Warriors Continue Winning Ways; Defeat Tycoons

March 12, Hong Kong - The Kowloon XPAT Warriors won their fifth straight game Thursday with a 5-2 victory over the HKBN Hong Kong Tycoons. Warriors veteran power forward Devin Welsh earned the first star accolades for his efforts, contributing 1 goal and 2 assists. Ashley Bock was steady once again, making 34 saves on 36 shots. Much like last week, the Tycoons came out of the gate hot in the first period. Wily forward Lucas Eshleman received a neutral zone pass from Patrick Hayes at 12:37 and weaved his way into the offensive zone. He decided to keep on the three on two, firing a quick snap shot from the left dot that beat Bock over the glove hand. The lead lasted just over a minute however, as the Warriors stormed back scoring a shorthanded goal scored by Welsh. The Manitoba native drove the net and made no mistake after receiving a pass from an on form Gregory Smyth. Defenceman David Belluche would go on to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead 7:30 into the first when he ripped home a snap shot through Tycoons goalie Emerson Keung. The second period saw the teams trade a pair of goals. At 14:32 First overall pick of the LPP expansion draft, Elliott Steele, sniped top corner on a nice passing play, tying the game up at two apiece. Tycoons’ top defenceman Nate Allen fed the puck down low to Jimi Fanstone, who bumped it to Steele in the slot. Three minutes later, Jake McDonnell tucked in a goal, cutting to the net off a cycle play with Smyth and Connor Quinn, putting Kowloon back in front. The Tycoons were motivated going for the third period, knowing a comeback win would vault them into third place. The morale was flattened almost right away however, with Smyth connecting with Welsh once again at 14:45. McDonnell put the game beyond all reasonable doubt at 10:19 after a nifty backhand pass from U18 Moses Chang bringing the game to its ultimate 5-2 conclusion. The Tycoons playoff hopes aren’t done yet, they still have two games left to gain points and attempt to steal that third and final playoff seed.

Sharks Topple Struggling Aces

March 12, Hong Kong - In a pivotal matchup Thursday evening in week 15 of CIHL play, the Scotiabank South China Sharks toppled the Manulife Macau Aces by a score of 7-3. The win vaults the Sharks into sole possession of second place with only 2 regular season games remaining. The Aces meanwhile, have lost 4 of their last 5 and risk missing playoffs, sitting just 1 point up on the Hong Kong Tycoons for the third and final playoff spot. Sharks’ captain Jordan So willed his team to victory in Thursday night’s monumental clash in Kowloon Bay. So opened the scoring just 55 seconds into the first when the Aces failed to clear the puck out of their zone. Hong Kong National Team defenceman Ryan Wong chipped it to So, who walked in and went backhand on Horrance Cheung, who was dressing in his second consecutive game for the Aces. Macau got one back three minutes later when Whitney Olsen stepped up into the play, looking like a spry college player. Olsen put the Sharks’ defencemen on their heels before making a sublime drop pass to rookie stand-out Spencer Cameron in the slot, who buried the shot glove side. A couple minutes later, the Aces broke out of their own zone onto an odd-manned rush and local product Yi Yam elected to shoot, beating the top shelf blocker side on Sharks’ net-minder King Ho. That lead was short lived however, as So stepped up and buried two more goals of his own in the period, both assisted by Jasper Tang to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission. All the motivational speeches proved to be ineffective for the Aces as their hopes of a comeback in the third was quashed quickly as Sharks scored three consecutive goals put the game out of reach. There will be a three week hiatus in CIHL play due to scheduled renovations at Mega Ice. This is a welcome break for the Aces who have some soul searching to do in order to get this season back on track. They will face the first place Kowloon Warriors in April while the Sharks will do battle with the scrappy Hong Kong Tycoons.

Tycoons Get Two Crucial Points in Win over Aces

March 5, Hong Kong - The HKBN Hong Kong Tycoons were the better team from start to finish against the Manulife Macau Aces on Thursday night, earning a colossal two points in the standings with a 6-3 victory. Goaltender Emerson Keung was sharp in the affair, stopping 32 shots and earning the first star of the evening. Tycoons' Elliott Steele capitalized on his chances with two goals while usual suspect Lucas Eshleman also deposited a pair for his team. The Aces started the game off the mark by taking a penalty on the first shift. From there they appeared to be chasing the game all night, unable to get much going offensively. Tycoons’ captain and heart and soul player, Jonathan Szychta opened the scoring at 12:18 on a quick, cross crease pass from Matthew Nuttall. Steele converted at 9:27 on a solo effort, making the score 2-0 in favour of the early on. The bleeding wouldn’t stop for Macau with veteran Jimi Fanstone registering his 73rd career goal for the Tycoons. The Hong Kong talisman was sprung on a breakaway by a pass from Patrick Hayes and made no mistake on goaltender Horrance Cheung. The Aces got one back late in the period on the power play when Francis Lam beat Keung, potting one in over the goaltender’s blocker. The second frame saw both teams trade opportunities however the Tycoons continued to stymy the Aces’ offence. The only goal of the period came in the last minute of play when Steele pick-pocketed an Aces’ defenceman and skated the length of the ice before going high glove on Cheung. It was a back breaker for the Aces who found themselves in a familiar trailing position heading into the third. Eshleman would make it 5-1 at 10:07 for Hong Kong before a pair of late goals from Jon Allen and Lam gave Macau a glimmer of hope. An empty net marker from Eshleman clinched the victory for Hong Kong, their second on the bounce. The Aces continue to struggle and will be searching for answers late in the season if they hope to cling to their current play-off spot.

Warriors Batter Sharks; Clinch First Place

March 5, Hong Kong - On Thursday evening in Week 14 of CIHL play, the Kowloon AsiaXPAT Warriors secured first seed for regular season play, with a commanding 10-7 win over the Scotiabank South China Sharks. The win gives the Warriors a direct bye to the Scotiabank Cup, while the other three teams jockey for play-off positioning. Leading scorer Connor Quinn controlled the pace of play from the back end for the Warriors, registering two goals and four assists. The Warriors got more offence from their veteran captain Gregory Smyth, who had a hat trick and an assist on the night while Jamie Stark scored an incredible four uninterrupted goals for South China. With the Sharks down 8-6 heading into the third, the Sharks mounted a desperate attempt to avoid their third straight defeat. Stark hammered in his fourth uninterrupted goal on a scramble at 8:49. It would be as close as his squad would get though, with Belluche and Smyth adding insurance markers and tallying the score to 10-7 in their favour. The Warriors can relax in their final three games with first place clinched, while the Sharks are now in real danger of missing out on the post-season, sitting a single point above a rejuvenated Hong Kong Tycoons team.

Tycoons Impress in Strong Outing; Topple Sharks

February 27 - The HKBN Hong Kong Tycoons picked a good time to have their strongest game of the year, impressing a raucous crowd with a full team effort and defeating the Scotiabank South China Sharks 7-3. CIHL fan-favourite Lucas Eshleman was buzzing all evening, creating chances with his opportunistic style of play and ending the night with three goals and two assists. MegaIce was filled with rowdy fans on Thursday night to help cheer on the Tycoons squad who needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Among those in attendance were Tycoons alumni Gregg Rockman and Kory Kaunisto. Power forward Kaunisto and British goaltender Rockman won a championship with the Tycoons in the 2017-2018 season. Their presence in the stands appeared to spur the team in yellow, who came out flying on all cylinders. The Tycoons will look to carry this momentum into next week when they take on the Macau in a crucial encounter that could help to determine the third and final play-off spot. The Sharks meanwhile will look to end a two game skid when they face off against a high flying Kowloon Warriors side.