By Richard Lawrence
To see all the images go to: https://www.richardlawrencephotography.ca/rlpgalleries/2019/imjin2019/
Once again the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) and the Royal 22nd Regiment (R22eR) put on their hockey armour to do battle in remembrance of hockey games played between the two regiments on the Imjin River in Korea in 1952/3. The Imjin Hockey Classic has been played annually since 2013 and is usually a pretty close contest, this year being no exception as the game went into overtime before declaring a victor.
The game started with the ceremonial puck drop with the official party of the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Maeng-ho Shin, Senator Yonah Martin, Commander of the Canadian Army, Lieutenant-General Wayne Eyre (originally PPCLI), and Korean Veterans Association (Chap. #7) member Bill Black. Also on the red carpet was Mr. Claude Charland who played in the original game in 1952 in Korea.
When the game started, it looked like the PPCLI was going to dominate the game as they scored at about the 18:52 mark (all times approximate) and again at the 7:30 mark and were clearly in control. However, the R22eR finally decided to show up an evened the score at 4:15 and just as the buzzer went to end the first period in a 2-2 tie. Into the second period they continued their momentum at 12:15 and 2:30 while the PPCLI only managed to score at 0:29 ending the second period down 3-4. The momentum swung in the third period back to the PPCLI as they potted one at 12:25 to even things up but the R22eR was not undaunted and scored at 4:05 to again take the lead. In the closing minutes of the third, the PPCLI tied the game again at 2:11 and that’s how the regulation game ended, neither team taking a chance on pulling the goalie for the final minute.
In the event of a tie, the teams play one five-minute overtime period and if tied after that, they go to a shoot-out. Both teams came out fighting and the overtime period was fast with only three attackers on each side. Back and forth it went, with pucks banging off the goalposts, and it looked like a shoot-out was inevitable when, with only 17 seconds left on the clock, the PPCLI got the winning goal. It was a close fought match and the PPCLI were humble in their 6-5 victory and the R22eR gracious in defeat.
At the reception that followed, there was a small ceremony in which the Commander of the Canadian Army, LGen Eyre, was presented with a medal and citation for his contributions to security on the Korean Peninsula. LGen Eyre was the first non-American to be Deputy Commander of the United Nations Command in South Korea prior to coming home as Commander Military Personnel Command and then on to Commander of the Canadian Army. The “Order of National Security Merit – Guksun Medal” was awarded to LGen Eyre by Korean Lieutenant-General Choi, Byung-hyuk, Deputy Commander of South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command who had come all the way from Korea.
Further comments were provided by Ambassador Shin who noted that the hockey game was “most exciting and dynamic” and congratulated both teams on a well-played match. Senator Martin followed suit and also congratulated everyone and went over a brief history of meeting Claude Charland just prior to the first Imjin Hockey Classic in 2013. LGen Eyre then took his turn and thanked Ambassador Shin and Senator Martin for their efforts in forging better Canada-Korea relations and then the veterans and LGen Choi. When referring to why the tradition of the Imjin hockey game is important and the legacy that Canadians left in Korea he noted that this:
“… speaks volumes about our legacy and what we want to remember … this is what success looks like [Korea today] … this is what right looks like. This is the outcome that we want [when we go abroad]”.
General Caron spoke on behalf of the R22eR and noted that this is the first time that the R22eR team members had played together and it was a testament to their abilities and drive that they performed so well and is indicative of the regiment itself. The last speaker was Mr. Bill Black of the KVA who brought up all the Korean War veterans and took special note to introduce Mr. Joe Quinn who is 99 years old and still comes out to these events. KVA Chapter 7 used to have about 260 Korean veterans and is now down to 80 but he commended all those who still come out to events and to lay wreaths. After three cheers in support of LGen Eyre and LGen Choi, everyone went back to the pizza, French fries, and chicken wings.
