Hischier, Siegenthaler Play in World's Highest Hockey Game | FEATURE
Hischier, Siegenthaler Play in World's Highest Hockey Game | FEATURE
Hischier, Siegenthaler played in a 3-on-3 game 3,454 meters above sea level at the top of Jungfraujoch in Switzerland
Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler can now say, among their many accolades, that they have played in the highest hockey game in the world.
On Aug. 5th, the two Swiss Devils took a helicopter to the top of Jungfraujoch, which is the highest accessible point in Europe at 3,454 meters high between Bern and Valais in Switzerland. Valais, is Hischier’s home region in Switzerland, while he also lived in Bern before playing in North America.
With the synthetic rink constructed at 3,454m high, the 3-on-3 game that featured top Swiss NHL players, European players and players from SC Bern, officially becomes the world’s highest-ever hockey game played.
“That was one of the more special games I’ve experienced in my career,” Hischier told BZ Basel from atop the Alps, “I don’t know if I’ll experience it again.”
“Hats off to all, for making the event possible. If you look around here, it’s really very cool.”
The NHL team, which comprised of Swiss players Hischier, Siegenthaler, as well as Nino Niederreiter, Pius Suter and Philipp Kurashev, won the game 6-5.
Hischier, Siegenthaler Participate in Worlds Highest Hockey Game
Photos courtesy of jungfrau.ch
All the equipment was brought to the summit via the Jungfrau railway, to it’s stop at the summit as the highest railway station in Switzerland and Europe. By the looks of some of the photos, players like Siegenthaler opted for the helicopter ride as well.
© J. Siegenthaler Instagram (siegenthaler34)
The game was played with two 10-minute periods on synthetic ice, with a limited audience of invited guests and a rink size of 30 x 15 feet. If you pay close attention in the images and the players skates, the blades are adjusted, Jungfaujoch Top of Europe explains, with a special type of roller balls that can be mounted onto players regular skates in place of the typical blades.
On average for August, Jungfraujoch has a balmy high of 33 fareinheight and an average low of 28F.
