Mike Hartman talks to the players.

Jewish ice hockey
= players convene in
Southfield with
:4
i; hopes of winning a
E- spot on Team USA.

L1.1

PHIL JACOBS EDITOR

ared Cohen of Oak Park can remember many times
when an opponent would notice his last name on his
hockey jersey and make an anti-Semitic remark.
On a beautiful afternoon in Southfield, when fami-
lies were checking out the swimming pool, baseball di-
amonds and barbecues, Mr. Cohen sat in the community
center lounge, in hockey equipment. He was waiting
his turn to get on the ice.
Only this time, he knew there would be no anti-Semi-
tism. There would be only swift skating, hard hitting,
passing and an opportunity to play on a team where all
his teammates would be Jews as well.
Last Saturday and Sunday, dozens of players arrived
from all over the nation as the U.S. Maccabiah ice hock-
ey team sponsored its second tryout for players to com-
pete in the July 1997 World Maccabiah Games in Israel.
The U.S. will compete against teams from Canada, Rus-
sia and Israel. There is talk that a fifth team, made up
of European countries, will also be formed.
Former Red Wing coach Jacques Demeres is coach-
ing the Canadian squad. Detroit native and former New

York Ranger Stanley Cup team member Mike Hart-
man is coaching the U.S. team.
"I'm intrigued, because I didn't know that there were
this many Jewish hockey players," said Mr. Cohen, an
area attorney. "It's also inspiring to see so many young
Jewish players out here. When I started 20 years ago,
there were not that many Jewish players."
Mr. Cohen played Junior B ice hockey for both Roy-
al Oak and Oak Park. He also was part of the Univer-
sity of Michigan ice hockey program. Most recently, he
played for a Detroit-area Lithuanian team that medaled
in Lithuania.
The tryout also attracted semi-pro player Billy Jaffe
from Chicago. Southfield was the second location for
tryouts. The first was held earlier this summer in the
Boston area. Mr. Jaffe, who played for the University
of Michigan, is the national sales manager of the Vi-
enna Beef Co.
`This is an open tryout," he said. "The quality of play-
er here is at a high level. You see mostly Division I
(NCAA) hockey players. I also think that this is a great

