When Ukraine opens play at the World University Winter Games against Team Canada on Thursday, it takes the ice against a nation that has helped the players realize their ambition to attend the multi-sport event in Lake Placid, N.Y.
The Canadian Friends of Hockey in Ukraine (CFHU) has been gathering hockey equipment to send to children in Ukraine who still want to play hockey. It’s getting donations from individual hockey families, teams, the NHLPA and hockey equipment manufacturers like CCM.