KRS Shenzhen powers through first group

4 December 2023

Last week saw KRS Shenzhen take its bow in the Chinese Women’s Hockey League. Having previously competed in the CWHL and the Russian Women’s Hockey League, this was the moment for the girls to take it back home and play in China’s domestic championship for the first time.

And with good reason. Competing in foreign tournaments has brought fantastic experience for the team. However, since the spring of 2020 it has meant that our team – which forms the nucleus of the national program – has been based outside of its homeland. Returning to play in this tournament means we can play in China, inspiring the next generation of Chinese girls to take up the sport and forging closer connections with the homegrown talent competing in the national championship. With China’s national team returning to the Elite Division of the World Championship later this season, that’s a big deal for the development of our sport.

This year’s tournament is in four stages. The first three are week-long round-robin events, staged in different cities across China. Then, the top teams advance to a playoff tournament in Beijing in the new year. The action got underway in Qiqihar, a hockey heartland in Heilongjiang province where several of our players grew up.

It was a gruelling schedule of six games in eight days. But the Dragons rose to the challenge magnificently. Despite falling behind in the opener against Beijing, the team rallied to take a 4-1 verdict and went on to win all six. That meant top spot in the group with an emphatic goal differential across of 33-4.

It was great to see some big contributions from our homegrown talents. Kong Minghui was the first Chinese-born player to score for the team in this competition, completing a 4-1 win over Beijing. That was just the start. Yu Baiwei, a veteran on this team and captain of the national side, scored in four consecutive games. Pi Yunlin and Zhao Qinan also chipped in with big goals, while Wang Yuqing performed brilliantly to blank host team Qiqihar in a 3-0 win (22 saves). Wang also shared a shut-out with Song Tianxin as the Dragons crushed Shanghai 8-0 in the following game. Defender Liu Zhixin also found the net in her hometown tourney.

Our international contingent also played its part. Kaitlyn Tougas was prolific throughout the tournament, especially against Harbin where she had 4+2 in a 7-1 win. Ryleigh Houston was similarly effective, peaking with 5 (2+3) in that thrashing of Shanghai, while Danielle Fox marked her debut in pro hockey with a goal in the 4-1 win over Beijing and added three more during the tournament. We also saw goaltending legend Noora Raty join the bench staff for the first time in pro hockey, and her huge experience backstopping team Finland to World Championship and Olympic medals clearly helped our girls develop their game.

For head coach Ivo Mocek, this was a first look at his new charges, and he was happy with the way they knuckled down after an awkward start against Beijing.

“I was really glad about how the players adapted and stuck with the plan,” he said. “That’s how we scored our goals.”

As for the tournament as a whole, Mocek was impressed with what he saw.

“On the other teams there were some very skilled and talented young Chinese players,” he said. “On our team you can tell we have the top talent from the Chinese players and they showed it. Overall I think there was definitely some good quality hockey here.”

The Lady Dragons are back in action in Harbin later this week, with the second group phase starting on Dec. 7.