In celebration of youth hockey, the New York Islanders recently hosted the 2010 Lighthouse International Tournament as peewee hockey teams (ages 11-13) from Finland, China, Japan and the United States converged on the Nassau Coliseum ice.
Team Nassau made it to the semifinals, but was taken out by Team China, with a score of 8-2. Team China then went on to a championship game against Team Suffolk, where they fell, losing 6-2. Suffolk County was named the Tournament gold medal winner. Immediately after the game, there was a medal ceremony with special presenters, Islanders General Manager Garth Snow and Team President Chris Dey.
The tournament, which took place in late January, came on the heels of the Charles Wang Project Hope Tournament that the Junior Islanders attended over the Christmas and New Year’s break. The Junior Islanders won the tournament and took home a trophy and an experience that they will never forget.
About Project Hope/Lighthouse International Tournament – Since Charles B. Wang Ice Hockey Project Hope was founded in 2004, more than 25 rinks have been built in China. Thousands of sets of ice hockey equipment have been donated. Along with the addition of facilities and equipment, clinics have been set-up throughout China to help further the skills of the young Chinese players.
Prior to the formation of Project Hope, there were only 2,000 youth hockey players in a country whose population is over one billion. Thanks to Project Hope, there are six times as many young Chinese playing hockey.
