Georgia men's national ice hockey team
{{Short description|National men's ice hockey team of Georgia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox national hockey team
| Name = Georgia
| Badge = Greater coat of arms of Georgia.svg
| Badge_size = 180px
| Association = Georgian Ice Hockey National Federation
| General Manager =
| Coach = Aleksandr Vedernikov
| Asst Coach = Revaz Tsomaia
| Captain = Ivan Karelin
| Most games = Vitali Dumbadze (35)
| Top scorer = Artyom Kozyulin (27)
| Most points = Artyom Kozyulin (54)
| Home Stadium =
| IIHF code = GEO
| IIHF Rank = {{IIHF World Ranking|GEO}}
| IIHF max = 38
| IIHF max date = 2020–21
| IIHF min = 53
| IIHF min date = 2023
| Team_Colors = {{color box|red|border=darkgray}} {{color box|white|border=darkgray}}
| First game = {{ih-rt|RSA}} 8–1 {{ih|GEO}}
(Yerevan, Armenia; 12 April 2010)
| Largest win = {{ih-rt|GEO}} 19–0 {{ih|UAE}}
(Sofia, Bulgaria; 13 April 2017)
| Largest loss = {{ih-rt|ARM}} 22–1 {{ih|GEO}}
(Yerevan, Armenia; 12 April 2010)
{{ih-rt|PRK}} 22–1 {{ih|GEO}}
(Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg; 6 April 2014)
| World champ apps = 10
| World champ first = 2013
| World champ best = 30th (2023)
| Record = 24–32–0
}}
The Georgian men's national ice hockey team ({{lang-ka|საქართველოს ეროვნული ყინულის ჰოკეის ნაკრები}}) is the national men's ice hockey team of Georgia, and has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 8 May 2009. As of 2022, Georgia is ranked 43rd in the World Ranking. Georgia first played in the World Championships tournament in 2013, and remained at Division III level until winning at that level in 2018 and earning a promotion to Division II Group B, where they currently play.
Though ice hockey was first introduced to Georgia in the 1960s, the sport was never very popular and there were long stretches when it was not played at all. In 2004 the Georgian Ice Hockey Federation was established, and a domestic league began in 2007, allowing for the development of the national team and its entry into international competition in 2010, playing their first competitive matches in 2012.
History
=Soviet Union=
Ice hockey was introduced in Georgia in the 1960s, part of a Soviet policy to introduce winter sports across the country. A trainer from Moscow, Valentin Zakharov, was sent to Georgia to train youth in the sport. As Tbilisi, the capital, had no rink, most of the initial exercises involved dry-land training.{{cite web|url=https://www.amerikiskhma.com/a/georgia-wins-ice-hockey-world-championship-3-division/4361155.html|title=ქართული ჰოკეი: ერთი სიცოცხლე, ერთი ოცნება, ერთი გუნდი (Georgian hockey: one life, one dream, one team)|last=Tsuladze|first=Zaza|date=23 April 2018|publisher=Voice of America (Georgian)|access-date=2 October 2018|language=ka}} As the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Georgia played its first game in 1962 during the Winter Spartakiad which was held in Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union. Georgia played seven games, winning their matches against the Kirghiz SSR and the Armenian SSR, while losing the remaining games to the Lithuanian SSR twice, the Kazakh SSR, the Estonian SSR and the Latvian SSR.{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalteamsoficehockey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Georgia-Men-All-Time-Results-1.pdf|title=Georgia All Time Results|publisher=National Teams of Ice Hockey|access-date=6 April 2016}}
Zakharov left Georgia in 1966, and hockey effectively ended in Georgia. It was revived in 1978 by one of Zakharov's students, Nodar Donadze, who established a club in Tbilisi. This saw some further developments, with one player, goaltender Kote Bakhutashvili, invited to join the youth development team of CSKA Moscow, the dominant team in the Soviet league, in the late 1980s; however it was ultimately ended in 1987. As ice hockey was not popular in Georgia, an ice rink built in Tbilisi was demolished in the post-Soviet era.{{cite web|url=https://eurasianet.org/how-one-georgian-family-built-a-national-ice-hockey-league|title=How one Georgian family built a national ice hockey league|last1=Jardine|first1=Bradley|last2=Hauer|first2=Neil|date=25 September 2018|publisher=Eurasianet.org|access-date=2 October 2018}}
=Modern era=
File:Georgia Greece 2013.jpg. Greece won the match, {{nowrap|13–0.}}]]
Two students of Donadze, Denis Davidov and Lasha Tsagareishvili, established the Georgian Ice Hockey Federation in 2004. A national league was started in 2007.{{cite web|url=https://www.gazeta.ru/sport/2006/12/kz_1196220.shtml|title=Хоккей по-грузински (Georgian hockey)|last=Bulkin|first=Leonid|date=27 December 2006|publisher=Gazeta.ru|access-date=2 October 2018|language=ru}} In 2009 Georgia joined the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) as an associate member.{{cite web|url=https://www.iihf.com/en/associations/344/georgia|work=IIHF|title=Georgia|access-date=2 October 2018}} Shortly after being accepted into the IIHF both Davidov and Tsagareishvili, along with four others (including the president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Armenia) were killed in a car accident in Turkey, forcing the Georgian Ice Hockey Federation to delay plans to start a national team.{{cite web|url=http://gza.kvirispalitra.ge/qveyana/3440-busghalstesri-bizsnessmesni-da-mzasresusli-qarsthusli-hoskesis-erovsnul-naksrebsshi.html|title=ბუღალტერი, ბიზნესმენი და მზარეული – ქართული ჰოკეის ეროვნულ ნაკრებში (Accountant, businessman, and Chef – In the Georgian national hockey team)|last=Kalandadze|first=Ana|date=16 May 2016|publisher=Kvirispalitra.ge|access-date=2 October 2018|language=ka}}
