Windsor Lancers take on China in exhibition hockey matchup

The University of Windsor Lancers men’s hockey team and the Chinese National Team hit the ice Saturday night in an unusual matchup.

For the Lancers, the exhibition game presented an opportunity to shake off any rust created by a more than three week pause in play.

“It's a great opportunity for us to prepare for our second semester,” said Kevin Hamlin, the Lancers’ head coach.

“We start out next Friday against Concordia. They play two exhibition games, so far, we haven't played any, so this is a good dress rehearsal for that game for us.”

The two sides played a competitive game, but the Lancers secured a 4-2 win over Team China.

As far as he knows, Hamlin said the university has never squared off against China’s National Team on the ice.

China's national hockey team seen in Windsor, Ont. on Jan. 4, 2025. (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor)

Ahead of the game, the two sides stood for the singing of their respective national anthems, before shaking hands and dropping the puck at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex.

Hamlin said he was approached by China’s general manager last summer about the potential exhibition game.

“I said, well, of course, I mean any time you can give the players a student experience, something like this, they'll remember this no matter what the score is,” Hamlin said.

“They'll remember this for the rest of their lives, that they had the opportunity to play against China, and so that's why we did it. And not only that, it's a good opportunity for us to put all that stuff that we were doing in practice into game speed.”

In a 2024 IIHF ranking, China sat 26th among 58 men’s national hockey programs.

On the other side, the Lancers sit atop the OUA’s west conference after a strong start to the year.

Windsor (10-7) will begin 2025 away from home with four road matchups in less than two weeks.

Hamlin said the team can’t afford to “fool” themselves into believing they are better than they are based on their place in the standings.

“We know that getting to where we got at the end of the first semester, it didn't come without a lot of adversity and we were one and five to start the year, and we ended up at ten and seven in first place,” Hamlin said.

“So our guys have gone through a lot in a very short period of time.”

The Lancers will resume regular season play when they travel to Concordia on Jan. 10 to play the Stingers.