The Haverford Hawks are keeping a 30-year tradition going by hosting the Finland-USA Exchange Tournament this weekend at the Skatium in Havertown, reports Jennifer Lee for Fox 29.
Forty-one youth hockey players from Helsinki, Finland, will compete. The players stay with local families for 10 days, with the three-day tournament wrapping up the week.
The Haverford Hawks will take on the ViikingIt club.
“It’s cool to see their different style of play,” said Jonah Cohen, a player for the Haverford Hawks Hockey Club. “It’s just cool because [my dad] tells me stories of when he went to Finland and how he hosted when they came to the US”.
Jonah’s dad, Micah Cohen, was on the first Hawks team that traveled to Finland in 2000.
“I love watching [Jonah] play, love that he’s a Haverford Hawk,” Micah Cohen said. “Sometimes it feels like a cold world out there, but this brings everybody together.”
The gathering of the two teams is more than just a series of hockey games. Players and their families share meals, attend a Flyers game, and take trips to Philadelphia and New York City.
The exchange alternates each year, with the Hawks visiting Finland in the odd years.
Read more about this unique cultural and sports exchange at Fox 29.
