SHEFFIELD, U.K. – It’s a quiet off season in Sheffield, but this week will see the annual Tri-Service Ice Hockey Championships return to the ‘Steel City’ for the fifth consecutive year as servicemen from all over the country will converge at Ice Sheffield and battle it out for silverware and bragging rights.
Flt Lt Phil Burlingham takes a shot on the netminder of RAF Leuchars Knights (Picture courtesy of Gareth Nutley)
The Championships run from the 12th-15th of June, with two different events taking place throughout the week.
During the daytime the individual military clubs compete against each other in a non-checking tournament for the Tri-Service Cup, with 4 teams from the RAF, 3 from the Royal Navy and 2 from the British Army, all ready to lay it down on the line and battle it out for their respective forces.
There is a reduced number of teams taking part compared to previous years, as all branches of the UK Military are busy helping support the upcoming London Olympics.
In the evenings, there is what are effectively 3 full-contact “All-Star” games, with each Service picking it’s best players from across the clubs to represent their Armed Force and compete for the Inter-Service Cup. Tuesday evening is the first of these games, with the Royal Navy Kings taking on the best of the British Army Blades. The loser of this game will play against the triple champion RAF Aces on Wednesday night, with the Cup Final game being played on Thursday night. All evening face-off times are 7:30pm.
RAF Benson & Brize Norton Bluewings and RAF Eastern Crusade (Picture courtesy of Gareth Nutley)
All the games are free to attend, so why not show your support for the Forces and the incredible job that they do for us on a daily basis, as well as getting a summertime hockey fix.
Senior Aircraftsmen Martin Fielding is playing in his first Tri-Service event as he will represent RAF Cosford Stars, “It’s my first time playing in the Championship this year, but I’m really looking forward to it and cant wait to get on the ice. All the forces have good banter and camaraderie with each other and I’m sure that will be the case on the ice as well,” Fielding said.
Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com
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