Kowloon Warriors Win CIHL Championship, RBC Asia Cup

California City, CA, April 28, 2012 --(PR.com)-- The Warriors, the league’s first-place team in the regular season, won the best-of-three CIHL Finals in two straight games. In Game 1, the Warriors won 5-4, before earning a 2-0 win in Game 2 over the Sharks to seal the RBC Asia Cup.

Warriors General Manager Arthur Tam commented: “It’s an amazing feeling to win the RBC Asia Cup and be crowned the first CIHL champions. We have been working towards this goal all season long and it’s rewarding to see our efforts pay off.”

Game 2 of the CIHL Finals saw Warriors goaltender King Ho stop all 39 shots he faced in the tight, physical game. With Ho making sure nothing got past him, Warriors defenseman Grant Phillips gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead in the second period, before Mitch MacDonald added in a second goal for the Warriors to finalize the 2-0 win.

“Royal Bank of Canada would like to congratulate the Kowloon Warriors on their success this season and winning the RBC Asia Cup,” said Andrew Turczyniak, Head of Asia, RBC Wealth Management. “The Warriors and the Sharks provided some exciting and entertaining hockey in the CIHL finals. Over the season, the CIHL has raised the bar on the sport as well as dedicated themselves to developing ice hockey in the region and RBC is proud to be a part of the CIHL.”

On behalf of Hong Kong youth ice hockey club the Hong Kong Typhoons, Antje Lutz presented the Warriors with the RBC Asia Cup. The CIHL and the Typhoons are working together on numerous initiatives to promote and develop Hong Kong ice hockey. Students who attended the CIHL Finals courtesy of RBC and the RBC Adopt a School program, presented the players with their medals. The RBC Adopt a School program has seen over 300 students of all ages attend a CIHL game this season.

Regional ice hockey league CIHL burst into action in October 2011, providing Hong Kong ice hockey fans an opportunity to catch two back-to-back games featuring the Hong Kong Tycoons, the Kowloon Warriors, the Macau Aces and the South China Sharks. All games are played at Mega Ice, with a game format of three, 12-minute periods of five-on-five hockey.

For more information please contact:
Gregory Smyth at greg@cihl.com

About the CIHL
The CIHL was founded in 2010 to provide new opportunities for high-level, contact hockey in Hong Kong, Macau and Southern China as well as to champion sportsmanship and develop future generations of Chinese hockey.

The Royal Bank of Canada is the official league sponsor for the inaugural 2011-2012 CIHL season. This year, the league will feature four teams: the Hong Kong Tycoons, Kowloon Warriors, Macau Aces and South China Sharks.

Every Saturday night from October 8 through April 14, the teams will face off at Mega Ice for two back-to-back games. Family entertainment, community events and on-ice kids’ competitions are aimed at making Saturdays a true “Hockey Night in Hong Kong.”

About Royal Bank of Canada
Proud supporters of amateur sport and the arts, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is the official league sponsor of the CIHL. As league sponsors, RBC will be supporting the CIHL and hockey in Hong Kong in several ways, including an opening night kids’ ticket promotion and the season-long Adopt-a-School Program. For every regular and playoff CIHL game, RBC will sponsor a school and provide 30 complimentary tickets for deserving students.

RBC is passionately committed to growing hockey from the grassroots level, through the RBC Play Hockey program in Canada and the United States and our partnerships with Hockey Canada, USA Hockey and the Hockey Hall of Fame. From the pond to the podium and from the early morning practices to the Saturday night game – RBC is proud to support the hard work and dedication that helps hockey happen.