From an air of skepticism and disbelief at the beginning to the feeling of pride and certain fulfillment at the end of what was an unlikely sporting event to be held in Armenia, local fans appeared last week to be shifting attitudes towards the future of ice hockey in their country.

Zhamkochyan, Kazanchyan, Balyan, Avetisyan (and other ‘yans’, many of whom are Diaspora raised or trained) became heroes of the ice at the Karen Demirchyan Sport and Concert Complex in Yerevan, the venue of the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Division III World Championships.

The Group B event on April 14-18 pitted Armenia against three other ‘exotic’ ice hockey nations, including South Africa, North Korea and Mongolia. Cheered by the growing army of fans, Armenia beat all their rivals at the group stage and did it in style (9-2, 7-6 and 15-0, respectively), but eventually had to settle for silver after losing the final 2-5 to the Koreans.

(The gold-medal game on Sunday had attracted a full capacity crowd estimated at some 5,000, revealing at least one big logistical problem – the insufficient capacity of men’s toilets in the complex).

Such victories as well as the mere fact of Armenia hosting an international ice hockey tournament seemed unimaginable only a few years ago when the world’s “officially worst” ice hockey team was struggling to get a result that would not embarrass their few dedicated fans at home and in the Diaspora. The greatest upset came in 2005 when Armenia suffered a fiasco in the World Division III Championships, including a 0-48 loss to Mexico.

Karen Khachatryan, then president of the Armenian Ice Hockey Federation, could hardly hide the embarrassment. But the ice hockey enthusiast (who died in a road accident last summer, shortly after the announcement came that Armenia had been picked as the venue for the championships this April), still insisted that the sport had a future in the former Soviet republic. And amid other defeats came also victories…

Khachatryan’s successor Hayk Jaghatspanyan now says the world championships in Armenia have raised more hopes that ice hockey will have a future in the country.

Many attending the games at the Yerevan arena agreed with the vision of the former and current federation chiefs. But before great victories would come, they were content with what they already had – ice hockey players wearing Armenia jerseys, having ‘yan’ at the end of their names and scoring incredible goals.

Some of about a thousand or so fans attending the Saturday game between Armenia and Mongolia met with surprise (others with fear) the announcer’s warning that said: “Beware of the puck flying into the direction of the stands”.

“There were a couple of such cases at the previous game,” said one fan. “But don’t be afraid, even if it happens, it’s fun,” he added in an encouraging manner seeing the embarrassment that had come upon the faces of his companions, most of whom, apparently, were attending their first ice hockey game in life.

Ashot Minasyan, 35, had come to support Armenia along with his kid. He said it was the third ice hockey match he attended and that the tournament was a ‘learn-the-rules-as-you-go’ experience for him.

“That’s icing, that’s advantage play… too many players on the ice,” Ashot would explain to his less experienced fellow ice hockey fans, many of whom were baffled by the fact that unlike soccer a ‘handball’, or rather ‘gloving’, was a norm in ice hockey. None could understand the offside rule.

The developing action on the rink and especially goals scored by Armenia players still aroused excitement in the stands. People were phoning their friends and telling them how great the experience was and that they should also come and join them at the arena (admission was free).

And some in the foyer would already wear Armenia jerseys having Armenian names on them. Others would come well equipped for the occasion, with Armenian flags, horns and ready throats to shout: “Hayastan, Hayastan!”

“Avetisyan and Kazanchyan are my favorite players,” said one proud teenager approached by ArmeniaNow, referring to the top scorers for Armenia at the tournament. The boy, however, struggled to recall who Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux were when asked about his other possible ice hockey idols. His more experienced friend, however, came to his rescue. But he, too, erroneously identified the legends of Canadian ice hockey as Americans and was slightly wrong on their career dates.

Armenia, a former Soviet republic, did not contribute manpower to the Big Red Machine as the sport did not enjoy popularity in the country similar to that of soccer, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling or chess. But some here still remember the summit series of ice hockey battles between the Soviet team and the Canadian professionals in the 1970s that largely defined the sport standoff between the West and the USSR in the cold war era. And they also remember the glorious performances of the USSR team in the 1980s.

“The Soviet team was the best then. The Canadians and Americans feared KLM,” said Armen, a fan in his fifties, referring to the famous Soviet forward trio of Krutov, Larionov and Makarov. “I think ice hockey fits well the Armenian mindset and temperament. Who knows, perhaps one day Armenian names will also become famous in this sport.”