First SEA Games Medal!
Singapore Men’s Ice Hockey team has clinched a historic silver medal at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the first medal for the sport at the Games.
Team Singapore was off to a flying start of 8-2 victory against Indonesia but lost to the Philippines and Thailand in the subsequent games with a score of 5-3 and 12-2 respectively. The team rebounded with a 14-3 win against Malaysia and defeated Philippines, the defending champions with a 4-3 score to advance to the finals. Thailand beat Singapore 8-0 to emerge the new titleholder this year. Host nation Philippines took the third placing.
Fielded by a younger squad averaging 27.5 years in age compared to the previous SEA Games lineup, the 20-men team this year ranged in age from 16 to 43 with ten debutants including three 16-year-olds.
Topping the scoring leader board for players from the five participating countries is 40-year-old James Kodrowski with nine goals, six assists and 15 points followed by 40-year-old Chew Wee at 13th position with two goals, seven assists and nine points,18-year-old Ethan Redden at 14th position scoring six goals, two assists and eight points. Other Singaporeans ranked among the top 30 players include 33-year-old Ignatius Ng Shi Wei at 23rd position with four goals, two assists and six points, with 17-year-old Christopher Michael Kelly-Wong Chung Min at the 27th place with one goal, four assists and five points, and 16-year-old Bryan Lee Shao Herng at 29th position with three goals, one assist and four points. For top goaltenders, 43-year-old Kenny Liang Chin Ming is ranked fourth with 124 saves.
Said Joewe Lam, Director of National Men’s Ice Hockey Team, “We have been proactively scouting and developing the next generation of players to ensure succession of the national squad. Despite being self-funded, the team has not let up on the trainings which extend past midnight with hefty venue rental and is proud to finally bring home a medal for Singapore in this SEA Games.”
Singapore ice hockey team made their first appearance at the SEA Games in 2017 where the squad finished fourth behind Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.
Statistics can be found here