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All the news for Monday 6 January 2014

U.S. Women's Indoor Squad Displayed Continued Growth in Germany

The Women's U.S. National Indoor Team concluded fierce tournament play today at the Der Pokal der Messestadt in Leipzig, Germany. After four games, the team finished 0-2-2 at the event.

The final match for Team USA came against UHC Hamburg. UHC Hamburg struck first in the tenth minute off of a penalty corner and again in the 29th minute in field play. UHC Hamburg’s final goal came a minute later during a penalty corner. Despite putting up a strong fight, Team USA was unable to get on the score board, resulting in a 0-3 loss.

UHC Hamburg went on to win the tournament, beating SC Charlottenburg 9-4 in the championship match.

UHC Hamburg was the first team that the women came up against who pulled their goal keeper in exchange for adding another field player at many points in the game. The extra field player added a difficult dimension to the match, one which Team USA looks forward to practicing upon its return to the states.

“This is the first women’s team we saw trade an extra field player for the goalkeeper every time that they had an outlet opportunity,” said Nicky Hitchens, USA Women's Indoor Hockey Manager. “Most of the men’s teams here are doing it, but it really changes the game playing four plus a goal keeper against their five field players for half of the game. It is definitely something for us to experiment with when we get home!”

Despite match results, the tournament was a great learning experience for Team USA as they prepare for the Pan American Indoor Cup.

USFHA media release

Black Sticks men eye World League Final



The Black Sticks Men are set to kick start the new year with a bang when they contest the World League Final in New Delhi from 10-19 January.

Head coach Colin Batch has announced his team of 18 players, which features a versatile combination of experience and young firepower.

Southern defender Kane Russell has been rewarded for his sublime form at the recent Junior World Cup where he finished as third top scorer overall with seven goals from penalty corner drag flicks.

Russell brings strength and defensive instinct to the Black Sticks backline alongside veterans Dean Couzins and Nick Haig.

“I had a bit of a bad run with injury last year so I wanted to go out and prove a point at the Junior World Cup,” Russell said.

“Colin has pointed out he likes my attacking style of defence, so I’m really happy to be in the team and am looking forward to the opportunity to play an important role.”

Capital striker Jacob Smith has earned a call-up from the Development Squad and will add speed and a high work rate up front with fellow strikers Hugo Inglis, Blair Hilton, Simon Child, Stephen Jenness and Marcus Child.

The Black Sticks will play Germany, England and India during pool play at the World League Final before facing a sudden death crossover quarter final. Australia, Netherlands, Belgium and Argentina are in Pool B.

Coach Batch is looking forward to what will be a tough challenge against eight of the world’s top sides.

“We continue to grow as a team and have been focussed on our preparation for the World League Final which will be another step forward in our progression,” he said.

“Next year is a busy schedule with Champions Challenge, World Cup and Commonwealth Games among other games, so we’re hoping to start the year on a positive note and build momentum.”

The Black Sticks’ opening game at the World League Final is against Olympic champions Germany on Saturday 11th January at 1.30am (NZ time).

Black Sticks – World League Pool Games

Jan 11th – NZL v GER at 1.30am
Jan 12th – NZL v IND at 3.30am
Jan 13th – NZL v ENG at 9.30pm

BLACK STICKS MEN
World League Final, India
January 10-19, 2014

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Belgium aims to better its world ranking in HWL Final

NEW DELHI: For ever-improving Belgium, the upcoming Hero Hockey World League Final is like a "mini World Cup", which will provide them with an opportunity to better their current fifth position in the world rankings, according to its coach Marc Lammers.

"This tournament is like mini World Cup where the top 8 hockey teams are competing to win the inaugural title of Hero Hockey World League. This team ranks 5th in the world but we aim to come out a better team post this tournament," Lammers said after his side's practice session at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here today.

In Australia, a tough opponent awaits Belgium in the opening match of the tournament on Friday.

"We have our best team for the league with just 4 new players in the squad and hence the boys have to live up to the expectation that they have built over the years," Lammers said.

