ice hockey

You may have seen ice hockey on television, but in the armoured flesh it is another battlefield altogether. There are few sporting thrills to match the satisfying crunch of man on rinkside screen, and the sheer force and velocity generated in maxi mum-impact collisions give the sport all the thrust and energy of a Tarantino movie.

This year sees the centenary of ice hockey in Britain, and a Team Canada side is coming over to celebrate the occasion. They were due to play Great Britain in the Centenary Game at Wembley Arena tomorrow, but uncertainty surrounding the NHL strike (whichended last week after 104 days) meant that the glamour meeting had to be postponed, possibly till later in the year. Instead Team Canada are undertaking a mini-tour against club teams, including matches against Peterborough Pirates tonight and Milton Keynes Kings on Monday night (see listings for details). Though they will be beefed up with imports from other clubs, neither of these two is likely to be able to keep up with what will probably be the strongest ice hockey side ever to play in Britain.