(Canscene) —: The Canadian Multicultural Hockey League (CMHL) Inc. announces the addition of a division of Women’s Hockey to its fast evolving grassroots project of multicultural hockey–The Canadian Multicultural Hockey Championships (CMHC). Comprised of six teams, European, Japanese, Israeli, Chinese, Ojibwa and Iroqois, the new division will make its mark at the fast approaching second annual tournament named this year, The Coffee Time and 2 4 1 Pizza Canadian Multicultural Hockey Championships.

Staying true to its mission and driven by passion, in less than two years in existence, the Canadian Multicultural Hockey League (CMHL) Inc., is surging at a stellar pace having already made a significant contribution to multicultural hockey in Canada. So far, the organization has laid a strong foundation in Ontario. This year, the number of men’s teams is up to 20 from 16 at last year’s inaugural tournament. And now, the addition of a women’s division will no doubt add greater excitement to the Championships. According to Tim Fujita, head of community relations for the CMHL, “we have been looking forward to launching the women’s division and there has never been a better time than right now, as we’re about to hold the second annual championships”.

Vicky Sunohara, captain of the Japanese Typohoon with member of the men’s Arashi team

Leading up to the championships, several men’s and women’s teams are sharpening up their skates in exhibition games in and out-of-town. Such is the case with a history-making men’s game happening on Dec. 9 near Brantford– the defending Canadian Cup Champions, the Irish Shamrocks, will be traveling to the Ohsweken Reserve where they will play the Iroquois Silverhawks at the Gaylord Powless Arena, before a large crowd from the reserve.

It’s predicted that a multicultural audience of over 20,000 will cheer their respective communities when this year’s championships come to life at Scarborough Arena Gardens and Ted Reeve Arena, Dec. 27-30. For more information on the Canadian Multicultural Hockey Championships, including history, playing for a team, exhibition games and game schedules, please visit www.cmhl.ca

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 1st, 2006 at 12:50 am and is filed under Canscene News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.