Author: Daniel Price
Editor: Noel Cavernelis
Following their historic gold medal in the 2023 Hockey11 Finnish Championship, the men’s team travelled to Oslo to compete in the EuroHockey Club Challenge III. From the 6th to the 9th of June, seven teams from six countries: Finland, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden vied for two spots in Challenge II the following year.
We arrived in Oslo in high spirits. For many of the team it was our first time competing internationally and we were eager to play somewhere new and face different teams.
Friday – Match One
In our first match on Friday, we faced the host club Mortensrud-Aker SK (MASK) in a very close contest. They scored the only goal at minute 23. Our confidence was undeterred because it was our first match of the year and a promising start all things considered. Importantly it also gave us our first point on the board, gained by losing by only one or two goals.
Saturday – Match Two
On Saturday we faced Valhalla Landhockey Club from Sweden. We were only one goal ahead at half-time, with everything still to play for. Early into the third period we extended the lead with a textbook build-up from the back and a heroic run into the circle by Hayden Gwindi (see video below).
Valhalla pulled one back, and we ended the third period 2-1. In the 50th minute we made it 3-1 but this was followed by three yellow cards, two for us and one for Valhalla, giving them an advantage in the final seven minutes. Our defence held, and we increased our lead to 4-1 with an overtime penalty corner. This denied them a point on the board by extending the goal difference to three.
Sunday – Match Three
On Sunday we faced HK Lipovci from Slovenia in a tightly contested match that featured just one penalty corner, ours, from which we were unable to score. Lipovci started strong and we ended the first period 2-0 down. We responded in the final minute of the second quarter to end 2-1 down at half-time. They went on to extend their lead with a third goal in the fourth period to secure a 3-1 victory. Crucially, we gained another point on the board from the goal difference.
The result against Lipovci left us second in our pool, only one point ahead of MASK, who had the final match of the day, against Valhalla, still to play. To finish second, and qualify for the promotion match on Monday we unfortunately needed the hosts to lose. The whole team gathered to watch what became one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament. Tension ran high as Valhalla pulled level at 2-2 in the 48th minute, then took the lead 3-2 in the 54th. MASK hit back almost immediately with a penalty corner to make it 3-3 in the 55th, but just a minute later, Valhalla struck again to seal a 4-3 victory. MASK had earned a point to equal our own total, but we pulled ahead due to overall goal difference and were set to play the winner of the other pool on Monday for promotion.
Monday – Final Match
Monday’s final saw us take on the unbeaten Vilnius Žuvedra HC from Lithuania. Despite eight penalty corners in total (five for them, three for us), it was once again a battle of field goals. While we clawed back one goal in the third period, Žuvedra were able to score in each quarter to finish 4-1 up and secure promotion to Challenge II. Although the result didn’t go our way, we left it all on the field and walked off proud of our performance.
At the prize ceremony we discovered that we had taken two of the three individual awards. Jobanvir Khaira was chosen as the best goalkeeper, and Lauri Ondreka was chosen as the best player of the tournament. Well-deserved honours for both players!
Back Home
Now that we’re safely back in Finland, with no injuries beyond scrapes and bruises, I have some reflections and thanks to make. Firstly on behalf of the team I must thank the host club, MASK, for their exceptional hospitality, as well as all of the volunteers and organisers who made the tournament run so smoothly. A special thank you goes to club and national association President Khuram Shehzad, for leading such an incredible welcoming event. Thank you also to all of the other teams and officials who made the tournament possible.
Next I must thank our own club President, Bikramjit Singh, for his support leading up to the event and his patience with my flurry of organisational messages. More importantly I’m grateful that he flew with the team to fill the role of team manager. Without this, I would have been unable to play because the manager is not allowed to do both. I also need to thank our Coach and Captain, Alex van Hooren, who flew in from Vaasa to join us despite playing no hockey at all since last year. His passionate energy kept the team motivated both off and on the pitch.
I also extend my gratitude to our fellow Finnish team, HT-85. The cooperation and mutual-support we had was an excellent reflection of the spirit of hockey in Finland.
Finally, I want to express my deepest thanks to the team. You committed fully to this, without knowing the location, the final cost, or who we would be playing. Despite not having a full team, you still went for it, gave everything, and we finished joint third at our first international tournament. This is an incredible achievement, and one we can all be proud of. It has been an honour to share the pitch with you, and I look forward to doing it all again next year.
| Shirt # | Player |
|---|---|
| 2 | Lauri Ondreka |
| 7 | Elmeri Rihtilä |
| 9 | Alex van Hooren (C) |
| 10 | Jeremy Lui |
| 11 | Paramprit Gill |
| 13 | Daniel Price |
| 15 | Manraj Singh |
| 16 | Jobanvir Khaira (GK) |
| 18 | Floris van Doorn |
| 19 | Arjunjit Singh |
| 22 | Ranjit Gill |
| 23 | Noa Sallinen |
| 24 | Hayden Gwindi |
| 25 | Massimo Ruohonen |
| 99 | Gurdit Gill |
Related links
Official results: https://eurohockey.altiusrt.com/competitions/365
EuroHockey pre-tournament write-up: https://www.eurohockey.org/oslo-and-mortensrud-set-to-host-first-ever-euro-club-event-with-challenge-iii
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