World's oldest hockey team returns to Old World Dec 31, 07 Ice Hockey (M)

By JAMES MIRTLE, The Globe and Mail

The world's oldest hockey team is back on a European odyssey, and this time the McGill Redmen are spending the holiday season facing all-stars in Serbia and club teams in Hungary.

It's old-time hockey meets the Old World, with the university club participating in a five-team tournament called the Vojvodina International Celebration of Hockey.

Founded in 1877, McGill's team has a long history of playing European teams during the break after Christmas, and this marks the 11th excursion over the past 26 years for the school.

"We like to organize an overseas trip every few years," head coach Martin Raymond says.

"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 pros after graduating."

Raymond, a former Redmen captain, knows the route well, having won a bronze medal with Canada at the 1991 Spengler Cup before playing a year of professional hockey in Germany after his university hockey career.

This year's trip is Raymond's sixth with McGill, as he previously headed overseas once as a player and four times as a coach.

The Redmen opened their tour with a 7-3 win over the Serbian Selects on Saturday night in Belgrade, and followed with a 3-1 victory against an all-star team last night in Novi Sad, Serbia.

The trip also involves a bit of Canadian hockey spirit, as the Redmen teamed up with Nike Bauer Hockey and other sponsors to donate 98 pairs of skates and other equipment to Serbian minor hockey.

The sport is still in its infancy in the war-ravaged region, and the high cost of equipment and ice time remains a major barrier for continued growth.

Serbia's national team is ranked 30th in the International Ice Hockey Federation world rankings.

Hungary, where McGill will play club teams on Thursday and Friday, is ranked 21st.

Over the years, the Redmen have met their fair share of difficult European opposition. They lost 6-3 to Switzerland's Lugano HC in 1981 and were pounded 11-3 by a team of British all-stars in 1994.

The team won just twice during an 11-game tour through Czechoslovakia in 1985.

In recent years, McGill faced professional teams in Slovakia, the Netherlands, Germany and France, and even lost a narrow, 2-0 decision to the French national team three years ago during an exhibition contest in Megève.

Barnaby's back

Barnaby Craddock, coach of the year in Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball last year, will face his old team, the Brandon Bobcats, on Thursday night for the first time.

Craddock made quite a splash in two seasons with the Bobcats, guiding the program to a 30-12 record and a berth in the 2007 national championship tournament.

A Vancouver native, he left Brandon to join the fledgling University College of the Fraser Valley Cascades program in Abbotsford, B.C., in the off-season.

The Cascades, 5-7, will likely have their hands full with the Bobcats, 9-1, who are ranked fifth in the country.