ICE HOCKEY POPULAR

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28346, 3 August 1957, Page 5

ICE HOCKEY POPULAR

Ice hockey, a sport very popular overseas, especially in Canada, the United States and Germany, is gaining popularity in Canterbury.

The game has not been played in this province for long, and the Canterbury Ice Hockey Association has only been functioning: since 1953. This association is the governing body of the sport, which has its headquarters in Christchurch. The association aims to foster the sport and organise matches among teams in the .city. There are three clubs in Christchurch at present with teams. They are International. Canterbury and Centaurus. There is also a Richmond team from Christchurch and a Windwhistle side in MidCanterbury which have played matches against local teams.

About one-third of the players in Christchurch are from overseas countries and they have assisted in the establishment of the game here. One club player, John Van Bergriend, was a junior international player for Holland before he emigrated to New Zealand. Competitions

There are 60 active members in the city who are enthusiastic supporters of ice hockey. Matches are played every Monday evening aihpng the Christchurch teams and several charity matches have been played on Sundays. For these matches each club holds six members and the rest are put into a pool. These men are drawn from the pool as required; any player can be removed from his team and replaced by a man from the pool. Overseas teams are made up of as many as 12 players as there may be up to six substitutes. Under the rules of the sport, if all the substitutes have, participated in thie game and there is not a full tegfri on one side, the other team rriust drop sufficient players to even numbers. In ice hockey there are not only pen*alty goals as jn other sports, but also by which players may be sen&pff: the ice for certain periods time in the match. Players are ‘'ruled off.” for up to 10 minutes usually, depending on the severity of the offence. Although ice hockey has a name which sv«£gests a version of hockey played it is really a game in its own right, with little similarity to hockey. The game is claimed to be. one of the fastest in the wpr r r