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Volume 47 Niiiiiber3 329 Bro6< iway. 3eth| 3age, HV! J7i4 ' J a i i i i a r y ^ 23- 29,200 PA3i: ( 516) 681-^ 354 £ ittitii; Ku22u< iaoicom 50 Cents
It all started with a bunch of kids that played on a house league team
together that became friends with ceil phones and text messages. They
began arranging breakfast outings after games, inviting all of the parents
and players. A night of hot wings or a pizza party was arranged by one
of the players whenever possible.
When the opportunity came from the New York Islanders to win a
trip to play hockey in China, Mustang players and parents were pos-sessed
with the possibility. Three weeks later the Team sold 3938 tickets
to a New York Islander vs. Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game. It was a
game that the Islanders won and an unforgettable experience for the
Mustangs.
The 12 day trip for the Players and coaches was a gift from the
Islanders Children foundation and many parents decided to accompany
the team on this 8000 mile journey at their own expense.
On December 26th ' at 1 pm 45 people were off on a 15 hour plane
ride with Brian Trottier and Dan Bedard of the Islanders to Harbin
China to play in an international hockey tournament.
There was a team from Finland, three teams from China and this
group of talented house league players that were suddenly Team U. S. A.
The worst part of traveling is always the traveling. From when we
left our homes to checking in the hotel after two plane rides and a bus
trip we were awake for about 30 hours.
It was time for some rest.
The next morning, ( or was it the middle of the night our time?) we met
with some incredible people in China that were so happy to have us
there. We were in the hotel with the team from Finland, and started to
slowly make friends all over again. The whole event, run like an
Olympic event, was put on by the same people who plan to bring a
Chinese team to the Olympics in 2014. There was an opening ceremony
as well as an opening banquet where all the teams were present. The
players of each team had to perfomi a skit on stage ( we lost that event);
but It did not matter, we still heard many times " USA NUHMBA ONE!"
from our new Chinese friends.
We trained with the wonderful and talented Brian Trottier as well as
the other teams before the games began. That was when ice hockey
began to really create a connection with all these 11- 13 year olds. These
kids who did not speak the same language off the ice used hockey as the
common thread to start getting to know and understand each other. The
ill ill pi
• LWl'iii
smiles and friendly faces along with some good hockey was awe inspiring.
When the games began we exchanged gifts at the blue line with the other teams
and then came together as a team. The usual pre game pep chant that used to be " o. k.
Lets go everyone. Mustangs on three 1.. 2.. 3... MUSTANGS!" was now changed to
" o. k. everyone USA on three 1.. 2.. 3 U. S. A." As a coach it was pretty amazing to
think that this group of kids were listed in the program and known to everyone
around us as TEAM USA.
The games themselves were well played as we won two and lost three. But win-ning
and losing was not what this was about. We got to see the Great Wall of China,
which was previously unimaginable. We got to play in our version of the Winter
Classic on New Years Day in Harbin, where the temperature was about minus 5 f.
We saw some amazing sites and met some fantastic people. We got to bring our
friendly faces to a group of people that know very little about us. We certainly stood
out in Harbin, a large Chinese city near Russia, where everyone wanted to take our
picture.
All in all the trip was incredible, a truly once in a lifetime experience and would
not have been possible with out Charle., Wang of the New York Islanders, all the
great people of Nassau County Hockey and most of a l l , the kids. They came togeth-er
at Cantiague Park ice rink. They brought their parents together, and now with
Project Hope and the Islanders Children foundation, they came to know and unr''"
stand kids from the other side of the world. Ice hockey was what started it all.
Coach Bill Nimmo
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | Bethpage-Tribune_2009-01-23 |
| Subject | Newspaper |
| Description | This is a Newspaper distributed locally within Bethpage, Old Bethpage, Island Trees, Plainedge and Seaford. |
| Creator | Florence Cullem |
| Publisher | Florence Cullem |
| Contributors | Scanned and Prepared by Hudson Microimaging, Port Ewen, New York 12466. |
| Date | 2010 |
| Type | Periodical |
| Format | PDF; TIFF |
| Source | Bethpage Public Library |
| Language | English |
| Coverage | United States |
| Rights | The Newspaper is in the public Domain and Digital Rights Held by Bethpage Public Library. |
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