If varsity has left a red and green shaped hole in your heart, then Cardiff’s uni ice hockey club — the RedHawks — have something to help fill that gap. Things are getting heated in the bay as the club prepare to bring back the Cymru Clash for the first time in five years, showcasing the very best of what university ice hockey can bring to the table in Wales. Swansea and Cardiff will go head to head in what is shaping up to be the most exciting match of the season for the RedHawks.
Vice-President, frontrunner of the game, and Captain of the Swansea side Edmund Mortimer has this to say on the return of this thrilling match-up: Running again for the first time in five years, what’s been your biggest challenge in bringing the game back? “Starting from scratch was very hard, having no one to ask for guidance or anyone with prior experience made us have to plan it out in extreme detail, thinking of all possibilities such as finances, how can we make it affordable to the club and players.” Ahead of the game, what do you think swansea’s chances are looking like? “Well I’m optimistic of a big upset. The team will be walking into the lion’s den for sure. We aren’t looking to be dinner, we’re looking to slay the beast.
However, the away stadium and lots of us not playing before major crowds, this will test our composure. The team has been preparing on and off ice and now we’ve just got to work as a team. I think we can come out with a good result for Swansea.” What are you hoping for as a result for the game and the club? “We want a close game that’s entertaining to watch and to play.
If you’re interested in the most heated rivalry
However, this means we won’t be going easy, we are all rearing to go and ready to solidify our sleeves in Clash history. This is a major stepping stone for the club to hopefully allow us to show to the student body that we are a competitive team, and that ice hockey is here [to stay] in Cardiff. We welcome anyone to come and give it a go or even come and support us during our season!” With Swansea coming into the game ready to go, Captain of the Cardiff side, Rhys Malcolm, said he’s expecting “big things” from his team, and he himself is more than ready to “show Swansea who’s boss”. “I’m optimistic of a big upset as well”, says Rhys in response, who is a favourite of the team to score some big shots. “Look, it absolutely could happen for us at the weekend but we’re going have to put up a big performance against a very physical Swansea side.
We’re coming into this one pretty short benched and missing a couple of players in key areas, so we’re really going to have to want it in order to come out with the win. That being said we’ve absolutely got the kind of big game players you need to really step-up into something like this. I think either way we should be able to put on a show.” If you’re interested in the most heated rivalry in Welsh ice hockey, head to the RedHawks SU page to get your tickets, or see their Instagram @cu.redhawks for updates.