Sunday, April 20, 2025
No fan bases are more divided than the Rangers, Islanders and Devils.
But on March 23, those bitter rivals, who have spent decades split by hatred and animosity, were bound together by blood, heritage and creed. United under the flag of Israel, draped around many like Superman’s cape, hundreds of spectators came together to watch the Jerusalem Capitals and HC Tel Aviv, the top teams in the Israeli Elite Hockey League (IEHL), as they participate in the USA Challenge Cup at UBS Arena.
“It’s a historic moment for Israeli hockey,” said Jerusalem assistant coach David Warsofsky. “The night in general was a huge success and I hope the fans enjoyed it as much as we did coaching it.”
The event started with IEHL co-founder and co-commissioner Marc Brunengraber greeted spectators with a welcome speech, with the league on the precipice of entering its fifth season later this year. Brunengraber said that the evening’s events were about more than just hockey, but about sharing love for the sport by growing it exponentially over the last five years, a sentence one of the star players harmonized with.
“Four years ago, we played four-on-four and look where we played now, in an NHL arena,” said Jerusalem forward Nikita Zitserman. “It’s just going to go higher from here.”
“We’re showing everyone how great [Israeli hockey] is,” said Tel Aviv head coach Stuart Gourdji.
Gourdji pointed to the fact that this was an atmosphere unlike anything he’d ever experienced because of the unique mix of the Israeli background of the staff and players, and the same energy from the fans.
“This is a dream, coaching in front of eight thousand people,” he said. “The music and the Israeli flags, you see that a lot in soccer but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen something like that
It wasn’t an NHL game as we’re used to it: the Israeli anthem was sung before the Star-Spangled Banner. The Islanders goal horn rang every time the puck found the back of the net, but it wasn’t fans chanting “Islanders, Islanders, yes, yes, yes” when the home team scored. When Tel Aviv scored, the loud speakers played Tel Aviv by Omer Adam; when Jerusalem scored, the audience was serenaded with Naomi Shemer’s Yerushalayim shel Zahav.
Other than that, it was a typical NHL hockey game: three 20-minute periods and a pair of 20-minute intermissions in between them, junior hockey teams facing off during intermissions, trash-talking before a fight on the ice and penalty minutes in the Sin Bin. Ironically, after both players sat their penalty, they fist bumped each other on their way to the bench.
Nearly 120 combined shots on goal made for a nail-biting game, one that went to overtime until Jerusalem’s Denis Zaychik netted his one-timer in one of the biggest stages he’s ever played on. The Capitals won, 7-6, in overtime.
“Feeling amazing,” Zaychik said, adding the fact that he’s never played in an arena this large before. “Fans of Israel and fans of hockey and together it’s a very good mix.”
“It was my dream since I was a kid,” Zitserman admitted. “I can only remember that I just wished to play in an NHL rink.”
Sports proved to be a unifier once again. Match 23 might have been the most Hebrew that the halls of UBS Arena heard. Sports proved to be a unifier in an increasingly divisive world.
