Happy Homecoming for KRS Shenzhen

7 January 2024

It’s been a long time, but the Lady Dragons finally got back home to Shenzhen. Our club has been unable to play at our Universiade Arena in the spring of 2020 due to Covid restrictions. In that time, of course, we were able to stage an international tournament in Shenzhen, with China memorably winning Division IA gold and returning to the top level of world women’s ice hockey. But this week saw KRS make its long-awaited return in the final group stage of the Chinese Women’s League.

It was a particularly big occasion for Liu Zhixin. One of our defensive core, she was unable to play here with Team China last year after suffering an injury in Russian Women’s League action. This time, she was back to join her colleagues on home ice at last.

The week also saw presentations to two more players who completed 100 games for the club. Yu Baiwei reached that landmark during an earlier tournament in Harbin, becoming the 11^th woman to complete a century of games. Then, during the Shenzhen tournament, Zhu Rui joined her on that roll of honor. Both players received commemorative jerseys.

On the ice, KRS once again enjoyed a clean sweep of the opposition. Encouragingly, though, the competition is getting stronger. Our game against Beijing was settled by a solitary goal from Kaitlyn Tougas alongside a stellar performance from goalie He Siye. Then our final fixture saw the Lady Dragons come from behind to beat Qiqihar 2-1 on two goals from Ryleigh Houston. It might seem paradoxical to get more satisfaction from tight, hard-fought wins than the free-scoring blow-outs we’ve handed out in other games. But, don’t forget, this tournament is about developing Chinese hockey. The more competitive the opposition, the more our players learn and the greater depth Team China can call upon at the World Championship later this season.

Once again, this tournament saw a home-grown talent announce herself in some style. Zhao Han, a 16-year-old forward, made her KRS debut and grabbed a hat-trick in a 13-0 demolition of Sichuan in the opening game. That’s a great start to a promising career, and hopefully we’ll be hearing much more about Zhao’s progress in the future.

Results:

Dec. 30: KRS 13 Sichuan 0
Dec. 31: KRS 7 Harbin 1
Jan. 1: KRS 9 Shanghai 2
Jan. 4: KRS 1 Beijing 0
Jan. 5: KRS 5 Hebei 0
Jan. 6: KRS 2 Qiqihar 1

The Shenzhen tournament completes the three group stages of the Chinese Women’s Championship. The playoffs follow at the end of the month in Beijing, with KRS red-hot favorites to take the title.