South Africa men's national ice hockey team

South Africa
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Rhinos
AssociationSouth African Ice Hockey Federation
General managerChristiaan Venter
Head coachBjörn Kinding
CaptainUthman Samaai
Most gamesJack Valadas (95)
Top scorerMichael Edwards (41)
Most pointsMichael Edwards (82)
Home stadiumGrandWest Ice Station[1]
Team colors       
IIHF codeRSA
Ranking
Current IIHF47 Increase 2 (27 May 2024)[2]
Highest IIHF37 (2003)
Lowest IIHF52 (2022)
First international
Yugoslavia  12–3  South Africa
(Lausanne, Switzerland; 3 March 1961)
Biggest win
South Africa  33–1  Armenia
(Mexico City, Mexico; 7 March 2005)
Biggest defeat
Kazakhstan  32–0  South Africa
(Bled, Slovenia; 16 March 1993)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances32 (first in 1961)
Best result19th (1961, 1966)
International record (W–L–T)
62–98–1

The South Africa national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of South Africa. The team is controlled by the South African Ice Hockey Federation and has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 25 February 1937. As of 29 September 2022, South Africa is currently ranked 51st in the IIHF World Ranking and competes in Division III of the IIHF World Championships. South Africa is the only African-based team that competes in IIHF tournaments.

The current crest on the team jersey consists of a rhino, with the previous one being the crest of the National Sports Council or various iterations of the national flag.[3][4][5]

World Championship record

Year City Country Result
1961 Geneva & Lausanne   Switzerland 5th place in Group C (19th)
1966 Jesenice  Yugoslavia 3rd place in Group C (19th)
1992 Johannesburg  South Africa 2nd place in Group C2 (28th)
1993 Bled  Slovenia 12th place in Group C (32nd)
1994 Barcelona  Spain 8th place in Group C2 (35th)
1995 Johannesburg  South Africa 8th place in Group C2 (37th)
1997 Ankara  Turkey 1st Group E (NR)
1998 Krugersdorp  South Africa 5th place in Group D (37th)
1999 Krugersdorp  South Africa 5th place in Group D (37th)
2000 Reykjavík  Iceland 4th place in Group D (37th)
2001 Majadahonda  Spain 4th place in Division IIA (36th)
2002 Cape Town  South Africa 5th place in Division II Group A (37th)
2003 Seoul  South Korea 5th place in Division II Group A (38th)
2004 Elektrėnai  Lithuania 6th place in Division II Group B (40th)
2005 Mexico City  Mexico Silver in Division III (42nd)
2006 Sofia  Bulgaria 6th place in Division II Group A (40th)
2007 Dundalk  Ireland 4th place in Division III (44th)
2008 Kockelscheuer  Luxembourg Silver in Division III (42nd)
2009 Sofia  Bulgaria 6th in Division II Group B (40th)
2010 Yerevan  Armenia Bronze in Division III Group B (44th)
2011 Cape Town  South Africa Silver in Division III (42nd)
2012 Sofia  Bulgaria 6th in Division II Group B (39th)
2013 Cape Town  South Africa Gold in Division III (41st)
2014 Jaca  Spain 5th in Division II Group B (39th)
2015 Cape Town  South Africa 6th in Division II Group B (40th)
2016 Istanbul  Turkey Silver in Division III (42nd)
2017 Sofia  Bulgaria 5th in Division III (45th)
2018 Cape Town  South Africa 5th in Division III (45th)
2019 Sofia  Bulgaria 6th in Division III (46th)
2020 Cape Town  South Africa Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[6]
2021 Cape Town  South Africa All lower division tournaments
cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[7]
2022 Cape Town  South Africa Gold in Division III Group B (42nd)
2023 Cape Town  South Africa 3rd in Division III (43rd)
2024 Bishkek  Kyrgyzstan 5th in Division III (45th)

All-time record against other national teams

Last match update: 16 March 2024[8]

