Jamaica have been crowned champions of the inaugural Challenger Series, following an exciting 12-8 victory over Lebanon in the finals!
The Challenger Series was created this past spring and included the men’s national teams of Jamaica, Lebanon, and Puerto Rico. These teams — who are all ineligible to participate in the IIHF World Championship due to a lack of rinks or leagues — played in a round-robin tournament, and then a playoff, across three cities in North America.
Chicago (18-21 April) and New York (06-09 June) both hosted six games of the event, as the three teams played a total of eight games each to determine seeding for the final round. Jamaica, who led the way with a 5-3 record, earned a bye to the finals in Oshawa. This left Lebanon (4-4) and Puerto Rico (3-5) battling it out in the semifinals. It was the Lebanese side that prevailed with a 9-3 victory, but, of course, fell short of the ultimate prize.
This was a significant accomplishment for the Jamaican National Team, as they continue to put up strong results in international play. The Jamaicans previously captured a gold medal in their international debut at the 2019 Amerigol Latam Cup, where they defeated Colombia in the finals in a shootout, 3-2.
Despite having no ice rink on the island of less than three million residents, Jamaica is now 16-5 with a 151-78 goal differential against other national teams. It should be noted that almost all members of these successful Jamaican teams have been Canadians and Americans with Jamaican heritage. Most notable would be San Jose Sharks forward Givani Smith, who made his debut with the team in the final round. OHL defenders Taos Jordan and Maleek McGowan — who were both born in Ontario — were also key contributors to this Challenger Series triumph. Regardless of their lack of Jamaican-born talent, this team’s success is still mightily impressive, and it shines light on ice hockey’s growth on a global scale.
Tournament Scores:
Jamaica 6 – 11 Lebanon
Lebanon 2 – 3 Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico 3 – 6 Jamaica
Lebanon 6 – 7 Jamaica
Puerto Rico 4 – 3 Lebanon
Jamaica 5 – 4 Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico 2 – 5 Lebanon
Jamaica 11 – 2 Puerto Rico
Lebanon 6 – 4 Jamaica
Puerto Rico 3 – 6 Lebanon
Jamaica 5 – 7 Puerto Rico
Lebanon 4 – 8 Jamaica
Lebanon 9 – 3 Puerto Rico (Semifinal)
Jamaica 12 – 8 Lebanon (Final)
It should also be noted that the Greek Heritage Team joined the Challenger Series for the final leg in Oshawa. However, their results only counted as exhibitions because they missed the first two rounds. The Greek squad, made up of Canadians and Americans of Greek descent, dominated with wins over Lebanon (11-6), champions Jamaica (7-3), and Puerto Rico (16-0). A prospect of the Dallas Stars, Cornell University defender George Fegaras, was notably a member of the team.
Lebanon and the Greek Heritage Team will both be in action in the Men’s Division 1 tournament at the 2024 Amerigol Latam Cup in Coral Springs, Florida, from 21-25 August. Meanwhile, the next matches for Jamaica and Puerto Rico are still to be determined.