South China Sharks Clinch CIHL Regular Season Title

Top Quote The South China Sharks won the 2012-2013 CIHL regular season title following a thrilling year hockey, which culminated with a dominant 8-3 win over the Quam Hong Kong Typhoons in the final week of play in the elite, full contact ice hockey league. End Quote
  • (1888PressRelease) February 19, 2013 - HONG KONG - With a 12-3 record, the Sharks, led by captain Jamie Stark, have earned the top seed heading into the best-of-three CIHL semi-final playoff series which begins this Saturday, February 23.

    The Sharks, who held first place for much of the season, finished just a single point ahead of their rivals, the defending CIHL champions, the AsiaXPAT Kowloon Warriors. With the first-place finish, the Sharks will take on the Macau Aces, who finished fourth, while the Warriors will face the Tycoons. The winners of each semi-final series will compete in a single game CIHL Final on Saturday, March 16 to determine this year's champion.

    Said Stark: "After losing the championship last season, we were determined to come back this season stronger and I think we've proven what we can do. While the CIHL regular season title gives us confidence heading into the playoffs, we know we can't take anything for granted and we're focused completely on the Aces."

    In just its second season, the CIHL has seen tremendous growth and development in Hong Kong hockey - one-fifth of the league's players were born in Hong Kong, while the league's partnership with the U18 partnership has seen several of the city's brightest talents take to the ice this season.

    While on paper, the Warriors-Tycoons match-up tilts in the number two seed's favour, the Tycoons will be looking to capitalize on their win - their first in CIHL history - over the Warriors earlier this month. Each team also boasts one of the RBC CIHL Interns, with Devin Welsh playing for Warriors and Adam Maglio drafted first overall to the Tycoons.

    Commented CIHL co-founder and director Greg Smyth: "It's been a hard-fought regular season and the four teams have really battled it out on the ice each and every game. The competitiveness will only become fiercer and more intense with the playoffs and we look forward to welcoming CIHL fans for an exciting fight to hoist the RBC Asia Cup."

    Tickets for the playoffs are available for purchase at http://www.cihl.com/tickets.php or by contacting info ( @ ) cihl dot com dot

    Stay up to date with all the news and information from the CIHL through the league's website at www.cihl.com and the free iPhone app, available at the iTunes store, which allows fans to access on-demand video clips, game highlights, photographs, statistics, schedules and player information.

    About the CIHL
    The CIHL was founded in 2010 to provide new opportunities for high-level, contact hockey in Hong Kong, Macau and Southern China, as well as to champion sportsmanship and develop future generations of Chinese hockey. This year, the league will feature four teams: the Hong Kong Tycoons, Kowloon Warriors, Macau Aces and South China Sharks

    On Saturday nights from October, 6 2012 through March 16, 2013, the teams will face off at Mega Ice for two back-to-back games. Family entertainment, community events and on-ice kids' competitions are aimed at making Saturdays a true "Hockey Night in Hong Kong". The official website of the CIHL is www.cihl.com and a free iPhone app is available through the iTunes store.

    About Royal Bank of Canada
    Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and are among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking and investor services on a global basis. We employ approximately 80,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 51 other countries. For more information, please visit www.rbc.com.

    For more information, please contact:
    Gregory Smyth, CIHL, greg ( @ ) cihl dot com

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