Asian Tournament - Day 4

Yes, I skipped “Day 3.” Yesterday was an off day, we had practice, rest and relaxation.

Today, we played one bad period and found ourselves unable to come from behind, losing 4-1 to Japan. This sets up a must-win against Kazakhstan to force a three-way tie for first place in the tournament.

After our game, there was a banquet for all the coaches, team leaders and officials. It was big enough to be a two-table banquet again. There were many toasts to the success and continued improvement of Asian Women’s Ice Hockey, and talk about future tournaments. The Kazakhstan group brought some homemade vodka to add to the Chinese “devil wine” and beer. It actually tasted much better than any of the Chinese wine I have had. I sat next to the president of Japanese Ice Hockey. He is 81 years old and a very nice man. He very much enjoyed the Kazakhstani Vodka.

That is all for tonight, a big final day tomorrow!

Below is a picture of a face-off vs. N. Korea with me looking "happy" on the bench: