Jamaica’s senior men’s ice hockey team, fresh from their triumph in Chicago last month in the ongoing Challenger series being played against Puerto Rico and Lebanon, will open their account the next leg in New York on June 7.

The first match will see the Jamaicans tackling Puerto Rico at 10:00 am, after which they go up against Lebanon at 8:00 pm.

The return fixtures are scheduled for the following day against Puerto Rico at 7:50 pm, and on Sunday, June 9 against Lebanon. All games will be played at Clark Gillies Arena in Long Island and Jamaica Ice Hockey Federation President Don Anderson said he hopes that the team will have strong support from Jamaicans in New York.

“The team is expected to be strengthened by the inclusion of some of our top players who were unable to make the Chicago matches,” Anderson said in a news release.

“Although not getting the opportunity to play together before competition, due to commitments to their regular teams, they have demonstrated natural chemistry on each occasion and have been able to blend very easily on match days,” Anderson added and pointed out that the team will have one practice session on June 6.

He noted that the Jamaicans topped the Chicago leg of the series winning three of the four matches to end with six points, scoring most goals (25) and with the leading goal scorer in Taos Jordan who scored 12.

“After losing the first match 11-6 against Lebanon, the team rallied in the next three beating Puerto Rico 6-3 and 5-4 and Lebanon 7-6,” Anderson said.

He said the Jamaicans played with a numerical disadvantage in all four games as they had 14 players available, five short of what the other teams fielded, and lost one player, 18-year-old Maleek McGowan, in the third match from a concussion.

He took no further part in the tournament.

“Since 2019 when the team first played together our record stands at 15 wins and just three losses, scoring over 100 goals in the process and conceding less than 40. These have included big victories over Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico,” Anderson said.

“The team’s success has attracted the attention of the NHL Players’ Association and Jamaica is regularly represented at the half-yearly international congresses,” added Anderson, who was instrumental in getting the ice hockey movement started in 2011.

He said he is very encouraged by the start that the team has made and is particularly pleased with the level of commitment shown by the players, all of whom are of Jamaican descent and “proud and extremely excited about representing their country”.

He noted that due to a shortage of funds, “some players have actually paid their way to play for their country”.

The Challenger series is a new tournament played across three cities, with Toronto being the third and final stop in July.