Youth ice hockey

Karawanken Bears win major tournament in Canada

This is what winners look like!

(Bild: Roland Pirker)

The Austrian national anthem rang out at the "Bell Cup", the world's largest youth ice hockey tournament, in which the Carinthian Karawanken Bears also took part in Ottawa, Canada.

"The Bears remained unbeaten! The eleven boys coached by Peter Mateicka won the final game 7:1!", cheers Roland Pirker, President of the Austrian Canadian Council, who emigrated from Friesach to Canada to improve his ice hockey game - and became a well-known filmmaker.

The "Bell Cup" games were held in six ice rinks in Ottawa from December 27 to 30, 2024, with participating teams from China, Canada, South Korea, Slovenia, Taiwan, the USA and Austria. The Carinthian team consists of coach Peter Mateicka, four players from the KAC in Klagenfurt: Skyler Furey, Marvin Kralj, Lucas Mateicka and Felix Semmelrock, four players from VSV in Villach Julian Aalai, Jannik Maier, Matthias Petodnig and Toni Priess as well as one player from Zeltweg from the KAC, Luca Willhuber, one player from Croatia, Andro Udiljak, and one from Slovenia, Bine Kimovec; he was the goalie. The young men were coached by hockey-enthusiastic parents - Darius Aalai, Klaus Maier, Hansi Kralj, Martin Petodnig and Wolfgang Priess. 

The Bears played seven tournament games and remained unbeaten. Although their opponents were often one or two heads taller and physically stronger, their technical performance enabled them to win the Bell Cup 7:1 in their final game!

Roland Pirker, Fan der Bären

Andreas Rendl, the Austrian Ambassador to Canada, and his wife Eva Fuchs as well as Roland Pirker, President of the Austrian Canadian Council, welcomed the visitors from Carinthia.