On Saturday 20th May Scottish Ice Hockey (SIH) ran a test event in Dumfries that saw Under 10s, Under 12s and Under 20s players from all over Scotland take part. The players were split into teams based on home club location then played each other over the course of the day.

The event was a trial with the hope that the games would be very competitive, and the result proved that theory correct. The day was deemed an overall success and something Scottish Ice Hockey will now look to expend on.

Head of Hockey Operations, Jamie Thomson, said, “East V West is something I’ve been wanting to reintroduce for a few years now and this event gave us a chance to prove it works.

We need our players playing more and they must play at a level that they are always having to battle to compete. It’s vitally important that this is our main focus when it comes to junior hockey moving forward.

These games also give coaches looking at national and international team selection a chance to see players actually play in a like for like situation, some players are fantastic on training and at trials but the best players should come to the top during these games so overall it’s win win for everyone involved.”