Abu Dhabi: Hosts Abu Dhabi and strong favourites Kuwait took their appointed places in the final of the inaugural Arab Ice Hockey Championship being played here at the Abu Dhabi Ice Rink.
After finishing first and second respectively in the group stage, the two sides cruised through their respective semifinal matches on Thursday night.
Abu Dhabi scored a 10-4 win over Algeria to maintain their unbeaten record in the tournament while Kuwait were dominant in their 9-0 rout of Morocco.
Abu Dhabi led 4-1 at the end of the first period, were 7-3 up at the end of the middle period and wound up 10-4 winners against the Algerians who were playing their first ever competitive event.
It was expected to be a one-sided affair as Algeria had lost all three of their group games while Abu Dhabi topped with an unbeaten run.
Top scorer
For Abu Dhabi it was Egar who extended his brilliance after his heroics in the group game against Kuwait. Against Morocco Egar got off to a silken start with two quick goals and later scored another to finish with three. Thursday night also proved a happy hunting ground for Omer Al Shamsi as the UAE player also netted thrice for Abu Dhabi.
However it was Juma Mohammad Al Daheri who caught the eye with a fine display and apart from scoring two goals he was named the MVP of the match.
Abu Dhabi's remaining two goals came from Ali Mubarak Al Mazroui and Youra.
For the Algerians, despite a all-loss record, they were lighted with their four-goal effort against the strong Abu Dhabi team Comprising a team of Algerian expatriate players based in Canada, France and the UK, the players met just two weeks ago, had one week's training in London and played in their first every event.
Hakim Boukhaloua scored twice while Djamel Zitouni and Mohammad Benyahia scored the one each.
Kuwait, who lost their final league match 3-4 to Abu Dhabi in the penalty shootout, were in a class of their own in the second semifinal. Much was expected from Morocco after their win over Algeria but Kuwait's 'Czech' power proved too much as they were demolished 9-0.
Alex Toth warmed up nicely for the final showdown against Abu Dhabi with three goals while Martin Itersky scored two. Martin Petovsky, Ahmad Al Ajmi, Mishal Al Ajmi and Mohammad Al Ajmi got the other goals for Kuwait in a one-sided affair.
