Hockey Redmen head for Serbia & Hungary Dec 25, 07 Ice Hockey (M)

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL – The McGill University men’s hockey team is headed overseas for an 11-day trip to Serbia and Hungary, Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.

It will mark the ninth international voyage for the Redmen, who own a 25-25-3 lifetime record in competition against European clubs.

Because of their status as the world’s oldest existing hockey team, the McGill squad, which dates back to 1877, has been invited to play in the Vojvodina International Celebration of Hockey Tournament. The Redmen will take on the Serbian national team in Belgrade, Dec. 29, then play an all-star team of Serbian pro league imports in the city of Novi Sad, Dec. 30, followed by games against Dunaujvaros in Hungary, Jan. 3 and UTE in Budapest, Jan. 4.

During the trip, the McGill players and coaches will be conducting six instructional clinics for minor hockey, including four in Serbia and two in Hungary. Thanks to the cooperation of Nike Bauer Hockey, Ron Perowne and Alan Maislin, the Redmen have donated a Christmas gift of 25 bags, filled with new and used equipment, including 98 pairs of skates and four dozen hockey sticks – to Serbian minor hockey.

“We like to organize an overseas trip every few years,” says McGill head coach Martin Raymond, who previous participated on one of those trips as a player and four others as a coach. “It is not only a good recruiting tool for us but also serves as an excellent cultural exchange, a great opportunity for team building and it provides a feel for playing in Europe, where many of our players have had an opportunity to continue their hockey careers as a pro after graduating.”

In fact, 36 McGill hockey grads have gone on to play in Europe since 1983, including defenceman Daniel Jacob of Quebec City and goaltender Murray Cobb, a native of Roxboro, Que., who both currently play for HK Vojvodina and helped coordinate the trip.

Aside from a number of planned tours, the Redmen have been invited by Canadian ambassador Robert McDougall, to attend a reception at the Canadian embassy in Belgrade on Dec. 28. There will also be a team reception and planned lecture at the University of Novi Sad on Dec. 31.

The McGill men’s hockey team have previously travelled overseas to France (2004), Amsterdam & Germany (2000), Slovakia (1997), the United Kingdom (1994), France and Germany (1991), Czechoslovakia (1985) and Switzerland twice (1983 & 1981),

The Redmen will depart from Trudeau airport via Swissair on Dec. 26, land in Zurich the next day and catch a connecting flight to Belgrade. They are slated to return via the same route on Jan. 5 at 3:15 p.m.

PREVIOUS McGILL REDMEN RESULTS VS. EUROPEAN OPPONENTS:

DATE RESULT McG OPP OPPONENT
Dec. 20 1981 L 8 9 at Kloten HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 21 1981 L 2 3 at Visp HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 22 1981 L 3 6 at Lugano HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 26 1981 W 5 3 at Porrentruy HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 27 1981 W 3 1 at Wetzikon HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 21 1983 W 8 6 at Ajoie HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 22 1983 W 6 4 at Ambri-Piotta HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 26 1983 W 9 1 at St. Moritz HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 27 1983 W 8 2 at Visp HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 28 1983 T 4 4 at Langnau HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 29 1983 T 3 3 at Fribourg HC (Switzerland)
Dec. 30 1983 W 11 2 at Basel (Switzerland)
Aug. 27 1985 L 4 9 at Litvinov (Czechoslovakia)
Aug. 28 1985 L 5 6 at Slany (Czechoslovakia)
Aug. 29 1985 L 1 6 at Kladno (Czechoslovakia)
Sept. 2 1985 L 4 9 vs. Czech Nat'l Jrs (Czechoslovakia)
Sept. 3 1985 L 5 9 at Pribram (Czechoslovakia)
Sept. 4 1985 L 2 8 vs. Czech Nat'l Jrs (Czechoslovakia)
Sept. 6 1985 L 3 7 vs. Plzen (Czechoslovakia)
Sept. 7 1985 W 4 3 at Sokolov (Czechoslovakia)
Sept. 8 1985 L 5 6 vs. Czech Nat'l U18 (Czechoslovakia)
Sept. 9 1985 W 5 1 vs. Czech Nat'l U18 (Czechoslovakia)
Sept. 11 1985 L 4 10 vs. Czech Nat'l U18 (Czechoslovakia)
Jan. 1 1990 W 3 2 vs. Czech Selects (Czechoslovakia)
Jan. 2 1990 W 5 3 vs. Soviet Selects (Soviet Union)
Jan. 3 1990 W 6 3 vs. Czech Selects (Czechoslovakia)
Dec. 28 1991 W 9 2 at Baden Selects (Germany)
Dec. 29 1991 W 8 1 at Baden Rusty Raiders (Germany)
Dec. 30 1991 W 7 2 at Lahr Selects (Germany)
Jan. 2 1992 L 2 5 at Viry Chatillon (France)
Jan. 5 1992 W 3 0 at Baden Raiders (Germany)
Jan. 6 1992 W 10 3 at Wernau (Germany)
Dec. 28 1994 W 12 4 at Humberside (UK)
Dec. 29 1994 W 8 7 at Peterborough (UK)
Dec. 30 1994 L 3 11 at Great Britian Selects (UK)
Jan. 2 1995 L 2 9 at Fife Flyers (UK)
Jan. 4 1995 L 4 8 at Paisley Pirates (UK)
Jan. 5 1995 W 5 3 at Durham Wasps (UK)
Jan. 6 1995 W 6 4 at Great Britian Selects (UK)
Dec. 29 1997 L 3 5 vs. Plastika Nitra (Slovakia)
Dec. 30 1997 L 4 6 vs. Liptovsky Mikulas (Slovakia)
Jan. 2 1998 L 1 5 vs. Dubnica (Slovakia)
Jan. 3 1998 L 2 3 vs. Skalica (Slovakia)
Dec. 29 2000 L 4 6 at EHC Tilburg (Netherlands)
Jan. 2 2001 W 8 3 at EHC Sonthofen (Germany)
Jan. 4 2001 W 5 3 at EHC Schongau (Germany)
Jan. 6 2001 W 6 3 at EHC Ulm-Neu-Ulm (Germany)
Oct. 4 2002 W 8 2 vs. France Nat'l Jr. Team (in France)
Dec. 27 2004 L 3 9 vs. Russia Nat'l B Team (in France)
Dec. 28 2004 L 1 4 vs. Finland Nat'l B Team (in France)
Dec. 29 2004 L 0 2 vs. France Nat'l A Team (in France)
Dec. 31 2004 L 6 7 at Briancon (France)
Jan. 2 2005 T 4 4 at Morzine (France)