This has been the game we’ve been raving about for weeks. Tonight, at the Powerade Centre, the ECHL’s Brampton Beast play the national team of India.
The roster was announced last Tuesday, where alongside general manager Cary Kaplan, and General Secretary of the Ice Hockey Association of India Harjinder Singh, head coach of Team India Adam Sherlip announced his final roster.
Here is the Indian team roster:
The roster is made of both Indian nationals, and Canadians who have an Indian background, and attended the team’s tryouts.
“Today was just one phase of completion for us,” Sherlip said in a press release.
History will be made tonight. @BramptonBeast set to host Team India in their 1st North American game. #WatchitLive http://t.co/HkNo7eOeyT
— City of Brampton (@CityBrampton) October 9, 2015
“Announcing the roster, showing off the team’s beautiful jerseys, and really introducing Team India to Brampton and to the hockey world was very exciting for me, and is an exciting time for the development of Indian ice hockey.”
“India has had tremendous success over the past season, competing in the Challenge Cup of Asia, and doing quite well in it as well. This was always something we had ambition in doing,” Sherlip explained to EOTP.
“[Our team] just didn’t realize the true calibre of hockey here in North America until I showed them video of the top level of hockey,” Sherlip explains.
“They ask me, ‘if I were to move to North America, would I be able to play?’ They love the game as much as anyone, and train extremely hard.”
“When people think of India, they don’t necessarily think of hockey because of the climate and such. But it’s a ripple effect. Our hope is we can get more Indians to play hockey. We’re moving in the right direction. The members of Team India are truly part of a community. They train hard, get better, and compete together.”
To tweet about this game, use the hashtag #IceHockeyForIndia. The Beast’s official account @BramptonBeast will be live tweeting the game if you want to follow along.
Here are a collection of photos from yesterday’s press conference! SEE: [http://t.co/jVzKYNW10Y] #IceHockeyForIndia pic.twitter.com/88BuBP24bN
— Brampton Beast (@BramptonBeast) October 7, 2015
Today, 7:15pm, we will face off with Team India! Catch all the action LIVE! TICKETS: [https://t.co/UO6J99aDgb] pic.twitter.com/6w8NKo3rEn
— Brampton Beast (@BramptonBeast) October 9, 2015
The game will begin at 7:15pm ET at the Powerade Centre in Brampton.
