Philippines men's national ice hockey team explained

Philippines
Badge:Federation of Ice Hockey League PH logo.png
Badge Size:200px
Association:Hockey Philippines
General Manager:Imelda Regencia
Coach:Juhani Ijäs
Asst Coach:Ian McGrath
Captain:Manvil Billones
Most Games:Lenard Lancero (31)
Top Scorer:Steven Füglister (51)
Most Points:Steven Füglister (106)
Iihf Code:PHI
Iihf Max:53
Iihf Max Date:2024
Iihf Min:55
Iihf Min Date:2023
First Game: 10–0
(Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong; September 13, 2014)
Largest Win: 17–1
(Pasay, Philippines; December 8, 2019)
Largest Loss: 10–1
(Pasay, Philippines; December 6, 2019)
World Champ Apps:2
World Champ First:2023
World Champ Best:50th (2024)
World Champ2 Name:Asian Winter Games
World Champ2 Apps:1
World Champ2 First:2017
World Champ2 Best:13th (2017)
Regional Name:IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia
Regional Cup Apps:2
Regional Cup First:2018
Regional Cup Best: 2nd (2019)
Regional2 Name:Southeast Asian Games
Regional2 Cup Apps:2
Regional2 Cup First:2017
Regional2 Cup Best: 1st (2017)
Record:25–8–0

The Philippines national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the Philippines. They are controlled by the Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL) and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since May 20, 2016. Prior to that period, a national team has played in regional tournaments in Hong Kong since the 2000s.

The Philippines is currently ranked 54th in the IIHF World Ranking and have entered in the World Championship since 2023. They have played in the Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia.

History

Early history

Prior to 2008, there were no organized leagues and an unofficial Philippine national team composed of players from selected clubs participated in regional tournaments.[1] One such unofficial national team was "Manila Pilipinas" that participated at the HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament in 2005. They were second runners-up team in the Bauhinia Division, the lowest of the three divisions in the invitational tournament.[2]

Starting 2008, ice hockey in the Philippines began to gain traction.[1] The Philippine national team participated again at the 2014 edition of the HKAHC invitational tournament. The team were champions of the Silver Plate Division, the second highest division in the tournament.[3] It was in this tournament that the Philippines played against another national side. They won 10–0[4] over a Macau squad, sanctioned by the Macau Ice Sports Federation.[5]

The Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL), a national ice hockey federation was then established in February 2015 to govern ice hockey in the Philippines[6] making efforts to organize a formal national team easier.[1]

2016: FIHL affiliation

The FIHL became an associate member of the IIHF on May 20, 2016[7] [8] and by July 2016, the federation also became a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). The FIHL's membership with these two bodies made them eligible to send national teams including a men's national team to the official tournaments such as the IIHF Asia and Oceania Championship (formerly the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia) and the Southeast Asian Games.[1]

The Philippine national team participated once again at the HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament for the 2016 edition. They settled for first runner-up place after they lost 4–3 in overtime to Mitsubishi Corp. in the Gold Plate Division final. They also played against the national team of Oman in the tournament.[9]

Official FIHL tournament debut

The Philippine national team participated at the 2017 Asian Winter Games,[10] which was their first official tournament.[11] They participated in Division II of the tournament.[12] The team, captained by Swiss-Filipino, Steven Füglister,[13] underwent a seven-month training which started in July 2016 prior to the competition.[14]

The team lost 10–5 in their first official match against Kyrgyzstan.[15] Philippines secured their first official win as a FIHL member when they defeated Qatar with a score of 14–2[16] and was followed by an 8–3 triumph against Kuwait, who were competing as the Independent Olympic Athletes. The team finished third in their division following their 9–2 win over Macau in the play-off for third place.[15]

2017 Southeast Asian Games

The Philippines participated at an ice hockey tournament event of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.[17] To prepare for the tournament, they participated at the 2017 Philippine Ice Hockey Tournament which was held at the SM Megamall Skating Rink in Mandaluyong.[18] The national team finished third behind second placed New York-based Islanders Red and first placed Singaporean side Pandoo Nation.[19]

The Philippine national team mentored by Czech head coach Daniel Brodan[20] started their Southeast Asian Games campaign with a 12–0 victory over Indonesia.[21] This was followed by their game against Singapore which ended with a 7–2 triumph.[22]

This was then followed by their game against Malaysia which saw the ejection of the Philippine captain, Steven Füglister from the game in the first period. He was given a game misconduct penalty for hitting a Malaysian player in a head while pursuing the puck although the skipper said the infraction was an unintentional accident.[23] The match ended with a 7–7 tie after regulation time after an extra five-minute-period which led to a shootout. The Philippines outscored Malaysia to register a win.[22]

The Malaysian organizers decided to suspend Fuglister for the final match against Thailand. The Philippines appealed this decision but failed to overturn the suspension.[23] Despite playing sans their captain, the Philippines wrapped up their campaign, undefeated with a 5–4 win over Thailand and clinched the first ever ice hockey gold medal in the history of the regional tournament.[24]

