St. Lawrence Plays Korea in a Friendly Exhibition

Last Thursday, October 24th, the St. Lawrence Women’s Hockey Team faced off against the Korean National Team in a friendly exhibition. It was one of Korea’s last stops on their North American tour and their only stop in the US.

Word on the street was that some of the Korean players had previously played for teams and schools in Canada alongside some of the St. Lawrence players and that’s how this exhibition came to fruition. But I cannot confirm or deny this nor do I know which players previously knew each other.

The game was held at SUNY Canton’s Roos House Ice Rink (across town from St. Lawrence) because SLU’s Appleton Arena is still under renovations and unplayable at the current moment. Canton’s rink has great lighting, but is otherwise a little bland. I do like how the bleachers on the one side weave their way into the rest of the athletic complex.

For the game itself, St. Lawrence dominated most of the game ending with a final score of 7-1. While Korea had many great skaters, their passing and shooting lacked in comparison to St. Lawrence’s. Korea had a few amazing players that would constantly skate around, through, and past the St. Lawrence defense, but with no one else to help them out, they would often get surrounded and overtaken. St. Lawrence on the other hand, was able to string multiple passes together, enough to take 42 shots on goal (versus the Koreans’ 10 shots on goal).

Writer’s thoughts:

The game itself was very one-sided in favor of St. Lawrence, however, it was a very enjoyable experience nonetheless. I do wish more people came out to watch (there was maybe 100 total people in the stands), but at least for the St. Lawrence students, having the game on a Thursday night and off-campus, may be a bit difficult for them. I remember Clarkson played games at 3pm on a Tuesday, the rink would always be the most empty, versus their other games. But all in all, I wish more schools would have exhibitions like this, whether it be university vs. Olympic team, or US university vs Canadian university or European university, etc. Or even a university vs minor league or pro team. I know logistics and financial considerations can be issue with the games getting scheduled, but alas, one can dream. I just love the idea of cultures coming together to play a common game. In conclusion though, it was a lot of fun to be able to photograph an Asian (and Olympic) team as both were a first for me.