Canada and the USA took the initiative to test the new International Hockey Federation rules of Indoor Hockey Fives with a series of 3 exhibition matches on Aug 3 and 4 at the Sportsplex in Feasterville, Pennsylvania.
Canada tied the first match 4-4. Kri Shier scored a pair of goals while Anna Easty and Stephanie Snyder added singles. With a 5-hour break, Game 2 saw Canada fall 7-1. Shier scored Canada’s lone goal at the final buzzer on a penalty corner. Sunday, the Canadians were down by 4 but clawed back to reduce the gap to 4-2. Shannon Pereira and Kyesia O’Neale found the back of the net for Canada. Easty, Pereira, O’Neale and Snyder recorded their first ever international goals.
Canada’s Indoor program is not only committed to the development of its athletes but its umpires as well. As a result, they invited Candice Hawksworth to join the Can-Am test series for her first international opportunity to officiate.
The Indoor program accomplished its objective of getting some competition and experimenting with new systems in the fives format in the early stages of its preparation for the upcoming Pan American Indoor Cup in April 2014 in Montevideo, Uruguay which serves as a qualifier for the Indoor World Cup.
This new format will have its challenges but will be exciting for spectators to watch.
We’d like to thank the USA Indoor Program for hosting Canada to make this event possible.
Lastly, congratulations to Alison Chute, Anna Easty, Alison Lee, Shannon Pereira, Stephanie Snyder, Madison Thompson and Frankie Vondrejs for earning their first international (indoor) caps.
