Young Ice Hockey Players From Türkiye Defeat Last Season's European Champion

(MENAFN- B2Press) Young athletes from different clubs came together to compete against Europe's strong ice hockey teams. POBE Hockey's 10 players representing Türkiye scored 20 goals, while 11-year-old Mateo İnce stood out with three goals.

Editor's note: This press release has been translated and localized into English with the assistance of AI.

Istanbul, Türkiye - POBE Hockey, which brings the young talents of Turkish ice hockey together on the international stage, finished fourth in the first stage of the 2026/27 season of the Carpathian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), held in Nowy Targ, Poland, on October 16-18, 2026. Facing teams from various European countries, the Istanbul team defeated Slovakia Lions, last season's champion, as well as teams from Warsaw. Following the tournament, where the young athletes gained experience competing at an international level, POBE Hockey aims to achieve better results in the second stage in December and strengthen its chances of reaching the play-offs.

Deniz İnce, Head Coach and Team Manager of POBE Hockey, commented on the tournament results and the team's goals:

“Facing Europe's strong teams in ice hockey is very important for the development of our athletes. Finishing the first stage in 4th place by defeating last season's champion Slovakia Lions and the Warsaw teams is a very valuable result for us. However, our real gain was seeing that our young athletes can compete with teams at this level and grow together. We want to go into the second stage in December better prepared and increase our play-off chances with the results we achieve. We thank Halit Albayrak, President of the Turkish Ice Hockey Federation, for his support of our team's trip abroad and for allocating training hours for our tournament preparations. This support makes an important contribution to our young athletes gaining international experience.”

20 goals from 10 players

Competing with 14 skaters and one goaltender in the first stage of the CJHL, POBE Hockey scored a total of 20 goals across its games. The team's attacking performance was notable for goals coming from many different players. Aybars Çelik was the team's top scorer with five goals, followed by Mateo İnce with three. Necati Karan Özşirin, Bilal Sağlar and Kamil Akhmedov each scored two goals.

Having 10 different goal scorers showed that the team's offensive contribution was spread across multiple athletes. On defense, goaltender Kaan Gürsoy stood out with key saves at critical moments. Gürsoy was named POBE Hockey's best player of the tournament in the team's internal evaluation.

One of the standout individual performances of the tournament came from Mateo İnce, POBE Hockey's youngest player. At just 11 years old, the young athlete competed against 12- and 13-year-old opponents and celebrated three goals.

Athletes from different clubs come together on the same team

POBE Hockey, which does not compete in local leagues in Türkiye, brings together young ice hockey players selected from different clubs in order to take part in international tournaments. Players who compete for teams such as Buz Korsanları and İBB Sports Club play under the POBE Hockey banner in European competitions.

This structure gives athletes the opportunity, alongside their activities at their own clubs, to face opponents from different countries and gain international tournament experience. In July, the team won a bronze medal in the 2014-born category of the Alps Hockey Cup held in Austria. In March-April, it took part in the CJHL U13 final tournament in Poland as a guest team.

POBE Hockey focuses on the international development of young athletes

Founded in Istanbul in 2024 by former national ice hockey player and captain Deniz İnce, POBE Hockey organizes training, camp and international tournament programs for young athletes. In addition to technical development, the programs aim to build game intelligence, discipline, responsibility and team culture, with an emphasis on introducing athletes to different styles of play.

With more than 30 years of experience in ice hockey, Deniz İnce began his coaching career in North America in 2007. After founding Buz Akademi in Türkiye in 2010, he served with the national teams and won 2 silver medals and 1 gold medal for the country. At the 2020 Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games, he brought Türkiye its first medal with his young athletes. During his time as head coach of Zeytinburnu Belediyespor, he won five Super League championships.

Advocating greater access for young people to different sports, Deniz İnce places importance on grassroots development and international experience for the sustainable growth of ice hockey in Türkiye. In line with this, POBE Hockey continues its programs that enable young players to take part in tournaments across Europe.

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