Had the early ice this morning, which was a nice change. Due the bitter cold the ice was really brittle and we had to stay clear from some pretty serious cracks.
1st game was a rematch with the Indian national team, which we won. Long story short, we entered the finals against Canada’s Sacred Bulls and found ourself ties 2-2 after 5 mins of overtime. A great game which was then decided by a shootout, to the delight of the fans. Both teams had local goalies who were amazing in the shootout (whole game, really) but in the end team “World White” had the lone goal. Champions!
Our live play by play announcer and DJ
The “Red, White, and Blue” line…(American line) with the championship trophy
Great fun, but this is the real reason for the tournament
The winters are long and the social problems are many. Hockey provides a great outlet for the youth of Ladakh. Leh is a big town, with some resources, but the remote villages of Ladakh are isolated without heat, water, or electricity….but they have hockey. This gear is mostly youth gear, and will be going out to these remote villages.
Speak, Memory 
Have you seen many other tourist around Ladakhi? If so, do many tourist attend the hockey events?
None, they all come in the summer like the Mongol Hordes. All money is made in the 3 months or so of the tourist trekking season. The whole town is geared for it.
In fact, there was only one hotel open in town…a few cold guest houses could have opened up if we wanted.
Are the Indian hockey players very deft with their stick handling and do they check well? Also, did you see any NHL players there, because in the Hockey Night in India video, one of the sticks belonged to Dion Phaneuf, the Maple Leafs captain.
They were pretty good, especially with the crappy ice. No famous players were there, especially since the pro guys are in the middle of their season. I bet that Phaneuf’s name was on that stick more as a sponsor for his “style,” a that a sign that he was there.
Hi Mr. Aubin, Period 3 has a few questions for you: 1. Was checking allowed during play? 2. How did you earn the trophy? 3.Where there any other sports beside hockey? 4. Were there any Himalayan sports played at the festival?–and what were they?
No official checking, but there was some physical play. With the ice in pretty rough shape, people often resort to means other than finesse to control the play.
The other sport in the region is cricket…witch has some base ball like aspects. Also football(soccer).
No other sports played at this festival.
5. what was the temperature out there?
During the day it was in the 30s F, but nights were well (20 or more) below zero. Morning scares wee pretty cold.
How did this get started? What made the Canadians and other hockey players decide to go all the way out to this small town on a mountain?
Some members from the Ladakh Winter Sports Club petitions the embassy for visas to go to Canada and buy equipment. The Canadian Embassy (actually called the High Commission) investigated this visa petition thinking it was a scam…who plays hockey in India? They soon learned about this isolated haven of hockey and stated the tournament to help build connections in the region.