Page 1 of 5 HooJung Jones From: Date: Subject: <Koreavetnews@aol.com> April-05-12 12:55 AM REPORT - GAME 1 IMJIN RIVER CUP HOCKEY TOURNAMENT IN KOREA The Korean War Veteran Internet Journal - April 5, 2012 Report on Game 1 Imjin River Cup Tourney opens in Anyang, Korea Game 1 of the famed Imjin River Cup was played on April 1 on ice in Anyang, about a three-quarter hour drive from central Seoul. The adversaries were the Royal 22e Regiment team, versus HMCS Cayugas. The teams are Canadian expats living in metropolitan Seoul. The Canadian Defence Attache Assistant, Sergeant Marc Bellemare, RCAF, plays on the Royal 22e team. The players select their team names from those of famous Canadian regiments and ships that served in Korea during the war. The first competitive hockey games were played on the frozen Imjin River in the winter of 1951-1952. Veteran Dennis Moore had been one of the pioneering players, called from the front lines to defend the honour of his battalion on ice. Sergeant Marc Bellemare with coveted Imjin River Cup, which is kept in safe keeping on the bar at Gecko s Terrace in Itaewon, Seoul. Below is a synopsis of the first tournament game of 2012, played on Sunday night, April 1, 2012, written in Don Cherryanese by player Charles Fuller.
Page 2 of 5 Report on Game 1, 2012 Imjin River Cup By Charles Fuller I think everyone would have to agree the biggest storyline for Game 1 was the officiating. While two referees were requested only one showed up and he was overwhelmed by the second minute of play. I m not sure how samship boon, samship boon, samship boon turned into blowing down play for the first period at 35 after the hour and 25 minutes of play time, but that was the least of the problems. Phantom offsides, blantantly missed calls he tried to find some help with Jun, but there wasn t much he could do, even in Korean. The best calls were definitely Aaaarrrr!!! apparently Korean for offside! In the end, hopefully, the blown calls evened out and the players decided the game. I was assured there will be two refs next week. The Royal 22 s opened the scoring of Imjin 2012 on just the second shift of the game with Killeen burying it behind Paul off a nice behind the back feed from Garbo and Young. Both teams looked nervous and seemed to be gripping the sticks a little tight all period. It was 3-1 Royals after one. While it looked at a few points as if the Royals were about to run away with the game, the Cayuga s wouldn t go away and kept finding momentum. Their first goal really gave them energy. Though the Royals never trailed in the game, they were never ahead by more than two goals either. Goals came from all three lines, the balanced attack made it difficult for the Cayuga s to decide who to try and shut down. Especially impressive was the so-called third line of Pollard, Gibby and Marc (Bellemare) who were a +2 on the night. Marc potted two big goals and the line held the opposition off the score sheet all night. On the other side, the Cayuga s were led by a rejuvenated Ferris. His hat trick kept the Cayuga s within striking distance all night. Analysts have accused a few players of trying to do too much, but no one faulted their effort. The score was tied at both 4 and 5 before the Royals finally pulled away for good near the end to secure an 8-6 victory. Doctors are still examining Cayuga star forward Walker who was wincing every time he touched the puck last Sunday. As Teddy pointed out after the game, for the last four years, the team that has won Game 1 has gone on to win the Cup. Will that trend continue? Three stars: Kent Ferris Marc Bellamere
Page 3 of 5 The Ref (!) The real first Imjin Gardens Hockey Tournament, January, 1952 Korean War veteran Dennis Moore of North Bay, Ontario was serving in the front line like his comrades when a runner came to him and said he was needed back at battalion headquarters. Moore was astounded when he was told he was to play hockey for his outfit, the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia s Canadian Light Infantry. Adversaries were a team from the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade Headquarters. Major General Jim Cassels, commander of the Commonwealth Division, drops puck for first ever game on the Imjin River in January, 1951 between 1st Battalion, Princess Patricias and 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade Headquarters. Dennis played left forward for the Patricias. He says he broke through the ice at one point. Surprise, surprise there was a bit of rough stuff on the ice, too.
Page 4 of 5 At the end of the tournament the Patricias team were the champions, and history had been made! (Thanks to Dennis Moore for the historic photographs) Fifty years latter, Chris Damboise, an animated cartoon producer from Canada who was living in Korea started the game and the tourney anew. Chris and his wife had purchased a saloon and restaurant in the Itaewon foreigners district of Seoul. They refurbished it, made it very upscale and named it Gecko s Terrace. Chris was putting a hockey team together when one of his expats showed up at Gecko s one day with a mysterious photograph. He had bought it in a shop in the town of Uijongbu (near where the Canadian Brigade used to be headquarted). It was a photo of the Princess Pats playing on the Imjin. Chris bought a silver cup, organized the Imjin River Tournament, and he outfitted his team, the Geckos Glaciers. He got permission from the Princess Patricias Regiment to wear a PPCLI crest on their jerseys. When Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Korea last week he examined the Imjin River Trophy aboard his official RCAF plane, while Sergeant Marc Belemare explained what was going on with hockey in Korea. The Prime Minister is a big hockey fan. He has a photograph of the 1952 Imjin River game hanging in one of his offices. Let s hope he did not fly off to Canada with the coveted trophy aboard the Harper One.
Page 5 of 5 Marc Belemare in his off the ice uniform. He s shown beside the nose of Prime Minister Harper s Boeing A-310