Cayman made their debut at the 6th World International Street and Ball Hockey Federation championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, trouncing Mexico 15-0 and placing 14th overall.
Led by General Manager Bassel Durzi, The Cayman Hurricaness fielded 22 players and two coaches.
Sixteen teams took part in the playoffs. Ball hockey is similar to ice hockey, but played on a grass pitch.
Cayman beat Mexico in a high-scoring opener, distinguished by the island’s aggressive offence.
Team Austria, Cayman’s first European opponent, came out strong and took an early lead.
Cayman worked hard to score four unanswered goals however, taking the victory and fixing their record at 2-0.
For the second time in two days, players and audience stood while the Cayman flag was raised and the Cayman national anthem was played in the arena.
Despite a subsequent loss to team Portugal, Cayman met world-ranked No. 4 Switzerland, gaining a chance to achieve a No. 8 ranking.
Unfortunately, the Portugal game was played within seven hours of the Swiss match, placing the Hurricanes at a severe disadvantage.
The Swiss came out strong, but Cayman took a 1-0 lead in the first period and held on through the second.
ISBHF president and other officials began gathering in the arena during the third period to witness the impending upset.
Even the normally spirited Swiss fans fell silent as the game entered its closing minutes with Cayman leading 1-0.
Then the unthinkable happened: With 1:04 remaining, the Swiss pulled their goalie for an extra attacker and tied the score.
Only 14 seconds later, the Swiss scored again, shocking a Cayman team that had already expended its last time out.
The final seconds ticked away, leaving Cayman to wonder how the game had slipped away from them.
The demoralising loss left Cayman to play for 14th place. Coaches faced the task of keeping players focused on the remaining games, which Cayman lost to Greece and to Bermuda.
Cayman ultimately placed 14th, but not before coming close to shaking the hockey world.
Team Canada took first place and Slovakia second.
From their arrival in Pittsburgh until their departure, Cayman made friends. Hotel staff from the Wyndham, where many of the teams stayed, attended Hurricane games to cheer.
The hotel’s head bellman attended every Cayman match, saying team members were the best group at the hotel and he wanted to support them.
At the end of the week, players thanked the 62-year-old with practice jerseys and Cayman shirts.
Off the arena, Cayman registered other victories
Durzi promoted the islands as a tournament venue, meeting Slovak, Czech , German and Canadian mangers , all of whom expressed interest in playing in Cayman.
Durzi also secured ISBHF approval to make the Caribbean Cup an official qualifying tournament for the worlds.
Durzi has organized The Caribbean Cup is in Cayman for the last two years.
‘The good news is that hockey has officially been born here in Cayman,’ Durzi says. ‘We have served notice that although we may be a small place, we can compete on an international level.
‘It is important to recognize our local sponsors, UBS, RBC, PWC, LOM, CITCO, CIBC, BISYS, Davey Jones Locker, Blue Ocean Construction, Thompson Landscaping, OfficeWorks, Ready Mix Concrete, the Kings Center, and even personal contributers like Rohan Small,’ he says
‘Those contributors not only made this tournament possible, but have poured the foundation for hockey in Cayman. What I hope comes of this is enough interest here in Cayman that we can start a youth program and really grow this sport.’
Asked about the future for the Cayman Hurricanes, Durzi said: ‘I can take a few months off and begin planning the 3rd annual Caribbean Cup.
‘We also have enough time to make the necessary changes to make sure we are able to play the entire game to [the proper] level. It was our first appearance at the worlds and I am sure we will come away a better team.
‘We now know what to expect and what it takes. I am not saying we can beat Canada, but I think we will be a better team at the next worlds in Germany in 2007,’ he says.
‘I want to thank all of our players, who not only trained hard, but played hard, our coaches, and our sponsors. The Cayman Islands should be proud, these guys represented them well both on and off the playing surface.’
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