Oji Eagles versus Nippon Paper Cranes. Source.
Japan has had an annual ice hockey championship since 1930. Today the 84th edition starts in Nagano with eight teams facing off: the four Japanese teams of the Asia League; three university teams*; and the President's Cup** winner.
Quarter-finals (today):
Game No. 1, Chuo University [1 - 2] Nikkō IceBucks
Game No. 2, Nippon Paper Cranes [9 - 1] Kansai University Kaisers. [Highlights.]
Game No. 3, Kushiro Kousei Company IHC [2 - 6] Oji Eagles
Game No. 4, Tohoku Free Blades [7 - 4] Meiji University
[Congratulations to Chuo University for not losing so badly.]
Semi-finals (tomorrow):
Game No. 5, [Cranes 3 - 4 IceBucks]
Game No. 6, [Free Blades 4 - 6 Eagles]
Third-place game (Sunday):
Game No. 7, Cranes [1 - 4] Free Blades
Final (Sunday):
Game No. 8, IceBucks [2 - 3] Eagles
[Oji Eagles are Japanese champions.]
*The top team from the Kansai league, and the top two from the Kanto league. The current members of the top division of the Kanto league are Chuo U, Hosei U (The Orange Seals), Meiji U, Nihon U, Toyo U, and Waseda U.
**President's Cup competition began in 2013, and is a championship for Japanese hockey clubs that are not part of the Asia League. To date the winners have been: (2013) Team Hasegawa, (2014) Toyota Motor Hokkaido Centuries, (2015) Kushiro Kousei Company IHC, (2016) Kushiro Kousei Company IHC. Kushiro Kosie play in the J-Ice North Division.
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