Ireland men's national ice hockey team
 The Irish badge features the golden clàrsach on a green background which is also used on the Green harp flag, one of the flags used to represent Ireland. |
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| Association | Irish Ice Hockey Association |
|---|---|
| General Manager |  Anthony Griffin |
| Head coach | James Tibbets |
| Assistants |  Stephen Greeley |
| Captain | Mark Morrison |
| Most games | Philip Darcy (23) |
| Most points | Mark Morrison (31) |
| Home stadium | Dundalk Ice Dome |
| IIHF code | IRL |
| IIHF ranking | 41 |
| Highest IIHF ranking | 40 (2008) |
| Lowest IIHF ranking | 44 (2004–2006) |
| Team colours | |
| First international | |
 Mexico 8–3 Ireland (Reykjavík, Iceland; March 16, 2004) |
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| Biggest win | |
Ireland 23–1 Armenia  (Mexico City, Mexico; March 8, 2005) |
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| Biggest defeat | |
 Romania 22–0 Ireland (Zagreb, Croatia; April 13, 2011) |
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| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 7 (first in 2004) |
| Best result | 40th (2008) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 9–19–1 | |
Irish men's national ice hockey team is the National Squad run by the Irish Ice Hockey Association. The team gained promotion to Division II of the International Ice Hockey Federation in 2007, but after a poor performance in their Division II debut, the team has been relegated to Division III.[1] The team has members from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and has a working relationship with the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League and new Irish clubs, Flyers Ice Hockey Club and Dundalk Bulls.
[edit] History
The Republic of Ireland was accepted into the International Ice Hockey Federation in May 1996 after a nomination by Great Britain and a second by Canada. They have not had a long history of international competition, with the Ireland senior team first competing in 2004.
- First match: March 16, 2004: Reykjavík, Iceland:
Mexico 8-3 
Ireland - Largest victory: March 8, 2005: Mexico City, Mexico: Ireland 23-1
Armenia - Largest defeat: April 13, 2011: Zagreb, Croatia:
Romania 22-0 Ireland
[edit] IIHF World Ranking
In the IIHF World Ranking, Ireland is ranked 41st out of 49 as of September 2010.
[edit] International Competition
(statistics, standings, and results taken from the IIHF [2] IIHF Tournament Page)
[edit] 2004 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Reykjavík, Iceland
Game 1. Ireland 3 Mexico 8
Game 2. Armenia 1 Ireland 15
Game 3. Ireland 1 Iceland 7
Game 4. Turkey 7 Ireland 4
Final Result: Fourth Place, One Win, Three Losses for 2 points, 23 Goals For, 23 Goals Against
[edit] 2005 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Mexico City, Mexico
Game 1. Ireland 23 Armenia 1
Game 2. Luxembourg 8 Ireland 4
Game 3. Ireland 4 South Africa 5
Game 4. Mexico 6 Ireland 1
Final Result: Fourth Place, One Win, Three Losses for 2 points, 32 Goals For, 20 Goals Against
[edit] 2006 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Reykjavík, Iceland
Game 1. Ireland 0 Armenia 6
Game 2. Iceland 8 Ireland 0
Game 3. Turkey 2 Ireland 2
Game 4. Ireland 3 Luxembourg 1
Final Result: Fourth Place, One Win, Two Losses, One Tie for 3 points, 5 Goals For, 17 Goals Against
[edit] 2007 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Dundalk, Ireland
Game 1. Ireland 11 Mongolia 0
Game 2. Ireland 2 New Zealand 4
Game 3. Ireland 3 South Africa 1
Game 4. Ireland 4 Luxembourg 3 [OT)
Final Result: Second Place Two Wins, One Overtime Win, One Loss for 8 points, 20 Goals For, 8 Goals Against [Team Ireland are Promoted to Division II of the IIHF World Championships]
[edit] 2008 IIHF Ice Hockey Division II World Championships Miercurea Ciuc, Romania
Game 1. Ireland 1 Serbia 13
Game 2. Ireland 4 Bulgaria 7
Game 3. Ireland 1 Belgium 9
Game 4. Ireland 1 Romania 21
Game 5. Ireland 1 Israel 7
Final Result: Sixth Place Zero Wins, Five Losses for 0 points, 8 Goals For, 57 Goals Against [Team Ireland is relegated to the 2009 IIHF World Championship Div III]
[edit] 2009 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Dunedin, New Zealand
Game 1. Ireland 3 Greece 7
Game 2. Ireland 3 Luxembourg 8
Game 3. Ireland 5 Mongolia 0(Forfeit)
Game 4. Ireland 1 Turkey 7
Game 5. Ireland 0 New Zealand 9
Final Result: Fifth Place One Win, Four Losses for 3 points, 12 Goals For, 31 Goals Against
[edit] 2010 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III Group A World Championships Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg
Game 1. Ireland 6 Luxembourg 4
Game 2. Greece 1 Ireland 3
Game 3. UA Emirates 2 Ireland 8
Final Result: First Place Three Wins, Zero Losses for 9 points, 17 Goals For, 7 Goals Against
[edit] Notable Personnel
- Jim Tibbets - Head Coach (former General Manager of the French national ice hockey team)
- Scott Fusco - Assistant Coach (Harvard Crimson hockey player, class of '86, American national men's hockey team 1984 Olympic Member)
[edit] Ireland Roster
(roster taken from the IIHF [3] IIHF Tournament Page)
- Head coach: James Tibbets
| Pos. | No. | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Adam Pepper | Dundalk Bulls |
| GK | 25 | Scott Bickerstaff |  Belfast Junior Giants |
| D | 3 | Patrick McCabe | Flyers IHC |
| D | 6 | Timothy Ross O'Driscoll | Rhode Island Storm |
| D | 12 | David Gibson | Belfast Junior Giants |
| D | 13 | Dean Kelley | Flyers IHC |
| D | 16 | Robert Leckey | Belfast Junior Giants |
| F | 4 | Stephen Cooper | Flyers IHC |
| F | 7 | Ross Bickerstaff | Belfast Junior Giants |
| F | 8 | Barry Higgins | Flyers IHC |
| F | 9 | Stephen Balmer | Hawks |
| F | 10 | Adam Jackson-Wyatt |  Vaughan Rangers |
| F | 11 | Philip Darcy | Flyers IHC |
| F | 15 | Adam McCaul |  Partille HK |
| F | 17 | Mark Reynolds | Belfast Junior Giants |
| F | 18 | Andrew Guest | Toronto Aeros Under 21 AAA |
| F | 21 | Christopher Adams | Belfast Ice Foxes |
| F | 22 | Mark Morrison | Belfast Giants |
| F | 23 | Stephen Adams | Solway Sharks |
| F | 24 | Gareth Roberts | Belfast Giants |
[edit] Future
Early in 2007 Team Ireland moved their headquarters to the Dundalk Ice Dome. It is envisaged that the Ice Dome will become a centre of excellence for ice hockey in the Republic of Ireland and it was here that Team Ireland took silver in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships Division III and gained promotion to Division II.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Irish Ice Hockey Association Homepage
- International Ice Hockey Federation Homepage
- Belfast Giants Homepage
- Belfast City Bruins
- Flyers Ice Hockey Club
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