2023 Arab Cup of Ice Hockey

[FrHockeyFan]

Kuwait is hosting an 8-team Arab Cup of Ice Hockey from tomorrow onwards. Algeria, Lebanon, Oman, Tunisia as well as non-IIHF members Bahrein, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are participating.

Representatives from Morocco, Qatar and UAE will also be there.

There was a first Arab Cup back in 2008, followed by 4 GCC Cups from 2010 to 2016 and a GCC Games tournament last year, all won by UAE.

KUNA : Kuwait to host Arab Ice Hockey Championship in May

Kuwait Ice Hockey Association

www.ihfkw.com

Arab Cup - National Teams of Ice Hockey

GROUP A ALGERIA BAHRAIN KUWAIT TUNISIA GROUP B EGYPT LEBANON OMAN JEDDAH EAGLES DATE VENUE MATCH RESULTS 05/07/23 Kuwait Oman - Egypt 9 - 4 Video 05/07/23 Kuwait Bahrain - Algeria 6 - 5 OT Video 05/07/23 Kuwait Jeddah Eagles - Lebanon 1 - 7 05/07/23 Kuwait Kuwait - Tunisia 11 - 4 05/08/23 Kuwait

nationalteamsoficehockey.com

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[FrHockeyFan]

Had a quick look at rosters on EP. Like 15 years ago, there are 2 approaches. On one hand, you have the diaspora teams for Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon and, on the other, you get hired guns lined up with local players. Russians are the main trend this time around except for Kuwait going with a mix of local expats and Slovakians.

I know things seems mellowing on the diplomatic front but it's definitely weird to see a couple of Iranian NT players donning the Saudi jersey.

Elite Prospects - Team Standings Arab Cup

Complete team standings from Arab Cup

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[FrHockeyFan]

Group stage is done. In Group A, host Kuwait cruised quietly to the semifinals while Bahrein secured their spot yesterday by beating Tunisia. Algeria finishes last but still got relatively decent results.

In Group B, Lebanon and Oman had already secured their semifinal spots before facing off yesterday. The last 20 turned into a rout and the Lebanese ended up scoring one more goal in that game than their other two combined. Egypt took third place by winning over the Jeddah Eagles representing Saudi Arabia. 29-15 SOG in the last 20 alone (58-30 in the entire game).

In the semifinals, Kuwait faces Oman while Lebanon takes on Bahrein. In the placement games, Tunisia plays the Jeddah Eagles and Egypt vs Algeria.

Scoring table is dominated by the hired guns taking the top 8 spots. Lebanese Zakaria Jomaa is the first "national" with 6 points, 9 less than leader Artem Surov "from" Oman.

 

[Albatros]

Some decent national scoring today with Tunisia's Adrien Sebag having a 3+4=7 performance against the Saudis (24:3 win). Aziz Baazzi (who's also a regular with Team France) not much behind with his 6 assists.

 

[mattihp]

Had a quick look at rosters on EP. Like 15 years ago, there are 2 approaches. On one hand, you have the diaspora teams for Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon and, on the other, you get hired guns lined up with local players. Russians are the main trend this time around except for Kuwait going with a mix of local expats and Slovakians.

I know things seems mellowing on the diplomatic front but it's definitely weird to see a couple of Iranian NT players donning the Saudi jersey.

Elite Prospects - Team Standings Arab Cup

Complete team standings from Arab Cup

www.eliteprospects.com

Interesting player choices. Just filling out rosters or paying guys to play? Seppenen is good enough to play for Estonia, no ties to Egypt, really. Should have been the standout guy here. But wasn't even the starter..

 

[FrHockeyFan]

Kuwait will face Lebanon in the final. I would say Lebanon seems a better rounded team but i feel Kuwait's foreigners will make the difference.

Algeria got their first win and will play Tunisia for 5th place.

Interesting player choices. Just filling out rosters or paying guys to play? Seppenen is good enough to play for Estonia, no ties to Egypt, really. Should have been the standout guy here. But wasn't even the starter..

I would say a mix of both depending on the team. In his case it seems he joined the team after their opening game. Probably in town for a job as he fits the profile for Eastern Europeans playing in that part of the world.

On another note, an Arab Ice Hockey Federation has been set up this week with the 11 countries I mentioned in the opening post. Kuwait's Al Ajmi will be it's president for the next four years. UAE's Jumaa Al Dhaheri and Khaled Al Maneri from Morocco are the vice-presidents.

كونا : الكويتي فهيد العجمي أول رئيس للاتحاد العربي لهوكي الجليد

First, what about Russian-backed Association for the Development of Ice Hockey of Islamic Countries? Is it already dead or some want their own private club? I would say the second one, not that i was expecting much from the Association anyway. Second, I wonder how Karim Kerbouche feels about all of this. The Kuwaitis are presenting the tournament and the federation as brand new ideas, conveniently forgetting it was tried 15 years ago and he was the one who got the ball rolling back then. Not expecting a public statement from him to remind them as it would obviously be detrimental for both him and Algerian hockey but it must sting a little bit.

 

[FrHockeyFan]

And Lebanon takes the trophy home with 5 unanswered goals in the second half of the game after a pretty even first one. Congrats to them!

Oman takes third place while Algeria ended the tournament on a strong note with a second win. Egypt finishes seventh.