Opponent Played Won Tied Lost Goals For Goals Against Diff Win %
 Armenia 2 1 0 1 35 10 +25 50.00%
 Australia 7 0 0 7 23 63 −40 0.00%
 Belgium 10 1 0 9 17 88 −71 10.00%
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 4 0 0 29 5 +24 100.00%
 Bulgaria 8 1 0 7 14 54 −40 12.50%
 China 3 0 0 3 5 17 –12 0.00%
 Chinese Taipei 4 2 0 2 19 21 –2 50.00%
 Croatia 1 0 0 1 1 11 –10 0.00%
 Denmark 2 0 0 2 2 15 –13 0.00%
 Estonia 3 0 0 3 3 51 −48 0.00%
 France 1 0 0 1 2 11 −9 0.00%
 Georgia 4 3 0 1 22 9 +13 88.00%
 Greece 5 5 0 0 50 8 +42 100.00%
 Hong Kong 2 2 0 0 15 1 +14 100.00%
 Hungary 4 0 0 4 7 57 −50 0.00%
 Iceland 3 2 0 1 14 15 –1 66.67%
 Ireland 3 2 0 1 13 11 +2 66.67%
 Israel 8 1 0 7 21 46 −25 12.50%
 Italy 2 0 0 2 2 35 −33 0.00%
 Kazakhstan 1 0 0 1 0 32 −32 0.00%
 Kyrgyzstan 1 0 0 1 1 10 −9 0.00%
 Lithuania 1 0 0 1 1 16 −15 0.00%
 Luxembourg 11 7 0 4 59 30 +29 63.64
 Mexico 8 3 0 5 30 25 +5 37.50%
 Mongolia 5 5 0 0 51 9 +41 100.00%
 Netherlands 1 0 0 1 4 8 −4 0.00%
 New Zealand 13 9 1 3 56 38 +18 69.23%
 North Korea 4 1 0 3 8 18 −20 25.00%
 Romania 2 0 0 2 3 33 −30 0.00%
 Serbia and Montenegro 3 0 0 3 10 40 −30 0.00%
 Slovenia 1 0 0 1 0 29 −29 0.00%
 South Korea 5 0 0 5 8 46 −38 0.00%
 Spain 7 0 0 7 10 67 −57 0.00%
 Thailand 4 1 0 3 13 18 –5 25.00%
 Turkey 10 9 0 1 106 19 +87 90.00%
 Turkmenistan 3 1 0 2 14 17 −3 33.33%
 United Arab Emirates 2 2 0 0 23 0 +23 100.00%
 Yugoslavia 1 0 0 1 3 12 −9 0.00%
Total 161 62 1 98 698 1 010 –312 38.51%

All-time record against other clubs and B teams

Last match update: 28 March 2012[9]

Opponent Played Won Lost Tied For Goals For Goals Against Win %
Austria WEV Vienna 5 1 3 1 16 33 −17 20.00%
Switzerland EHC Basel 1 0 1 0 4 11 −7 0.00%
Switzerland HC Lugano 1 0 1 0 4 9 −5 0.00%
 Yugoslavia B 1 0 1 0 1 4 −3 0.00%
Romania Steaua Rangers 2 0 2 0 6 15 −9 0.00%
Total 10 1 8 1 31 72 -41 16.81%

References

  1. ^ The Ice Station
  2. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ "IIHF on Twitter: "Host South Africa won the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division III Qualification after two tight wins against Chinese Taipei. Congrats @rsa_icehockey! / Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  4. ^ Demichiel, Daniel (13 April 2020). "#9 – C. ASHWORTH – SOUTH AFRICA". Gameworn Hockey Jersey Collection (in German). Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  5. ^ Nickerjones (11 September 2018). "Not a hockey jersey you see every day. Team South Africa from the Columbus Draft Tournament". r/hockeyjerseys. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Men's Division II, III cancelled". IIHF. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  7. ^ "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  8. ^ "South-Africa-Men-All-Time-Results.pdf" (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  9. ^ "South-Africa-Men-Unofficial-Results.pdf" (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Africa men's national ice hockey team.