LAC LA BICHE - On Jan. 20, the Korea University (KU) men’s hockey team will be making a stop in Lac La Biche to face off against the Portage College Voyageurs.
From Jan. 12-31, the Korea University ‘Tigers’ from Seoul are playing six teams from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) as part of an exhibition tour across Alberta and Southern Saskatchewan. The game against Portage College takes place at 7 p.m. at the Bold Centre.
Wooje Sung, an advisor for the Korea University men’s hockey team, said the team is doing the tour with the hopes of joining the ACAC for the 2024-2025 season. According to a recent release by the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, a membership application submitted by KU to compete in ACAC hockey is currently under review.
“It’s a test for us to see if we compete in the league,” he told Lakeland This Week.
Sung continued by saying that the team has been training in preparation for their tour. From Jan. 5-7, the KU competed in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) showcase, which also included ACAC hockey teams from SAIT and Concordia.
The Tigers won all three games played against Vancouver Island University, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Victoria.
During the first game of the ACAC tour, which took place on Jan. 12, KU suffered a 4-3 defeat to the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder in overtime.
Sung is expecting the team to face a variety of opponents during its time playing in Canada. He stated that with only five university teams in South Korea, there isn’t a great amount of competition in the country.
There are also a few differences, he says, between the Canadian game and its Korean counterpart.
“The Canadian game is played in a smaller rink, and it's a little more physical,” he explained.
According to Sung, the season for the Korea University men’s hockey team ends in December. He said the team, which has its own league and is a past champion, is fast, skilled, and well-structured.
Sung said the exhibition game on Jan. 20 between Korea University and the Portage College Voyageurs will be a very unique experience. He added that local residents will also have an opportunity to meet members of the visiting team, as some of the players speak fluent English.
“I hope the community come and cheer for Portage,” he said. “I think it’s a first playing against Portage.”
The next stop on the tour takes place on Jan. 17, against the NAIT OOKs. On Jan. 24, KU travels to Camrose to take on the Augustana University Vikings. Two days later, the team goes head-to-head against the SAIT Trojans. The final stop on the tour is scheduled for Jan. 31 against the Briercrest College Clippers.
