2022.03.09
ORG Hockey Team’s Battle in the 2019-2020 Silk Road League

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Although it did not create the feat of entering the “Silk Road Cup” Ice Hockey Super League (referred to as the Silk Road League) playoffs, the 2019-2020 season just passed is still full of benefits for the ORG professional hockey team. This is the second season of this young team in the Silk Road League. In this year, the ORG team's league ranking ranked first among all Chinese teams; in this year, the ORG team’s Chinese players have become more and more outstanding, gradually shouldering the heavy responsibility of carrying the team's beams; in this year, the ORG team has attracted a large number of young people and children's attention to ice hockey, and for the hockey sport in China Make outstanding contributions to the development of

With gradually improved record, the team ranks first among Chinese participating teams

 

With the 4-3 overtime diesel engine overtime, the ORG team’s 2019-2020 season Silk Road League journey has come to an end. In the end, they ranked 13th out of 18 teams in the first division with a record of 54 points and 49 points, and ranked 26th among the 34 participating teams in the league. This result ranks highest among all three Chinese teams. It is worth mentioning that the teams with points concentrated in the 45-55 score segment are very dense, with a total of 11 teams. These teams are also very strong. It can be seen that although the ORG team has not been able to enter the playoffs this season, the overall strength has gradually entered the level of the league's backbone.

On the other hand, compared with the results, when people review the changes of this team of young players over the past six months, they can see more positive aspects on the ice rink.

The start of the season for the ORG team can be described as a strong one. In the eight games of the first month of the league, they achieved a 6 win and 2 loss start. Among them, there are many waves of 5 consecutive victories, laying a solid foundation for the entire season.

Like most professional teams, the ORG team's home performance has strengthened, playing 22 games at home in China (Beijing and Harbin), achieving 11 wins and 11 losses. These include the 3-1 home victory over defending champion Sayak, which is one of the team's best campaigns of the season.

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ORG wins Sayak for best match of the season

Of course, it is undeniable that the ORG team has also paid a price for youth. On the one hand, for Chinese teams, the road to Russia away is long, the game is dense, and it is a psychological and physical test for young players. On the other hand, the young ORG team has a problem of not being good at leading the ball. In the 13 games that require overtime or penalty kicks, only two wins were achieved.

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First game in Beijing: ORG vs. Ruby

Affected by novel coronavirus, the ORG team’s game in February was competed in Russia and achieved 3 wins and 2 losses, fixing the regular season record to 20 wins and 34 losses.

On the whole, the ORG team has spent a fruitful season, the team has closed the gap with the league's strong teams, and formed a stable technical and tactical play, and the players have also gained growth.

Players are growing rapidly to prepare for 2022

 

The progress the ORG team has made this season is seen by the club and fans.

Considering the development of ice hockey in China, it is unrealistic to hope that the young ORG team can immediately reach the same level as the strong teams in Russia and Kazakhstan. When team chairman Huang Yijun talked about the team’s performance this year, he also talked about the difficulties and changes of the team this year: “This year is the second season for our team to participate in the Silk Road League. The team’s tactical style has changed a lot. Last season, the team was expecting high-level Russian players to drive our players. This season we arranged the offensive and defensive combination of domestic players to exercise our players’ overall coordination and initiative in confrontation and attack.”

In order to play better in the new season, during the pre-match preparation period, ORG teamed up with the Boston Bruins team, one of the original six teams in the North American Hockey Professional League. The Boston Bruins recommend high-level coaching teams as a team adviser. At the same time, the ORG hockey team will also arrange the pre-match training period in Boston, using the Boston Bruins' advanced training facilities and training methods, to conduct professional tests and tailor-made training plans for each player. With a lot of one-on-one personal guidance from the members of the Brown Bears coaching staff, the deep learning of North American ice hockey tactics has significantly improved the overall level of the ORG players. This also laid an important foreshadowing for the brilliant performance of the ORG team in the Silk Road League.

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Chinese goalkeeper Duan Shineng played well in the season

If you want to say that the ORG team's biggest surprise this season, the growth of Chinese and Chinese players must be one of them. In the past season, Duan Sineng, Zuo Tianyou, Xia Tianxiang, Hu Tianyu, Zhu Ziyang and other players “danced with wolves” in high-intensity and high-density games, and gained a lot of experience. For their growth, Huang Yijun also expressed affirmation: “In the high-level leagues, the Chinese combination played style and level in many games. Although there is a certain gap with high-level teams and high-water European and American players, but our players can correctly handle the ball under high speed and strong pressure in this level of league, can cooperate and create scoring opportunities. It has been shown that they have made gratifying progress through this league. This was demonstrated at the U20 World Championship a few days ago, and the players of the ORG team have played well in the game. We also look forward to their important role in the upcoming national team training and competition.”

