O.G. Chinese Ice Hockey

At 11:40 p.m. on the day before Chinese New Year Eve, the lights at A.Z. Ice Sports Center were still ablaze for a “1979 Ice Hockey Team” practice match. With just three minutes left in the final period, the fiercest moment of the match arrived: Strikers attacked, defenders blocked, goal keepers were poised alert, and the bench buzzed… Everyone’s eyes were glued to the puck.

A whistle blew to signal the end of the match. Players skated around to pay respect to each other. Removal of the gear revealed their gray hair and wrinkled faces. Few would have imagined that all the skaters in the lively match were over age 60.

Fresh Memories

The hockey team kindled nostalgia for ice hockey classes at Beijing Shichahai Amateur Sports School in the 1970s. In 1979, the hockey classes that trained reserve athletes for the Beijing ice hockey team and the Chinese national ice hockey team were canceled, forcing young skaters to give up the sport and turn their eyes elsewhere. “We dissolved in the year 1979,” said Mei Chunhui, head of the team. “We use the name to represent the resumption of our dream while reminding people of that period in the history of Beijing’s ice hockey development.”

In 1970, Beijing Shichahai Amateur Sports School (today’s Beijing Shichahai Sports School) opened an ice hockey training class. Recruitment sessions were held on iced Shichahai Lake that winter. Some were selected for their good skating skills, some for their teamwork spirit as footballers, and some just for potential. “There were no indoor rinks in those days,” recalled Mei. “So on-ice training could only happen in winter. After the ice melted, throughout the other three seasons, we could only train on land, including stamina and technical training, which was designed by our coaches according to the situation then. It was common to see students using sticks, gear, or skates left by older students. On hot days, we would wear roller skates to practice in the school’s empty swimming pool.”

A goalkeeper on the “1979 Ice Hockey Team,” Zhou Yunjie believes those days of training made him stronger and more tenacious. “The spirit of fight and perseverance has continued to inspire us throughout our lives,” said Zhou. Although the ice hockey training stopped suddenly, the friendship between the young men never disappeared and grew instead. Through the years, Zhou and his teammates kept contact and updated each other on the development of ice hockey in domestic and international arenas.

China’s winning bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in 2015 gave ice hockey a jolt in the country. With more people looking towards ice and snow sports, expensive facilities like ski resorts and ice hockey rinks were built or renovated. Also in 2015, Mei, Zhou, and Huang Yijun reunited nine players from the Shichahai ice hockey classes nearly 40 years later to once again enjoy the sport together.

Back to the Rink

It was hard to put a team together again. Time had taken its toll on the boys of the yesteryears: Their physical strength and attention could hardly endure the intensity of ice hockey competition. Ice hockey rules had also changed, and safety became the priority for the veteran team. Despite all the worries, many players would like to come back. And after a period of adjustment and training, many felt better about their health. An ice rink invested by goalkeeper Zhou became their regular training ground.

By the end of 2021, over 20 players had successively joined the team. Made up of mostly previous players, the team now has more than 40 members with some new reserve forces. The sounds that reverberated over Beijing’s Shichahai Lake decades ago finally returned.

In addition to ice hockey training and playing, members of the “1979 Ice Hockey Team” also help advance the popularity of the sport in China. Their experience with the sport and enduring rink dreams make the members care greatly about younger generations of Chinese ice hockey sport.

“My efforts helped my son become interested in ice hockey,” said Mei in delight. “He made the national youth team and played for the country. He was better than me.”

Zhou Yunjie is chairman of the company that brought professionals from the National Hockey League (NHL) to China in 2017 to provide a benchmark for China’s domestic ice hockey training. He has built rinks, opened clubs, and organized college ice hockey teams, spending most of his waking hours accelerating the development of the ice hockey industry in China.

In their spare time, members of the “1979 Ice Hockey Team” also visit school ice hockey teams in places like Beijing’s Yanqing District and Hebei Province’s Chengde City to provide guidance for children and even help them sharpen their ice skates. The “O.G.” Chinese hockey players continue to fuel the flame of China’s ice hockey cause.