Belgium captain John Dohmen was of the view in such a tournament one cannot afford to take any team lightly.

"It's the top 8 hockey teams who will be competing against each other hence no one should be considered as underdogs. Any team can win on any given day and hence we aim to play good hockey and win our matches and keep going ahead in the tournament," he said.

"We want to take each match as it comes and will play as per strategy on that given day."

The Times of India

NSW win Australian Indoor titles

New South Wales take men's & women's Open Indoor National Champs crowns



New South Wales took both the men’s and women’s titles at the Open Indoor National Championships in Wollongong over the weekend with victories over Australian Capital Territory and Victoria respectively.

For the NSW men a 6-0 win over ACT completed a 100% record at the championships and represented a significantly larger margin than the 6-5 result played out earlier in the tournament. Australian U21 national team player Flynn Ogilvie chipped in with two goals adding to strikes by Nigel Croke, Sukneet Singhota, Ben Poulton and Simon Beaton.

The NSW women took their title courtesy of a 4-1 win over Victoria. Kirsten Pearce opened the scoring in the 15th minute and Emma McLeish doubled the advantage on the stroke of half time. Kary Chau gave Victoria hope with six minutes remaining when she halved the deficit but in the final two minutes of the match NSW struck twice; Emily Wong and Kirsten Pearce securing the national indoor title for New South Wales.

The Western Australian men finish third ahead of fourth placed Victoria thanks to a 3-1 win over the Victorians. David Orr’s double and one from Edward Welch sealed third place with Stuart Callander on the score sheet for Victoria.

In the battle for fifth place in the men’s championship Queensland were never behind in their tussle with Tasmania, winning 3-2 thanks to goals from Brad Cox, Adam McLelland and Tristan Parker. Alistair McBain had equalised for the Tasmanians just after half time and Jye Blunt took the Tassie men to within one goal late on but Queensland held on.

In the women’s championship, Queensland finished third courtesy of a 4-2 win over Western Australia. In a tight back and forth contest WA’s Lauren Australia equalised Queenslander Lauren Richards’ early goal only for Ashlea Fey to put Queensland back in front. Nicole Serafini levelled for WA but strikes by Fey and Amy Swann sealed victory for Queensland.

In the fifth-sixth women’s playoff ACT and South Australia put on quite a show with ACT coming from behind to come out on top in an eight goal thriller - 5-3 the final score. ACT’s Stef Kindon netted a hat-trick, backed up by strikes from Naomi Evans and Jenna Cartwright while South Australia’s goals came from Ashleigh Morrison and a Holly Evans double.

Final Standings
Men’s Open Indoor National Championships
1. NSW
2. ACT
3. WA
4. VIC
5. QLD
6. TAS

Women’s Open Indoor National Championships
1. NSW
2. VIC
3. QLD
4. WA
5. ACT
6. SA

Hockey Australia media release

Australian 2014 Indoor squads named

Women's, men's & men's development squads named in prep for Indoor World Cup 2015

Following the conclusion of the women's and men's Open Indoor National Championships in Wollongong, NSW, at the weekend, Australian selectors have named the indoor squads that will be prepare for next year's Indoor World Cup in Germany.

The announcement comes as Australia's indoor men's and women's sides (selected from the 2013 squads) fly to Europe to take on some of the best opponents the indoor game has to offer. The Aussie women are set to play a three nation series in Brussels against Belgium and France this weekend while the men fly straight to Poland where they will take on the highly respected Poles.

Further information about the squads' 2014 schedules will be announced shortly. The Indoor World Cup will take place in Leipzig, Germany, in January 2015.