2018 and 2019 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia

The Philippines hosted the Top Division of the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia from April 3 to 8, 2018, their first IIHF-sanctioned tournament, at the SM Mall of Asia Ice Skating Rink in Pasay, Metro Manila.[25] The team was mentored by American head coach, Jonathan De Castro.[26] The national team settled for bronze after tying in points with champions Mongolia and runners-up Thailand. Goal differences of the three teams with matches against the two other teams, Kuwait and Singapore, disregarded was used as tiebreaker to determine the final standing.[27] The national team improved its best finish in the tournament in the following edition of the tournament in 2019 hosted in Malaysia. They lost to Mongolia in the final settling for second place.[28]

2019 Southeast Asian Games

The Philippines failed to defend their Southeast Asian Games title at home in the 2019 edition of the regional games settling for a bronze medal finish.

Kaspersky, an internet security firm, sponsored their participation in the regional games.[29]

IIHF World Championships

The Philippines' ice hockey governing body, the Federation of Ice Hockey League, from 2017, projects the national team's first participation in the IIHF World Championships within three to five years.[30] They have applied to participate in the inaugural Division IV of the World Championships for the 2020 edition.[28] [31] However the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[32] The 2021 Division IV tournament would also get cancelled. The Philippines' debut in the World Championship would be further postponed, after it withdrew from the 2022 Division IV tournament citing inability to train due to closure of ice rinks in the past two years due to the pandemic.[33] [34]

By August 2022, ice rinks have reopened[35] and in October 2022, Finnish instructor Juhani Ijäs has been appointed as head coach and program director of the Philippine national team.[36]

They would finally make their World Championship debut by taking part in the 2023 Division IV tournament in Mongolia. They swept all three games against Indonesia, the hosts, and Kuwait to earn a promotion to Division III.[37] [38]

Tournament record

World Championships

width=30Yearwidth=150Hostwidth=120Resultwidth=30width=30width=30width=30width=30
Not an IIHF member
did not enter
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
All lower division tournaments
cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[39]
2022Withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic[40]
202352nd place
3 2 1 0 0
50th place
5 2 0 0 3
Total 2/3 8 4 1 0 3

Asian Winter Games

width=30Yearwidth=150Hostwidth=120Resultwidth=30width=30width=30width=30width=30
did not enter
13th place
4 3 0 0 1
Total 1/1 4 3 0 0 1

Challenge Cup of Asia

width=30Yearwidth=150Hostwidth=120Resultwidth=30width=30width=30width=30width=30
did not participate
3rd Place 4 3 0 0 1
2nd Place 5 4 0 0 1
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Total 2/12 9 7 0 0 2

Southeast Asian Games

width=30Yearwidth=150Hostwidth=120Resultwidth=30width=30width=30width=30width=30
1st place 4 3 1 0 0
3rd Place 6 4 0 0 2
Total 2/2 10 7 1 0 2

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 IIHF World Championship Division IV.[41]

Head coach: Juhani Ijäs

No.Pos.NameHeightWeightBirthdateClub
1.72m (05.64feet) 72abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
1.82m (05.97feet) 96abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Mustangs
1.75m (05.74feet) 98abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Mustangs
1.66m (05.45feet) 80abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
11 1.78m (05.84feet) 89abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Mustangs
12 1.85m (06.07feet) 90abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Mustangs
13 1.73m (05.68feet) 72abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
14 1.63m (05.35feet) 65abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
16 1.72m (05.64feet) 66abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
18 1.68m (05.51feet) 58abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Mustangs
20 1.65m (05.41feet) 52abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
22 1.7m (05.6feet) 56abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
24 1.73m (05.68feet) 72abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Mustangs
25 1.85m (06.07feet) 90abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
29 1.72m (05.64feet) 78abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
30 1.83m (06feet) 90abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Bearcats
31 1.75m (05.74feet) 75abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
61 1.73m (05.68feet) 75abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
69 1.77m (05.81feet) 75abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks
97 1.7m (05.6feet) 63abbr=onNaNabbr=on 2023 3, df=yes Manila Hawks

Coaching history

YearCoach
2017 Daniel Brodan8610120
2018 Jonathan De Castro5400112
2019 Daniel Brodan[42] 11800324
2022– 321008

