CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — More than 1,400 players from 17 countries and countless age groups spent the past week competing to be crowned champions of the 2025 Amerigol Latam Cup.
The Cup has featured a range of teams, including those who've never played on the ice.
However, one of the biggest stories is the game that started at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, and didn't finish the championship action until noon after 10 overtimes.
What makes it one of a kind is that the tournament brings hockey to nontraditional countries not known for hockey and brings them to South Florida for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
One of the champions on the day was Team Greece.
"We're a family here, and we've only known each other five days," said Team Greece's right winger Yiorgos Bikakias.
"It's a band of brothers in there, and we learned to play for each other in there," said Team Greece defenseman Alex Katsihtis.
That band of brothers played a semifinal matchup on Saturday that didn't wrap up until 2 a.m. Then, they had a quick turnaround for Sunday's championship game, which started in the morning and saw 10 overtimes.
"Growing up Greek, you learn to face adversity head-on," said Katsihtis.
The Greek national team won the 10-overtime match with a final score of 3-2 thanks to a game-winning goal from Tampa's Yiorgos Bikakias.
"I blacked out, and all I remember is I got to get to my goalie. I got to get a goal after seven overtimes, it's unbelievable," said Bikakias.
Unbelievable indeed, and it was capped off with a championship celebration.