Georgia first played an international match in 2010, when they travelled to Yerevan, Armenia, which was hosting the 2010 Division III World Championship. They played exhibition games against South Africa and Armenia, losing 8–1 and 22–1, respectively. Georgia made their debut in the World Championship in 2012, playing in the 2013 Division III Qualification tournament held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. They lost all three games, being outscored 28 goals to one (Gocha Jeiranashvili scored the lone goal, Georgia's first in IIHF play, in the final game against the United Arab Emirates), and failed to qualify for the Division III tournament.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=7271&cHash=221ac8af8a96a0ad4b1522f27ce7365d|title=UAE, Greece advance|last=Merk|first=Martin|date=17 October 2012|work=IIHF|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003014331/http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=7271&cHash=221ac8af8a96a0ad4b1522f27ce7365d|url-status=dead}} The following year Georgia was placed in Division III, as several teams did not participate. They scored three goals and gave up seventy-eight in the five games, all losses.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=8681&cHash=169191ced452bdb78fc8e41fa389fa0c|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004021149/http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=8681&cHash=169191ced452bdb78fc8e41fa389fa0c|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 October 2018|title=Bulgaria steps up|last=Gerber|first=Daniel|date=13 April 2014|work=IIHF|access-date=3 October 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/382/IHM382200_76_15_0.pdf|title=2014 IIHF World Championship Division III Tournament Progress|date=12 April 2014|work=IIHF|access-date=3 October 2018}} The 2015 Division III tournament saw Georgia record their first win, against Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by an overtime victory against the United Arab Emirates. The fourth-place finish was considered a great success, and credited to new players: Vitali Dumbadze and Dimitri Smetanin scored 17 of Georgia's 20 goals, while Andrei Ilienko was named the top goaltender of the tournament.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9573&cHash=d7d7e5dcb5e4d803e6ba9871b1373de8|title=DPR Korea steps up|last=Manninen|first=Henrik|date=13 April 2015|work=IIHF|access-date=3 October 2018|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003222456/http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9573&cHash=d7d7e5dcb5e4d803e6ba9871b1373de8|url-status=dead}}
In October 2015 Georgia participated in the first game of the 2018 Winter Olympic qualification tournament, against Bulgaria, losing the match 9–1.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=10043&cHash=1d0797abe0892dc2471ec6d74cc45e6e|title=Bulgaria advances|last=Tchechankov|first=Ivan|date=11 October 2015|work=IIHF|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003014228/http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=10043&cHash=1d0797abe0892dc2471ec6d74cc45e6e|url-status=dead}} Funding from the Georgian government came for the first time in 2015; prior to that the players and management had to pay all expenses. In the 2016 Division III tournament, they finished second after winning four games out of five, only losing to Turkey 5–4, and having the tournament's leading scorer, Boris Kochkin (who had 10 goals and 9 assists).{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=10555&cHash=c7f20719119b93cbe0b79fc515677113|title=Second time lucky|last=Manninen|first=Henrik|date=7 April 2016|work=IIHF|access-date=3 October 2018|archive-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004021123/http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=10555&cHash=c7f20719119b93cbe0b79fc515677113|url-status=dead}} However, all their matches were later nullified and the results recorded as 5–0 forfeits due to Georgia's use of ineligible players.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/competition/540/|title=2016 IIHF World Championship Div III Scores|author=IIHF|year=2016|work=IIHF|access-date=2 October 2018}} At the 2017 Division III tournament they placed third, winning three of their five games.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/de/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11577&cHash=6fcc9d6963b10e61eafabd026266905c|title=First gold for Luxembourg|last=Tchachankov|first=Ivan|date=17 April 2017|work=IIHF|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003014335/http://webarchive.iihf.com/de/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11577&cHash=6fcc9d6963b10e61eafabd026266905c|url-status=dead}} Five Georgians placed in the top ten scorers, including Artem Kozyulin in first with 25 points (13 goals and 12 assists), while Artem Kurbatov was named the tournament's best defeceman.