Chinese Hockey Team Loses 1st Trial Game For Olympics In OT

MYTISHCHI, Russia: The players hoping to represent China in mens hockey at next years Beijing Olympics lost to a Russian club in overtime Monday in a game used by international officials to assess the Chinese teams competitive strength.

Kunlun Red Star, wearing red shirts with Chinese flag patches on the shoulder, fought back from a four-goal deficit to force overtime before losing to Amur Khabarovsk 5-4 in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League.

Kunlun has been playing in the KHL as a proxy for the Chinese national team and a base for naturalized players who grew up in the United States and Canada. The team has the worst record in the KHL.

Amur led 4-0 with five minutes to go in the second period in a near-empty arena in the Moscow suburbs before the comeback started.

The International Ice Hockey Federation had officials watching the game, and will monitor another Wednesday, to evaluate the status of the teams preparations amid concerns the Chinese national squad will lose big on the Olympic stage.

The IIHF has refused to confirm which Kunlun players are eligible for Olympic roster spots, but one of those eyeing Beijing is winger Brandon Yip, who played 174 NHL games over five seasons mostly for the Colorado Avalanche.

Yip scored Kunluns first goal Monday before former NHL prospect Josh Nicholls, Russian forward Mikhail Abramov and former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ryan Sproul took the game to overtime.

KHL records list 19 players on the Kunlun roster as having Chinese nationality, and more could be naturalized in time for the Olympics. Time spent playing for Kunlun counts toward the IIHF-mandated two years of residence needed to qualify for international play, even though Kunlun has been based in Russia since early 2020 because of pandemic-related travel restrictions.

China got its spots in the Olympic hockey tournaments as host country and the IIHF has said it will not seek to remove the teams from the competitions.

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