It maybe took a little longer than expected, but Hong Kong finally got their offence into full gear with an explosive 5:1 first period on their way to an impressive 8:2 win over Great Britain, setting up a B-Pool semi-final against Greece, who knocked off defending B-Pool champs Pakistan 4:2, assuring that the title will change hands here as well. Both HK and GRE improved as the tournament has gone on and they should be at their best for Day 6.
The other semi-final sees Switzerland and Austria tussle for a place in the final. The Suisse one their first game, after falling from the A-Pool, 3:1 over Cayman, while the Austrians defeated Finland 5:3 displaying more of the quality that we predicted at the start of WC09.
The B-Pool title is guaranteed to belong to a new champion in 2009.

It’s “Moving Day”! For Bermuda this day may live on in glory for many years. Their win over Great Britain in the A-Pool qualifier vaulted the tiny island into the upper echelon of street hockey. This is no small feat. It requires tremendous dedication to training and physical conditioning in an environment not well equipped with hockey facilities, if equipped at all for it. Gazzard as expected was a key contributor with two goals, but Critchly was on fire, with a 2 goals and 5 points. There will be little time to celebrate today though, because their first A-Pool test will be in the Quarter-finals against Czech Republic. A daunting task to say the least, but emotion and momentum can cause teams to achieve great things. Expect a fast paced first period.
USA is the second nation taking the step up to A-Pool. Schlegal and Housser have been unstoppable so far. The first three goals of the match were claimed by Schlegal. For the Americans the trip to the top has been a difficult one, more out of frustration in not achieving their full potential than anything else. Gold medalists at the World Junior level in 2006, there was no doubt that the talent existed, they just were not capable of gathering enough of them to make the push from B-Pool. Enough of a core from WJC06 have now reached the Senior level and have immediately made a strong impact. Their Quarter-final opponent will be Canada. USA v Canada in hockey has become a big rivalry in the past decade or so, will this now transcend to street hockey. I think the time has come.
Switzerland’s defeat at the hands of the Americans sees them slide into the B-Pool. This proud nation will surely be disappointed with their results, but missing your top scorers due to injury is devastating to any team, and even more so when you are not as deep as a Canada, Czechia, or Slovakia. Brighter days are sure to lie ahead for the Swiss who have too good of a program back home to stay out of the A-Pool for very long.
In other qualifying action, Italy maintained their place in the A-Pool with a strong effort, perhaps their best of the tournament in beating Finland. They now draw India for a QF match, and it should be a dandy. I am expecting an excitingly close game, probably decided late, and by the team best able to capitalize on powerplay opportunities.
Slovakia also protected their placement defeating Greece. Their date with Portugal puts two artistically skilful teams head to head, promising to provide some great entertainment. Both have rebuilt their programs with youth, which takes some time to develop at a WC. It is now their 4th or 5th game and the chemistry percolating even better performances.
Some really good B-Pool games to catch tomorrow are Finland v Austria, Switzerland v Cayman, Great Britain v Hong Kong, and Greece v Pakistan.
The Women’s World Championship got underway yesterday, and after two days of play the defending champions Canada are 3-0-0 and have not allowed a goal, sitting with a +24, but not far behind is Slovakia with a similar unblemished record and non-penetrated goal line with a +22. Given the format of this WWC does not have them meeting in the round-robin, these two trains may not collide until a possible gold medal game. However, there many miles of track to lay (continuing with this railway imagery) before that event can arise.
Czechia and Switzerland are ready to create some roadblocks on that journey. For the Czechs their match up against the Slovaks tomorrow will give a good indication of their progress. Good teams have a habit of evolving into great teams during a tournament. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Caroline Berube of Canada had a big day with 5 goals and 2 assists in her team's two dominating wins to start the Women's World Championship, as Canada defeated Switzerland 10:0, and Austria 9:0....[more]

The day opened and closed with two of the best games to date in the tournament. The first involved Cayman Islands and Finland to decide who would advance for a qualifying match for A-Pool. The two B-Pool clubs put on an A-Pool performance with an outstanding game of speed and skill that was thoroughly entertaining. The teams traded leads in the first two periods, and a late rally by the Caymanians was capped off by a last minute Tim Macdonald goal to secure the team’s first win.
The fine play of several other B-Pool teams during the first half of the week has shown how much the game has grown in skill and calibre at the lower level that includes a USA team that has outscored its opponents 28:5. The Americans draw Switzerland on Day 4, and the Swiss , who have been held scoreless during round-robin play will need a big game to keep from sliding down into B-Pool. Bobby Housser of the USA is a former WJC 2006 allstar and leads the way for his team with 7 points. He and Denny Schlegal will be a handful for Team Suisse.
Bermuda’s 2:2 tie with Pakistan was enough to keep 1st place in their B-Pool division, and now have a real chance of breaking into the A-Pool for the first time as they take on Great Britain, who struggled during the round-robin. David Gazzard (BER) hopes to continue his strong play (3-3-6pts) and bring their small island more street hockey glory.
Pakistan is left to concentrate on repeating as champions of the B-Pool, as the tie kept them one point short of over-taking Finland, who meet Italy in an A-Pool qualifying game. The Italians looked tired against Canada in their 0:6 loss, while Finland ran out of gas in the last half of their third period. A good night’s rest is what each needs, and we will see which of the two was the more dedicated by mid-way through their match on Day 4. Party time is over. It is playoff time.
The other gem of the day was the Czechia v Slovakia game. The two always bring out the best in each other, and this match was no less than their top performances. Before a raucous crowd of 5,000 spectators, many who came in on tour buses for the highlight contest, and national TV, the teams traded scoring opportunities, exciting play, and raw emotion, but were stymied by brilliant goaltending on both ends, Stanislav Petrik (SVK) and Petr Sulan (CZE). It would take until three minutes into the third for a goal to be scored, and Jan Bacovsky rose to the occasion setting up the winning goal and scoring the insurance marker later in the game, pleasing the massive faithful with a 2:0 win over arch rival Slovakia. The loss prevented the Slovaks from catching India for 2nd place, and now must face Greece to qualify for the A-Pool quarter-finals. Look for Slovakia to come out fast and hard....[more]

