The Richmond Devils took to the international stage Tuesday night and showed just exactly what they are capable of.
The current frontrunners in the South Coast Women’s Hockey League, featuring 15 homegrown players in their line-up, went toe-to-toe with the Chinese national team before dropping a 2-1 decision in front of a packed arena at the Richmond Ice Centre. The game was part of an exhibition series for Team China that concludes this weekend with two more games in Richmond — on Saturday against the SCWHL Selects at Minoru (6:30 p.m.) and Sunday versus the Pacific Steelers at the Olympic Oval (7 p.m.).
Devils head coach Tony Cheema didn’t know what to expect against the world’s 15th ranked team. His squad is off to its best-ever regular season start (5-0-0) but this was against an opponent that trains year-round with a full-time professional staff.
The Chinese team is typically based out of Ontario as it tries to elevate its game over the next six years — leading up to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. An intense schedule includes further games in Europe in the coming months in preparation for the 2017 Group B Division II World Hockey Championships in New Zealand next April.
The Devils got off to a tentative start and were hemmed in their own zone for the opening minutes of play. However, they slowly gained confidence and realized they could more than hold their own.
Richmond generated some excellent chances in the second period but it was Mengying Zhang who opened the scoring for China. The ‘Lady Dragons’ made it 2-0 in the opening minute of the third period before Meadow Ridge pick-up Kirsten Langston put the hosts on the board with 3:23 remaining.
“One of the first things I told the girls after the game is they showed me another level they are capable of,” said Cheema. “I was very proud of them and was a lot of fun.
“I think they were a little intimidated at first, just with the opening ceremonies and seeing all the coverage this team was getting. It’s something they weren’t used to.”
While the team’s may have been fairly even in skills and “hockey sense” China figured to have a significant advantage from a fitness standpoint — training seven days a week with a full-time strength and conditioning coach.
“That was something I was thinking about before the game,” added Cheema. “Our girls are in fairly good shape but it was playing three stop time periods against a team where hockey is their jobs. They really showed me something.”
The Devils’ Nicole Lim will be in the SCWHL Selects line-up for Saturday’s game at Minoru.