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Xia Tianxiang celebrates achieving the goal in the game

After the Silk Road League, Chinese players have a more important task in the offseason, and that is to use a small amount of time to prepare for the Winter Olympic Games to be held in front of the home in 2022. In this regard, Huang Yijun also raised expectations for the players: “Last summer we went to the NHL's Boston Bruins Club for a 10-day summer training. The Bruins coaches did various tests for our players and also conducted various professional trainings. There our players saw professional players from various clubs using the summer to conduct special training and physical training for themselves. These trainings are self-funded and conscious. We hope that our players will not be slack in training during the holidays and strictly demand ourselves. In the offseason, they also maintain a life of training and self-discipline, using the standards of a professional athlete to ask themselves, improve their technical level through their own training, make a physical reserve, and make full preparations for next season.”

Gain fans and integrate into the community

 

Not only on the ice rink, there is another surprise for the ORG team this season on the sidelines. Although the awareness of ice hockey in the Chinese market is not as good as that of football, basketball and badminton, the ORG team has worked hard through the season to cultivate a lot of new hockey enthusiasts through a series of community activities and campus activities.

On October 15, 2019, the ORG team ushered in the opening match of Beijing at home this season. At the Austrian Ice Sports Center, they faced the challenge of the league’s rival Ruby team. Nearly 1,000 fans came to watch the game and cheer for the ORG team. During the intermission, the inauguration ceremony of the Peking University Ice Hockey Team was also held on the site. Although the game ended with ORG1-3 losing its opponents, the intense and exciting game gained a lot of attention and fans for them. Five days later, the ORG team ushered in Beijing's first victory and the team beat Yermako 5-3.

It is worth mentioning that the ORG team’s commitment to ice hockey is not only reflected in the professional arena. In November 2019, the 2019 University Ice Hockey Championship, which was exclusively operated by ORG’s wholly-owned subsidiary Aozhong Sports, was launched at the Aozhong Ice Sports Center. A total of 15 teams from all over the country were convened to participate in the event. Zhao Xianglin, president of Olympic Sports, said: “The college student ice hockey championship is not only a strong practice of 'bringing 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports, but also an important platform promoting winter Olympics knowledge on campus.”

At the same time, the ORG team is also engaged in the cause of building the next generation of hockey talents for China. During the home court in Harbin, the ORG coaching team led by head coach Graham personally brought a “professional level” training course to the young players of the Austrian avant-garde hockey club U8-U10. This makes these small players full of surprises at the same time. Seeing the enthusiastic attitude of young players towards ice hockey, Graham is very pleased: “It is great to see so many young players engaged in ice hockey. In the United States, we are very concerned about children of this age, because professional athletes often start from 8 I started training at the age of 10.”

During this season, the ORG team also invested a lot of energy to better integrate the team into the community around the home court. Through a series of community activities, the club introduces itself and introduces ice hockey to the surrounding residents. Nearby residents can also receive more services and discounts when they watch the home game of the ORG team at the scene. Especially in the Jinzhan community closest to the stadium, the ORG team has realized the vision of “bringing ice hockey to people’s daily life” by giving online and offline activities to fans many times. And it has gained more community recognition and loyal fans for itself.

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Students at Huairou Campus of 101 Middle School cheered on ORG

If juveniles are strong, China will become strong. In the process of popularizing the ice hockey team, the ORG team also set its sights on the next generation. In addition to the original youth training business, it is also actively exploring more youth hockey groups. For example, on December 10 last year, the ORG team invited the students from the second grade of the junior high school of the 101 Middle School Huairou Campus to come and watch the game at home. A fierce ice hockey game is a rare way to decompress the middle school students who are busy with their studies on weekdays. At the same time, many students also became interested in ice hockey through this rare live experience. 

In terms of creating a home atmosphere, the ORG team has one of the most popular “star” this season-a rhino named “Xi Wang”, which is the mascot of the ORG team. In the construction of professional team culture, the mascot is an important content and component. It not only represents the image of the team, but also closes the distance between the club and the fans.

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ORG mascot “Xi Wang”

“Xi Wang” is very popular among fans, especially young fans. In the home victory over Nomad on December 15, last year, many children came to the ORG team home with their parents. For them, this is not just a simple observation game, but many of them, the first time in their lives to encounter ice hockey. They played with the naughty “Xi Wang”, visited the ice hockey museum, and experienced the heavy heritage of the sport. They also enjoyed a wonderful hockey game. Because of ORG, these children have planted a seed about ice hockey in their hearts since childhood.

The year of the ORG ice hockey team is full of vitality, and it has become an important force in China in the Silk Road League. The outstanding home record allowed fans to see the team's surprise, and the growth of Chinese players brought hope for the future. So let’s put aside the regret of missing the playoffs this season, because the golden age of the ORG team is on the way...

The original report link of People’s Daily Sports Channel