India continues to be one of the leading stories of WC09 with Boris Mostaghim a key contributor to the content, supplying 2 goals and 2 assists on the six India team goals. Each of Mostaghim’s markers were critical in the games, with the game winner against Slovakia, and the tying goal at the 37-minute point of the game against Czech Republic. However, turnabout is fair play as many say, and in this game it was India’s opponents who scored with half a minute remaining in the game. Relieving the anxiety of the home team Czechs and their spectators with the 3:2 win was the evening’s hero Jan Pospisil.
Slovakia’s 5:0 win over Switzerland positioned them to still have a chance to claim first in the division if they can beat popular rivals Czech Republic in the final round-robin game, then it may come down to +/- if India should defeat Switzerland. The Swiss are destined to finish fourth in the clearly A-Pool division of death, and are fated to play in a relegation/qualification match against the B-Pool, along with one of either CZE, IND, or SVK if that is even conceivable, given how well each has played.
It is difficult to play at home because an entire nation’s expectations are emphasised every game by the strongly partisan crowd. The pressure can be overwhelming and even the most talented of athletes can be excused if they squeeze their sticks a little more tightly. The Czechs will need their best game of the tournament to claim first place in the division against a Slovak team that looks better and better each game. Do not be surprised if this matchup goes to the final minute as well.
Canada was challenged much more on this day as expected by Portugal and struggled at times to keep their offence clicking. It is not unusual for teams to lose their edge after winning so easily in a prior match. The 5:3 win was the best the Canadians could muster. They will face Italy in a game with great consequence to the standings on Day 3. Italy’s 11:1 defeat of Great Britain leaves them hope for a three-way tie if they can defeat Canada by enough of a margin, otherwise they will fall to third place, and a relegation/qualification game against a B-Pool club unavoidable.
Two of the B-Pool favourites, Austria and USA will battle for their division’s top spot and a shot at Switzerland instead of the powerful trio of CZE, IND, SVK. Austria placed themselves in contention by way of holding off Greece 4:4, which almost slipped from their grasp with the Greeks scoring three goals in the final 12 minutes of the game. The tie kept the Greeks hopes alive for second place depending on whether Austria will lose to USA and the dreaded +/- formula to break up a potential points deadlock if Greece were able to beat Hong Kong. It says here that Hong Kong will get its best game untracked for Day 3 and give Greece a good go. HK’s 2:13 loss to USA was certainly disappointing for the Asian team, but the tough lessons have been learned in the process of adapting to the International game at WC.
Arttu Viitanen provided the necessary heroics for Finland scoring late in the game to squeak past the defending B-Pool champ Pakistan 2:1. The table is set for Finland and Bermuda each tied with three points to claim the top two spots and A-Pool qualifying matches against Great Britain and perhaps Italy. Bermuda’s 6:3 win over Cayman supplied the needed points to make their game against Pakistan the opportunity they wanted. Pakistan must defeat Bermuda if it is to claim one of the two favoured positions, while Finland only needs a tie with Cayman. The matches for Day 3 promise to be very interesting as each has an impact on who faces the weaker Great Britain team and a decent chance at a birth in A-Pool quarter-finals.
Just what the script writer called for on the final day of round-robin play, more drama, and more heroics.

The drama of a World Championship is one its greatest attractions as you watch the story unfold with each day, sometimes assurring you of your predictions or expectations, and other times surprising or even shocking you. It is early days but already we can sense some change....[more]

The 15th Annual Mekong Cup Tournament was held in the beautiful tropical setting of the Amari Coral Beach Resort at Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009. The one-day ball hockey marathon hosted four teams: Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Petržalka, Slovakia. After an eventful round-robin, the tournament went into the Semi-Finals with Slovakia (1st) playing Singapore (4th) and Hong Kong (2nd) playing Bangkok (3rd). The two favorites won their semi-final matches, which squared off Hong Kong and Slovakia for a very exciting final rematch (after their round-robin match ended in a gritty 3-3 tie, with Slovakia finishing the round-robin in 1st place on goal differential)....[more]

The 26th of April 2009 saw the first organised tournament in some years, taking place at Virtual Ice in Rotherham. It was a small, but competitive event that went down to the last game. Four teams played in a six game round robin tournament, with the winners carrying off the first ever Apollo Flooring Cup....[more]

In the street hockey world we remember Robert Mueller as one of the best players to have ever played for Germany at our WC's as a forward, but in the ice hockey world he was an inspirational goaltender....[more]