METULLA, Israel — It was foggy at times, with cold ice meeting the hot Israeli air, but players from nine teams and five countries – Canada, the United States, Israel, France and Russia – opened the WJHT at the Canada Centre in the northernmost spot in Israel, just a slapshot away from the hills of Lebanon.

Josh Tordjman

METULLA, Israel — It took the words of John Allen, Canadian ambassador to Israel, to put into strange perspective what it is to play high-level hockey in Israel in July.

“I grew up in Winnipeg,” Allen said at the opening of the second World Jewish Hockey Tournament on July 3. “And I played hockey outdoors in minus-40 weather. What I never expected to see was hockey being played indoors with plus-40 weather outdoors.”

It was foggy at times, with cold ice meeting the hot Israeli air, but players from nine teams and five countries – Canada, the United States, Israel, France and Russia – opened the WJHT at the Canada Centre in the northernmost spot in Israel, just a slapshot away from the hills of Lebanon.

The tournament ran from July 3 to 14.

In fact, whatever expectations there were for the 10-day event were surpassed on its very first day, with two heart-stopping, remarkable overtime games involving both of the Canadian junior teams.

“It was as good a day of hockey as I’ve ever seen,” said Sherry Bassin, the general manager of all the Canadian teams participating here. “The level of play, the emotion in the building, the calibre of the competition was indeed memorable.”

In the first junior game, Israel had a 4-2 lead over the Canadian Red team in the third period, but couldn’t hold the lead. David Freiman of Toronto, who captained the Toronto Penguins Midget A team to a Toronto city hockey championship, displayed his leadership with a game-tying goal with just 37 seconds to play.

Beau Blanaru of Nanaimo, B.C., then defeated the Israeli team with a goal with just 1:46 left in the five-minute overtime period.

The first Canada game was full of excitement. The second Canada game trumped the opener.

The great Canada-U.S. hockey rivalry played out in front of a large crowd at the Canada Centre, with Canada White coming from behind to defeat the Americans by shootout, a 3-2 victory. Again, a very strong U.S. team led 2-1 in the third period before Matt Silcoff of Thornhill, Ont., tied the game.

After a scoreless overtime, the game went to a shootout. Adam Levine of Toronto scored a shootout goal and the winner was potted by Noah Schwartz, who plays for the Hamilton Junior Red Wings during the winter.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of overtime games in my day, but this was a memorable game,” said Steve Thomas, the Canada White coach, who knows a little about overtime himself, as he once held the National Hockey League record for overtime goals. “The kids really came up big for us.”

The opening day of junior play put a huge smile on the face of Sidney Greenberg, the Canadian chairman of the Israel Ice Hockey Federation and the brains behind this year’s World Jewish Tournament. Two years ago, Greenberg ran a small four-team, four-country event in Metulla. This year, it has expanded to two divisions and more than twice the number of teams and players. It’s Greenberg’s vision to build and develop hockey in Israel and grow the sport and its athletes at the very same time.

Two years ago, this tournament began with almost no notice and was played in front of few fans. This year, the media attention alone – famed TSN broadcaster Brian Williams, the Globe and Mail and the Jerusalem Post all reported on this year’s event – made it notable.

“I never knew there were this many good Jewish hockey players,” said Bassin. “I used to joke, ‘Jews own teams, they don’t play for them.’ Well now, that’s changing. We have a lot of us who can play.”

Jewish-born players such as Michael Cammalleri, who recently signed with the Montreal Canadiens, and Eric Nystrom of the Calgary Flames show it’s possible for Jews to play big-time hockey.

Here in Metulla, the goaltender on the Canadian senior team was Josh Tordjman, the only player in the tournament who has played in the NHL. He played two games for the Phoenix Coyotes this past season and hopes to play more in the future.

Tordjman had a shutout in his first start here, a 4-0 Canadian win over Israel.

“It’s an honour to be in this tournament and it’s a privilege to play in Israel,” Tordjman said. “When I heard about this event, I didn’t give it a second thought. I wanted to be here, and from what I’ve seen so far, I’m thrilled with the choice I’ve made. I couldn’t be more excited about this event. It’s everything I love. Hockey, Canada, Israel. What’s not to love about that?”