Israeli hockey team coming to East Meadow

National squad will play exhibition matchup at Twin Rinks on March 7

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The Israeli national hockey team will play at the Twin Rinks Ice Center on March 7, in an exhibition game against a team assembled by twin brothers Peter and Chris Ferraro, former National Hockey League players who are part owners of the complex.

Half of the night’s proceeds will go back to the Israeli team for their efforts to promote the growth of the sport in the country. There is only one full sized hockey rink in Israel, according to the team’s goaltender, Marc Brunengraber.

“Hockey really isn’t a prominent sport in the country,” said CJ Nizich, the marketing and event coordinator for Twin Rinks. “They’re trying to build that up now.” Nizich added that this will be the first international team to play at the complex.

But the limited national hockey presence hasn’t prevented the Israeli team from finding success on the ice. As a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation, they won the Division II-B World Championships in Hungary in 2013.

Nizich said excitement for the game is quickly building, and he has been reaching out to local synagogues and Jewish organizations to promote it. “There’s been a pretty big excitement,” he said. “A lot of people are generally unaware that there’s even a hockey presence in Israel.”

To form an equally competitive team, Nizich said the Ferraros are recruiting former college and NHL teammates to play with them against the Israeli squad.

“Hosting the Israel National Team at our home base, Twin Rinks, is an unbelievable honor,” said Peter, who, with Chris, played for the New York Rangers in the 1995-96 NHL season, the second set of identical twins to ever play on the same team. “I look forward to the challenge of competing against Israel’s finest talent and getting together with old friends to put on a great show. We are all extremely excited to host this event at Twin Rinks and broadcast the Israeli hockey talent to the people of New York.”

Tickets are available at the twin rinks website, twinrinkseisenhower.com, and at the arena’s box office.