United Arab Emirates men's national ice hockey team
The UAE national ice hockey team (Arabic: منتخب الإمارات العربية المتحدة لهوكي الجليد) is the national men's ice hockey team of the United Arab Emirates. It is operated under the UAE Ice Sports Federation and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).[2] As of 26 May 2019, the UAE is currently ranked 48th in the IIHF World Ranking and competes in Division III Group A tournament of the World Championships.
 The UAE uses their national emblem as a badge on their players jerseys. | |
| Association | UAE Ice Sports Federation |
|---|---|
| General Manager | Khaled Al-Qubaisi |
| Head coach | Artyom Senkevich |
| Assistants | Mikhail Klimin Sergei Zadelenov |
| Captain | Juma Al-Dhaheri |
| Most games | Juma Al-Dhaheri & Omar Al-Shamisi (65) |
| Most points | Juma Al-Dhaheri (136) |
| Home stadium | Abu Dhabi Ice Rink |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | UAE |
| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | 47  |
| Highest IIHF | 44 (first in 2015) |
| Lowest IIHF | 48 (first in 2019) |
| First international | |
United Arab Emirates   (Changchun, China; 26 January 2007) | |
| Biggest win | |
United Arab Emirates  (Astana, Kazakhstan; 31 January 2011) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Kazakhstan  (Changchun, China; 27 January 2007) | |
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 7 (first in 2010) |
| Best result | 45th (2014) |
| Asian Winter Games | |
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2007) |
| Best result | 6th (2007) |
| Arab Cup of Ice Hockey | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2008) |
| Best result |  |
| IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia | |
| Appearances | 9 (first in 2009) |
| Best result | |
| Gulf Ice Hockey Championship | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2010) |
| Best result | |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 77–38–1 | |
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History
In June 2008, the UAE took part in the inaugural Arab Cup in Abu Dhabi, also involving the national teams of Algeria, Morocco, and Kuwait. They went on to finish first in the standings and won the gold medal after defeating Kuwait, 4–1. They won the gold in the 2009 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia also in Abu Dhabi.
In 2010, the UAE became the first from an Arab nation to play in the IIHF World Championship when they participated in Division III.[3] Although the UAE was not ranked in the world rankings until they played against Ireland, Luxembourg, and Greece, and finished last in Group A with a record of four losses. Their new head coach was Teemu Taruvuori of Finland. In May 2010, the UAE participated in the Kuwaiti organized GCC Gulf Championship, finishing first after winning all three of their games.[4]
Withdrawal from 2011 and 2016 IIHF tournaments
The UAE decided to withdraw from the 2011 Division III tournament in Cape Town, South Africa because they refused to compete against Israel, who was also in the tournament. They also withdrew from the 2016 Division III tournament, with no reason cited.[5]
Roster
Current roster of UAE as of 2019[6]
| Goaltenders | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Catches | Height | Weight | Date of birth | Club |
| 20 | Ahmed Al Dhaheri | L | 173 cm | 85 kg | 20 December 1985 | |
| 1 | Khaled Al Suwaidi | L | 175 cm | 80 kg | 27 March 1980 | |
| Defencemen | ||||||
| # | Player | Shoots | Height | Weight | Date of birth | Club |
| 17 | Saif Al Ameri | R | 166 cm | 58 kg | 28 December 1998 | |
| 3 | Mohammed Al Dhaheri | R | 178 cm | 78 kg | 10 December 1994 | |
| 16 | Mohammed Al Shamsi | L | 173 cm | 80 kg | 1 August 1998 | |
| 6 | Ahmed Al Suwaidi | R | 187 cm | 110 kg | 16 September 1997 | |
| 11 | Nils Rem | L | 180 cm | 65 kg | 19 May 1990 | |
| 21 | Vitali Savko | R | 189 cm | 88 kg | 8 March 1974 | |
| Forwards | ||||||
| # | Player | Shoots | Height | Weight | Date of birth | Club |
| 12 | Faisal Al Baloushi | L | 173 cm | 70 kg | 6 October 1983 | |
| 7 | Juma Al Dhaheri | L | 174 cm | 59 kg | 15 July 1975 | |
| 8 | Mohammed Al Kaabi | R | 174 cm | 59 kg | 13 September 1999 | |
| 23 | Mubarak Al Mazrouei | R | 173 cm | 66 kg | 25 February 1993 | |
| 5 | Khaled Al Mahrouqi | R | 171 cm | 65 kg | 1 August 1996 | |
| 2 | Suhail Al Mehairi | L | 172 cm | 71 kg | 7 January 1982 | |
| 18 | Saeed Al Nuaimi | L | 174 cm | 63 kg | 12 May 1991 | |
| 9 | Omar Al Shamsi | L | 170 cm | 68 kg | 1 January 1974 | |
| 14 | Salem Al Yafeai | R | 167 cm | 68 kg | 8 August 1994 | |
| 15 | Artyom Karkotsky | L | 187 cm | 91 kg | 28 October 1985 | |
| 19 | Artur Zainutdinov | L | 180 cm | 85 kg | 7 February 1992 | |
Tournament record
World Championships
| Year | Host | Result | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 through 2009 | Did not enter | ||||||