2014 Women's Indoor Squad

Lauren Austin (WA)
Tegan Boucher (VIC)
Emily Carroll (WA)
Jenna Cartwright (ACT)
Kary Chau (VIC)
Kalina Commerford (ACT)
Clare Comerford (QLD)
Holly Evans (SA)
Lisa Farrell (NSW)
Ashlea Fey (QLD)
Kyah Gray (NSW)
Tamsin Lee (NSW)
Emma McLeish (NSW)
Kirsten-Leigh Pearce (NSW)
Makaela Potts (NSW)
Lauren Richards (QLD)
Claire Rieck (NSW)
Emily Riordan (VIC)
Emily Seccull (VIC)
Nicole Serrafini (WA)
Aleisha Smith (NSW)
Rebecca Sneskov (VIC)
Renee Taylor (QLD)
Erica Trahar (VIC)
Shelley Watson (ACT)
Renee Taylor (QLD)
Erica Trahar (VIC)
Shelley Watson (ACT)

+ two athletes (Lyndal Scerri & Pam Williams) subject to medical fitness

2014 Men's Indoor Squad

Tom Allan (VIC)
Garry Backhaus (ACT)
Simon Beaton (NSW)
Malcolm Beer (ACT)
David Cox (TAS)
Nigel Croke (NSW)
Tim Deavin (TAS)
Matthew Defina (VIC)
Chris Hotchis (ACT)
Daniel Hotchis (ACT)
Matthew Hotchis (ACT)
Evan Kelly (WA)
Paul MacKinnon (ACT)
Adam McLelland (QLD)
Flynn Ogilvie (NSW)
Heath Ogilvie (NSW)
Kurt Ogilvie (NSW)
Seyi Onitiri (ACT)
David Orr (WA)
Darren Parkes (WA)
Matthew Perry (NSW)
Ben Poulton (NSW)
Ben Rennie (WA)
Troy Rossiter (TAS)
Blake Sanford (NSW)
Thomas Sinclair (VIC)
David Spence (TAS)
Andrew Tomadini (ACT)

2014 Men's Indoor Development Squad

Matthew Argent (QLD)
Scott Boucher (VIC)
Bradley Clarke (WA)
Bradley Cox (QLD)
Jonathan Ellis (WA)
Mark Ellis (WA)
Timothy Everist (VIC)
Brodie Gleeson (TAS)
Jeremy Huk (NSW)
Connor Hutchins (TAS)
Dougal Middleton (TAS)
Alex Montgomery (NSW)
Matthew Pembroke (QLD)
Brenton Perry (VIC)
Brodie Sarre (WA)
Adam Seccull (VIC)
Ben Seccull (VIC)
Jake Sherren (VIC)

Hockey Australia media release

East Grinstead go unbeaten and lead march into semi finals


Maxinutrition 5s, East Grinstead

EAST Grinstead secured top spot in the Premier Division of the Maxinutrition 5s Men’s Championship at St George’s Park in Burton on Sunday.

But they will be joined in the semi finals by three other strong teams who battled their way into the top four to book their places at Wembley - Reading, Canterbury and Holcombe.

A great team performance saw five different scorers hit the target for East Grinstead in a 5-2 win over Loughborough Students. Hotshot Mark Pearn showed his credentials in front of goal once again, scoring a hat-trick in the next game, a 6-2 win over Bowdon.

Reading finish second but had a difficult start to their day. They faced rock-bottom Doncaster but the South Yorkshire side proved to be no pushovers and it took goals from captain Richard Springham and Darren Cheesman to nick a 2-0 win.

Reading looked far more dominant in their second game as they survived a spirited comeback in the second half from Holcombe to win 10-5.

Canterbury booked their place in the semi-finals by finishing third. They lost 9-6 to Sevenoaks in their first game with George Torry in inspired form, hitting five goals to leave Canterbury needing a win in their final game against Beeston.

But Beeston also needed to win to secure their play-off spot and a hectic game ensued. Sam Ward looked to fire Beeston to victory with four goals but Canterbury were determined to outshoot their opponents with Ben Allberry grabbing a hat-trick and Hardeep Jawanda going one better with a personal haul of four. When the dust settled, the score was 13-6 to Canterbury.

With Beeston, Sevenoaks and Holcombe all gunning for the final play-off spot, it was Holcombe who finally clinched it on goal difference. They picked themselves up from their defeat to Reading and beat Doncaster 5-4. Captain Richard Lane led from the front with three goals.

