The Guyana national men’s hockey team departed local shores yesterday to compete in the Indoor Pan American Cup slated for March 19th-22nd in Calgary, Canada.
This was disclosed in a release from the Guyana Hockey Board. According to the correspondence, the team that will contest four group stage matches comprises Robert France (C), Medroy Scotland (GK), Paul D’Andrade (GK), Jarbari Lovell, Kareem McKenzie, Meshach Sargeant, Shakeem Fausette, Shaquon Favourite, Tahrea Garnett, Aroydy Branford, Jamarj Assanah, and Andrew Stewart.
Guyana will open their campaign on March 19th against Argentina at 1:15pm, before battling the United States of America at 6:15pm. They will then oppose the host nation on March 20th before concluding the group stage against regional rival Trinidad and Tobago on March 21st.
Head coach Samuel Hunte said, “I expect nothing less than qualification. We have a good mix of youth and experience, and the last time we had this sort of mix, we did well but fell short in games we should’ve won. As a coach, my task is to keep everyone focused on the main goal and secure the wins we should. Having some overseas-based players with recent experience in cold conditions is a big plus for the team since the majority of the locally-based players have little to no experience competing in a cold climate.”
The team will contest two practice sessions and a friendly fixture against the Canadians in an effort to acclimatise to the conditions before the start of the competition.