{{cite web|url=https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/603/IHM603000_85B_6_0.pdf|title=2017 IIHF World Championship Division III – Scoring Leaders|date=16 April 2017|work=IIHF|access-date=3 October 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/603/IHM603000_85I_1_0.pdf|title=2017 IIHF World Championship Division III – Best Players Selected by the Directorate|year=2017|work=IIHF|access-date=3 October 2018}} In the 2018 Division III tournament, they finished first after winning four games out of five, losing one game to South Africa 4–2. Five of the top ten scorers in the tournament were from the Georgian team, including Aleksandr Zhuzhunashvili, who led the tournament in goals (10), assists (9), and points (19), and was named the best forward.{{cite web|url=http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/642/IHM642000_85B_19_0.pdf|title=2018 IIHF World Championship Division III – Scoring Leaders|date=22 April 2018|work=IIHF|access-date=3 October 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/642/IHM642000_85I_1_0.pdf|title=2018 IIHF World Championship Division III – Best Players Selected by the Directorate|year=2018|work=IIHF|access-date=3 October 2018}} For the first time, Georgia earned promotion to Division IIB for 2019. The result was attributed to a policy of naturalization: three of the top five scorers had Russian or Ukrainian surnames, while all five learned hockey outside of Georgia.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=12562&cHash=d20735375f2144c4b04c43222524723e|title=Georgia's joy|last=Potts|first=Andy|date=24 April 2018|work=IIHF|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003013927/http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=12562&cHash=d20735375f2144c4b04c43222524723e|url-status=dead}} The result had Georgia place 40th in the IIHF World Ranking, their highest spot to date.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/championships/world-ranking/mens-world-ranking/2018-ranking-may/|title=2018 (May) IIHF World Ranking|date=May 2018|work=IIHF|access-date=5 October 2018}}
Honours
- IIHF World Championship Division III
- Winners: (1) 2018
World Championship record
All-time record against other nations
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Team !!Played !!Won !!Tied !!Lost !!GF !!GA | ||||||
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|ARM}} | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|AUS}} | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| bgcolor=#FFFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|BEL}} | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|BIH}} | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 8 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|BUL}} | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 50 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|TPE}} | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 6 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|CRO}} | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|GRE}} | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|HKG}} | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 32 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|ISL}} | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 9 |
| bgcolor=#FFFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|ISR}} | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|LUX}} | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 45 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|MEX}} | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|MGL}} | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|NED}} | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|NZL}} | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 12 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|PRK}} | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 43 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|RSA}} | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 22 |
| bgcolor=#FFCCCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|ESP}} | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|THA}} | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| bgcolor=#CCFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|TUR}} | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 22 |
| bgcolor=#FFFFCC
|style="text-align:left;"|{{ih|UAE}} | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 19 |
| 22 National teams | 59 | 27 | 0 | 32 | 239 | 345 |
|---|
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20141217101107/http://hockey.ge/ Official website]
- [https://www.iihf.com/en/associations/344/georgia IIHF profile]
- [https://www.nationalteamsoficehockey.com/georgia/ National Teams of Ice Hockey]
{{Men's national ice hockey teams}}
{{National sports teams of Georgia}}
Category:2010 establishments in Georgia (country)
Category:Ice hockey in Georgia (country)
Category:National ice hockey teams in Europe