The Israel Elite Hockey League (IEHL) USA Challenge Cup scripted history on Sunday as two sides from the country- Tel Aviv against the Jerusalem Capitals- played the first professional ice hockey game in North America.
The hockey game took place at UBS Arena in which the Jerusalem Capitals recorded a 7-6 overtime win against HC Tel Aviv.
The game saw dazzling performances that had Tel Aviv outshoot Jerusalem 61-57.
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Evgenii Kozhevnikov (Capitals) and Kirill Polozov (Tel Aviv) took the opening face-off. Forward Chris Blake scored the opening goal at 2:03 of the first for Tel Aviv, which went 0-6 last season but got the first six shots on goal and outshot the Capitals 13-4 nearly six minutes into the game.
Ziv Deener scored penalty at 5:58 to put Jerusalem on the power play and began the Zitserman show.
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It was a breakout game for 16-year-old Capitals forward Nikita Zitserman, who could be the first Israel-born player chosen in the NHL Draft when he’s eligible in 2026.
He was named most valuable player of the game after a hat trick — his third goal at 12:42 of the third tied the game 6-6 — known in Israel as the kippah trick.
“Four years ago, we played 4-on-4 and now an NHL arena,” Zitserman said. “I think you’re just going to go higher from here. It was my dream since I was kid I can remember.”
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Denis Zaychik scored 2:14 into the 3-on-3 overtime to win it after Tel Aviv rallied from down 5-2 in the second period to take a 6-5 lead in the third.
The game was staged on NHL ice at the home of the New York Islanders in front of over 8,000 fans.
David Warsofsky, Jerusalem assistant coach, expressed the significance of the moment.
“I think it was a moment everyone remembers the rest of their lives,” Warsofsky said. ” A lot of these guys haven’t been able to play in an arena like this. It’s a historic moment for Israeli hockey.”
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It was more than a dream for the Israeli teams to play on American soil.
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“This is a dream,” HC Tel Aviv coach Stuart Gourdji said. “Coaching in front of, I think we had 8,000 people. Truly incredible hearing Hebrew songs at a hockey game, the music, the spirit, the atmosphere.”
It was a heartwarming moment for Capitals coach Neil Greenberg whose late father was part of the Jewish Brigade of 1948, the year that the head of the Jewish Agency, David Ben-Gurion, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, with United States President Harry S. Truman recognizing the new nation on the same day.
