Bears take on the World!

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Nathan Taylor from the Western Weekender recently wrote about the Bears that are about to represent Australia at the World Championships in Mexico.  His article is shared below...

Four players from local Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) club the Sydney Bears will travel to Mexico City next month to com­pete at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

Bears captain Michael Schlamp along with teammates Anthony Kimlin, Richard Tesarik and Cameron Todd will represent Australia in the Division 2 Group B compe­tition.
Speaking with the Weekender, Canadian-born Schlamp says it's always an honour to represent his adopted country.

"It's always fun and exciting to play for Australia," he said.
"I've done it a few times already and it's good to hang out with the guys and play with such high quality players."

Australia will be fighting it out for gold against five other countries including Mexico, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Israel and North Korea.

According to Schlamp, Australia will go into the round robin competition as favourites.

"We have a pretty good chance at a gold medal," the 35-year-old said. “We usually play in the division above but were relegated last year after injuries resulted in a few losses.
"We are looking to move back up a divi­sion if we win."

Schlamp and his Bears teammates will depart for Mexico City next Saturday where they will link up with the rest of the Australian team before competition offi­cially gets underway on Saturday, April 9.

"First we'll have a six day training camp to get to know each other and also get used to the altitude in Mexico City, which will be a challenge," he said. "We play our first game against the host country Mexico on opening night."

As soon as competition ends, Schlamp and his Australian teammates will head straight home to prepare for the opening round of the 2016 AIHL season.

The Sydney Bears will be looking to improve on last season's seventh place finish when they take on the Canberra Brave in Round 1 at Penrith Ice Palace on Sunday, April 24.

"As soon as we land home, we play our first game just a few days later," Schlamp said. "With some new players joining the team, I'm certainly looking forward to the season ahead."