| 2010 |  | 46th place (4th in Division III A) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2011 |  | Withdrew from tournament (All games marked as 5–0 forfeits) | |||||
| 2012 |  | Did not participate | |||||
| 2013 | | 46th place (6th in Division III) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2014 | | 45th place (5th in Division III) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2015 | | 46th place (6th in Division III) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2016 | | Withdrew from tournament (All games marked as 5–0 forfeits) | |||||
| 2017 |  | 47th place (7th in Division III) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2018 |  | 49th place (3rd in Division III Q) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2019 | | 47th place (1st in Division III Q) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | | Cancelled due to the 2COVID-19 pandemic[7] | |||||
| Total | 8/11 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 22 | |
Asian Winter Games
| Year | Host | Result | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 through 2003 | Did not enter | ||||||
| 2007 |  | 6th place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2011 | | 8th place (3rd in Premier Division) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2017 |  | 7th place (3rd in Division I) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 3/3 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
Arab Cup/GCC Gulf Championship
| Year | Host | Result | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arab Cup (2008) | |||||||
| 2008 | | | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| GCC Gulf Championship (2010–2016) | |||||||
| 2010 |  | | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | | | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | | | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 |  | | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 5/5 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Challenge Cup of Asia
| Year | Host | Result | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 |  | Did not participate | |||||
| 2009 | | | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 |  |  | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2011 | | | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 |  | | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | | 6th place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2014 | | | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015 | | | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 | | | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 | | | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 |  | Did not participate | |||||
| 2019 |  | ||||||
| 2020 |  | ||||||
| Total | 9/13 | 42 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |
All-time record against other nations
Last match update: 6 April 2019
| Positive balance (more Wins) | |
| Neutral balance (Wins = Losses) | |
| Negative balance (more Losses) |
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 16 |
| 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 58 | 39 |
 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 12 |
| 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 7 |
 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 3 |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 11 |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 0 |
 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 27 |
 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 |
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 37 | 27 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 |
 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 15 |
 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 21 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 |
 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 33 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 43 |
| 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 29 | 37 |
| Total | 116 | 77 | 1 | 38 | 586 | 410 |
Note: The UAE was awarded a 5–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2017 IIHF World Championship Division III after Bosnia and Herzegovina forfeited the game.[8]
References
- "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- "UAE ice hockey team 'know we can compete' | The National". Thenational.ae. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- Loonen, Joeri (20 April 2010). "From Abu Dhabi to the Acropolis". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- Merk, Martin (8 June 2010). "UAE wins Gulf Championship". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- "Men's Div. III begins". IIHF.com. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/6675/uae/2018-2019
- "Men's Division II, III cancelled". IIHF. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- "Bosnia withdraws". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 7 April 2017.