BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A team of young Canadian ice hockey players are touring Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Beijing for friendly games and cultural events from May 26 to June 3.
The Titans, affiliated to CEGEP LIMOILOU college in Quebec Province, is the top U20 women ice hockey team in Canada. In the first half of the 2018-2019 season, the team has cumulated 25 wins and one loss, ranking top among Canada U20 Women Hockey Teams.
The girls can certainly play hockey, and they can also speak Chinese. Most of them are fans of Chinese culture and learned to speak the Chinese language at the Confucius Classroom in their college.
In Shenzhen, the team of 21 girls along with their coaches had two friendly matches on Monday and Tuesday with the KRS Vanke Rays, a professional women hockey team based in Shenzhen, the tech hub in southern China's Guangdong Province. They lost 0-4 in the first match but managed to turn the tide with a 7 to nil win in the second game, bringing home the Longgang Cup.
Pascal Dufresne, coach of the Titans, said he was impressed by the modern and friendly city of Shenzhen and surprised at the pace of development of hockey in China.
On Wednesday, the Canadian girls flew to Beijing where they will have a training match with the Chinese National Youth Team. They will visit some Chinese universities, cultural shows and the headquarters of the Confucius Institute to have a taste of the Chinese culture.
"I'm glad that we played in China and won our first Chinese title. I love Chinese food. Dumplings in Shenzhen tasted really good, although chopsticks are a bit challenging," Emmy Fecteau, captain of the team, said.
