Tonight and tomorrow night, the Perth Arena will be hosting a sporting experience rarely seen on our antipodean shores.
It’s International Ice Hockey, the fast-paced, brutal winter sport known for its cult status in Canada.
USA and Canada will be battling it out for supremacy at Perth Arena before moving on to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
OUTinPerth spoke to Canada’s team captain Andrew Gordon and teammate Jordan Owens about the upcoming games.
“It’s my first time personally but it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit. I’ve wanted to play hockey here and go and visit Australia so you can’t go wrong. I think everyone is equally excited and we’re looking forward to playing.” said Owens.
“From what I hear from last year’s tournament the fans have been outstanding. I know the country’s crazy about their sports so I’m hoping they take to hockey the way they have to native sports in the area but I guess we’ll find out. ” said Gordon.
The boys also gave us the run down on their rivalry with the US team.
“We just all got together a couple of days ago and we’re getting to know each other so everything is good now but as athletes, when the puck drops we only know how to play the game one way and that’s hard and that’s to win. So I’m sure guys’ll get physical and things will be a little more intense when that rolls around. But we’re travelling together, we’re living in the hotel together so we’re all friends at this point.” said Gordon.
“We’re all professionals so we’re used to being able to turn it on and turn it off and compete when we need to and there’s a saying: ‘What happens on the ice, stays on the ice’ so we’re all pros and we’re all here enjoying it together.”
Sophie Joske
