Canada ready for Surrey phase of the 7 test Super Series

October 13, 2009

After a weekend of quality hockey in Victoria, the Canadian and Indian teams have moved on to Surrey, British Columbia to contest the final 5 matches of the Super Series in Tamawanis Park, in front of what will surely be a noisy crowd: 15,000 tickets have been sold and the facility is ready to deliver!

Canada feels confident that they are able to pull the series in their favour, with the next and third test on Wednesday being a critical juncture.

“We felt that we were the better team during the 2nd test in Victoria and we need to use this to our advantage as we prepare for Wednesday”, coach Alan Brahmst suggested. “We had 35 circle entries, compared to India’s 22, with 24 of our penetrations coming in the 2nd half. We had three one on ones with the goaltender and numerous other quality chances that were not converted. We now have a challenge on our hands: we must capitalize on our opportunities and dramatically improve our circle play in order to succeed. Tactically, we improved the execution of our plan and we feel good about our defensive structure and our ability to continue to generate opportunities and corners. But we need to finish.”

After Connor Grimes was added for the 2nd match, Canada will now be joined by 3 additional players who were active in the German Bundesliga over the weekend and arrived yesterday to join the team in Surrey. Dave Jameson (105 caps) and Mark Pearson (56 caps) will strengthen the forward line, while Scott Tupper (82 caps) will be a key addition to the backfield and penalty corner unit.

“We knew we would have some movement in our team with Rob Short and Ken Pereira only playing the front end of the series before returning to action in the Dutch league, while our Bundesliga players will join only now. It gives us an opportunity to trial different combinations and test the resiliency of the group and the leadership of those veterans who are here throughout the series, such as Pete Short, Ranjeev Deol, Wayne Fernandes and Connor Grimes”.

The Canadian team appears to have found one interesting addition to the team when testing new players at the training camp before the Series. Adam Froese, only 18 years old, played in his first two international games during the weekend and showed composure and quality play at the centre back position.

Canada are confident they can respond to the Indian challenge. The fans in Surrey can expect five evenings of spectacular hockey, continuing the huge success of this Super Series.

Information Source: Field Hockey Canada official website