Irish team returns to Halifax to compete in SEDMHA tournament

A hockey team from Ireland is competing in SEDMHA once again and is hoping to secure gold this time around.

SEDMHA weekend is underway in the Halifax Regional Municipality, with thousands of hockey players in the city ready to compete.

Made up of players from multiple teams across the Republic of Ireland, the Saints have returned to Nova Scotia for their third year in a row to compete.

“This is a tournament we really enjoy coming to. It’s the overall experience here, it the ultimate hockey experience,” said Paul Cummins, head coach for the Saints U15 National.

“Back home we lack rinks. We have one and their team consists of players from across the country. But not in south of the border. So for me and my team we live in the south and it’s a seven hour round trip to train for an hour and 15 minutes. So it is a broad spectrum of experience on the team.”

Cummins said the team started coming to the tournament three years ago. The first year, they did not win any games but came close.

“Then last year our U15’s won silver which is huge for us. They look forward to this all year,” he said.

Team member Zac Nixon says he is excited to be back in Halifax this year.

“Last year we did great. The goal is gold this year where we won silver last year. This year the team is even better and its even more fun, so we are hoping for gold,” he said.

“It great to show we are not just making up numbers, and I think we proved that last year and were proving that now. The goal is to win the gold metal,” said Cummins.

The SEDMHA tournament runs all weekend long with hundreds of minor hockey players participating.

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