Fixtures and results

See main article: Philippines men's national ice hockey team fixtures and results.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A cooling trend. 30 September 2016. IIHF. 28 July 2016.
  2. Web site: Japan Team Wins Hong Kong Hockey Tournament. Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club. 12 December 2017.
  3. Web site: 2014 HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament. Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club. 12 December 2017. en, zh.
  4. Web site: 2014 HKAHC Tour Schedule. Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club. 12 December 2017.
  5. Web site: 2014 HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament Teams. 12 December 2017. en, zh.
  6. Web site: Henson. Joaquin. Pinoys break ice in hockey. The Philippine Star. 30 September 2016. 25 October 2015.
  7. Web site: Philippines. IIHF. 30 September 2016.
  8. Web site: IIHF grows in Asia. 21 May 2016. iihf.com. 30 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160520133841/http://www.iihfworlds2016.com/en/news/iihf-grows-in-asia/. 20 May 2016. dead.
  9. Web site: 2016 HKAHC Tour Schedule. Hong Kong Amateur Club. 12 December 2017.
  10. News: 29 Filipino athletes to compete in 2017 Asian Winter Games . . Manila, Philippines . 25 November 2016 . 25 November 2016 .
  11. News: Southeast Asian newcomers. 2 March 2017. IIHF. 1 March 2017.
  12. News: PH hockey team off to Japan for Asian Winter Games. 17 February 2017. ABS-CBN News. 16 February 2017.
  13. Web site: Steven Füglister at eliteprospects.com. www.eliteprospects.com.
  14. News: Gamboa. Ray Butch. Ice hockey for Pinoys – why not. 25 February 2017. The Philippine Star. 25 February 2017.
  15. News: PH Ice Hockey Team ranks 3rd in Asian Winter Games. 2 March 2017. Philippine News Agency. 28 February 2017.
  16. News: Ellis. Steven. Philippines Win First Official Game, Thailand in Good Standing. 25 February 2017. National Teams of Hockey. Eurohockey.com. 23 February 2017.
  17. Web site: Exciting times for Asia. IIHF. 6 February 2017.
  18. News: Terrado. Reuben. PHIT tournament a big part of Philippine ice hockey team's buildup for SEA Games. 12 December 2017. Sports Interactive Network Philippines. 16 June 2017.
  19. News: Quest:2017 Philippine Ice Hockey Tournament. 12 December 2017. Business & Leisure. Sunshine Television. 12 December 2017.
  20. Web site: Team Roster Philippines (PHI) – Ice Hockey Southeast Asian Games. 21 August 2017. IIHF. 20 August 2017.
  21. News: SEA Games: PH ice hockey team shuts down Indonesia. 21 August 2017. ABS-CBN News. 21 August 2017.
  22. News: Terrado. Reuben. Philippine ice hockey team moves past Malaysia and into gold medal match against Thais. 24 August 2017. Sports Interactive Network Philippines. 24 August 2017.
  23. News: Valderrama. Aeron Paul. Tough ordeals make historic gold worth it for Ice Hockey Team. 4 September 2017. Tiebreaker Times. 2 September 2017.
  24. News: Songalia. Ryan. Philippines defeats Thailand to win first ever SEA Games ice hockey gold. 24 August 2017. Rappler. 24 August 2017.
  25. News: Manez. Mark. Philippines hosts 2018 IIHF Challenge Cup. 9 April 2018. Dugout Philippines. 27 March 2018.
  26. Web site: IIHF Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia – Team Roster (PHI – Philippines). 3 April 2018. IIHF. 2 April 2018.
  27. News: Palmer. Dan. Mongolia win IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia on goal difference. 9 April 2018. Inside the Games. Dunsar Media Company Limited. 8 April 2018.
  28. News: Valderama . Aeron Paul . Philippine Hockey Team goes one better with silver in Challenge Cup 2019 . 9 March 2019 . Tiebreaker Times . 9 March 2019.
  29. News: PH ice hockey, tennis teams for 30th SEA Games get support from Kaspersky . 15 July 2019 . Philippine Information Agency . 12 July 2019.
  30. News: After SEA Games, Pinoy Mighty Ducks now eye World Championships. 4 September 2017. 31 August 2017.
  31. News: Philippine hockey jersey displayed in Toronto Hockey Hall of Fame . 26 June 2019 . The Philippine Star . 26 June 2019.
  32. Web site: IIHF cancels March tournaments. IIHF. 2 March 2020.
  33. News: Merk . Martin . Debut for Philippines postponed . 14 December 2021 . 13 December 2021 . . en.
  34. News: Mangubat . Lio . Unable to train for 18 months, PH withdraws from hockey world championships . 14 December 2021 . Sports Interactive Network Philippines . 14 December 2021 . en.
  35. News: ICE to see you again at SM Skating . 5 October 2022 . Manila Bulletin . 11 August 2022.
  36. News: Cua . Aric John Sy . Hockey Philippines hails new coach . 5 October 2022 . The Manila Times . 6 October 2022 . en.
  37. Web site: Golden debut for the Philippines. IIHF. 27 March 2023.
  38. News: Fuertes . Rommel Jr . PH hockey team earns promotion after unbeaten campaign . 28 March 2023 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . 28 March 2023 . en.
  39. Web site: IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations. IIHF. 18 November 2020.
  40. Web site: Debut for Philippines postponed. 13 December 2021. IIHF. 13 December 2021.
  41. Web site: Philippines . 28 March 2023 . . en.
  42. Web site: IIHF – Philippines (2019 Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia) . . 3 March 2019.