Doncaster and Loughborough are relegated, with neither side managing to win a game.

Surbiton lead Division One after wins against Team Bath Buccaneers and Bournville, although there are still games to play.

The Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Finals will be played on 2 February 2014 at Wembley Arena. You can get more information and buy tickets at www.englandhockey.co.uk/maxi5s

Results from Sunday, January 5 2014:

Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Championship Men’s Premier Division: Canterbury 6, Sevenoaks 9; Reading 2, Doncaster 0; East Grinstead 5, Loughborough Students 2; Beeston 6, Canterbury 13; Holcombe 5, Reading 10; Bowdon 2, East Grinstead 6; Sevenoaks 7, Beeston 6; Doncaster 4, Holcombe 5; Loughborough Students 4, Bowdon 6.

Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Championship Men’s Division One: Surbiton 7, Team Bath Buccaneers 4; Brooklands 3, Cannock 3; Hampstead & Westminster 3, Southgate 4; Havant 4, Old Loughtonians 5; Bournville 2, Surbiton 9; Team Bath Buccaneers 7, Brooklands 6; Cannock 4, Hampstead & Westminster 5; Southgate 7, Havant 1; Old Loughtonians 5, Bournville 7.

Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Championship Men’s Division Two (North): Preston 6, Havering 5; Cheltenham 2, Sheffield Hallam 4; Harleston Magpies 9, Barford Tigers 5; Sheffield Hallam 6, Preston 2; Havering 3, Harleston Magpies 8; Barford Tigers 5, Cheltenham 7; Preston 2, Harleston Magpies 6; Sheffield Hallam 5, Cheltenham 3.

Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Championship Men’s Division Two (South): Wimbledon 8, St Albans 2; Indian Gymkhana 10, West Herts 12; Ashmoor 2, Chelmsford 3; West Herts 6, Wimbledon 12; St Albans 3, Ashmoor 4; Chelmsford 4, Indian Gymkhana 15; Wimbledon 11, Ashmoor 2; West Herts 8, Chelmsford 2; St Albans 4, Indian Gymkhana 7.

England Hockey Board Media release

Bowdon take top spot from Slough in women's Premier Division


Kerry Hall Bowdon Maxinutrition 5s

UNDEFEATED Bowdon Hightown wrestled top spot from Slough in the final day of league matches to book their place in the semi finals, where they will be joined by Slough, Reading and Canterbury.

Bowdon kept a keen eye on the opening game which featured the two sides they would play, Slough and Harleston Magpies. The game ended in a 2-2 draw and Bowdon Hightown knew that they would finish top if they could win their games.

Tina Cullen, Michelle Liptrot and Sally Walton all scored twice as they beat Harleston Magpies 6-2 and then, in the big game of the day, they beat Slough 4-2 with Sally Walton scoring twice again.

Reading secured the third play-off position with consummate ease, first beating Sutton Coldfield 8-0 and then Olton and West Warwickshire 10-3. Ellie Cockburn was in great form once again, scoring five times over the two games.

It came down to Canterbury or East Grinstead for the final play-off spot. Canterbury beat Leicester 7-3 with Nikki Lloyd getting a hat-trick and Nikki Kidd scoring four.

East Grinstead had to win their game - also against Leicester - to stay in contention. And they did just that, Sophie Bray leading the scoring in an 8-6 win.

It came down to a tense decider, with the two sides meeting in their final games. Player/Coach Jen Wilson proved to be the key player in the game as her hat-trick fired Canterbury to a 7-4 win and into the play-offs.

At the other end of the table, last year’s semi-finalists Leicester are relegated after winning just one game. They are joined by Olton and West Warwickshire.

University of Birmingham currently lead Division One by a single point after recording three wins and a draw so far.

The Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Finals will be played on 2 February 2014 at Wembley Arena. You can get more information and buy tickets at www.englandhockey.co.uk/maxi5s

Results from Sunday, January 5 2014:

Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Championship Women’s Premier Division: Harleston Magpies 2, Slough 2; Leicester 3, Canterbury 7; Reading 8, Sutton Coldfield 0; Bowdon Hightown 6, Harelston Magpies 2; East Grinstead 8, Leicester 6; Olton & West Warwickshire 3, Reading 10; Slough 2, Bowdon Hightown 4; Canterbury 7, East Grinstead 4; Sutton Coldfield 5, Olton & West Warwickshire 4.

Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Championship Women’s Division One: Bristol Firebrands 3, Brooklands Poynton 8; Sevenoaks 2, Clifton 5; Wakefield 3, Surbiton 8; Buckingham 2, Chelmsford 3; University of Birmingham 4, Bristol Firebrands 2; Brooklands 4, Sevenoaks 2; Clifton 6, Wakefield 3; Surbiton 4, Buckingham 6; Chelmsford 2, University of Birmingham 2.

Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Championship Women’s Division Two North: Army 3, Oxford Hawks 5; Gloucester City 2, Liverpool Sefton 1; Lichfield 1, Stourport 7; Liverpool Sefton 4, Army 5; Oxford Hawks 8, Lichfield 2; Stourport 4, Gloucester City 4; Army 5, Lichfield 3; Liverpool Sefton 7, Stourport 11; Oxford Hawks 7, Gloucester City 2.

Maxinutrition Hockey 5s Championship Women’s Division Two South: Holcombe 3, Trojans 2; Old Loughtonians 2, Ipswich 1; St Albans 1, Horsham 3; Ipswich 4, Holcombe 3; Trojans 1, St Albans 7; Horsham 4, Old Loughtonians 3; Holcombe 3, St Albans 3; Ipswich 2, Horsham 2; Trojans 2, Old Loughtonians 6.

England Hockey Board Media release

Malacca side want to stir the pot in MJHL

By S. Ramaguru


A Malacca High School player (right) jostling for the ball with BJSS player in a junior hockey game in 2012. - MHS emerged as Div 2 runner up in the Malaysian Junior Hockey League that year. - Filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: After three years of moulding the team, Malacca High School (MHS) are ready to challenge the big guns in Division One of the MHC-Milo-NSC Malaysia Junior Hockey League (MJHL) this season.

MHS coach K. Manogaran said they had kept most of the players together since 2010 so they have an experienced side to mount a strong challenge this year.

“Seven of the players are 18 while another seven are 17-year-olds. Another four are between 15 and 16. We are not only talking about exposing the players but about doing well this season,” said Manogaran.

“The players have had the experience playing in the MJHL, the National Under-21 Championships and other age-group tournaments over the years. We do not have any specific target other than to improve with each game and challenge the title contenders,” he added.

MHS have also included three players who are studying in different schools in Malacca. They are Mohamed Aidil Azmi (SMK St David), Mohamed Zairie Mohd Nizam (SMK St Francis Institute) and Amir Wafiq Aizari Kamaruddin (SMK Selandar).

“The three players are talented and joined the daily training despite studying in other schools. They will fit in as they are familiar with our players,” said Manogaran.

MHS’ best-ever finish in the MJHL was runners-up to Sapura in Division Two in 2012.

They are optimistic that they have what it takes to make the cut for the quarter-finals again. Last year, they reached the last eight before

losing to Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).

Manogaran said the draw also favoured his side as four of their six matches will be played at home.

They start off with a home tie against Anderson-Perak SEDC on Jan 11 followed by two away matches against Kuala Lumpur Sports School (KLSS) Juniors and Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MBPJ) the following weekend.

They complete the preliminary round at home with games against UniKL, SSTMI Juniors and SSTMI-Thunderbolt.

“We must target at least nine points in our four home matches in order to have a chance to make the top four in the standings and qualify for the knockout stage.

“We have to collect some points from our away matches as well. It will be a tough competition and I believe SSTMI-Thunderbolt will be the team to beat in the battle for the title.”

The Star of Malaysia