Special to USAHockey.com
They came, they played hockey and they watched hockey. And the Chinese national team from Harbin loved every minute of it.
The team flew back to Beijing from Detroit on Monday after spending nearly three weeks playing various teams in southeast Michigan. Their first game was Nov. 28 at Great Lakes Sports City in Fraser, and their last battle was Dec. 16 at the Ann Arbor Veterans Arena.
Overall, they played 15 games, but the most enjoyable part of the trip, some of the players said, might have been their trip to Joe Louis Arena on Dec. 13 to watch an NHL game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers.
Eugene Wang, who teaches Chinese at the University of Detroit-Mercy, served as the team’s interpreter since none of the players or coaches could speak fluent English. Wang said at least half the Chinese players were in America for the first time.
Most of the games were at Great Lakes City, but one of the games was at the University of Michigan-Dearborn against the college team.
Three of the players — defenseman Feng Hou, right winger Qinguan Meng and rightwinger GuoYang Li — and assistant coach Xue Liu — shared their thoughts on the experience, with the assistance of Wang, prior to their return trip to China.
“Last night was the highlight,” said Liu, referring to the chance to watch the Oilers-Red Wings game. “It was fun and we liked the environment. The atmosphere was very impressive. We learned a lot just from watching.”
Liu kept track of his team’s performance in 11 of its games.
“We won four times, and lost four times and tied three times,” he said. “We played against amateur teams. They were extremely good. We were very impressed with their skills.”
Hou, who is 27 years old, said he started playing when he was 11.
“Where I lived, hockey is very popular,” he recalled. “I liked to watch the sport and I like to play.”
Qingyuan Meng said he started playing when he was 4 years old.
“When I was young, I had access to ice and took advantage of it,” he said.
Liu started in the sport when he was 9 years old.
“Compared to other sports, there’s less people involved in hockey since it’s limited to this region,” he said.
Harbin is located in Heilongjiang Province, in the northeast part of the country. The Harbin players have also played games over the years in Canada, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Xue Liu said he noticed that from playing against the Michigan teams, “they played kind of chippy and use more of a power game. The Chinese strength is emphasis on shooting skills and maneuvering.”
Hou and his teammates said it was too hard to say how much longer the players will be performing for Team Harbin.
“It’s not up for us to decide,” said Li. “It’s up to our team officials to say.”
“We play all year round,” Xue Liu said. “Every four years, they have a national Olympics in China. We have to prepare for that. We’re here in Michigan to prepare for that.”
The trip to Michigan is one the national players won’t soon forget.
“Overall, we feel we’ve learned a lot,” Xue Liu said. “We’ve especially learned a lot from some of the stronger teams. The teams here were a lot better than the teams we’ve played domestically.”
“There’s more ice rinks over here,” said Li.
“We have both inside and outside rinks in China,” Xue Liu said. “Most are inside.”
The coach and all three of the players said they would like to return to the United State for another hockey tour.
“I like the competitiveness of the hockey players here,” Xue Liu said. “We like the crowds, too.”
“We realize we have a lot to learn,” Li said. “We hope that American players will visit us as we visited them.”
“There’s a lot of high technology here,” Li said. “Overall, we’ve liked everything we’ve seen.”
Paul Goleniak played on two teams that played the Chinese squad in various Detroit-area locations, including Trenton.
He played for an adult team called Pasi, from suburban Detroit, that tied Harbin 5-5.
“We’re identified as an adult Tier I team and I also played with the Detroit Raters squad that lost to the Chinese 6-5,” Goleniak said, adding that the play of the Chinese team “as a little surprising. A lot of our guys talked about how focused the Chinese were. They kept up with us very well. When it came to physical play, they were able to dish out as much as we did.”
Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
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