Goalie to skate for team Israel when hockey team visits Mercyhurst

When Israel Elite Hockey League’s Israel Selects team visits Erie, Pennsylvania, for a two-game exhibition tour against Mercyhurst University from Jan. 21 to Jan. 22, you may have to excuse the home team for being a bit confused when facing the opposition.

You see, the Mercyhurst Lakers goalie Jac Lymn will play for the visitors.

Lymn, 22, played for Mercyhurst’s NCAA division I team in 2020-21 as a freshman. He now plays for the university’s division III team, which is the highest level of club hockey. A previous amateur player in Israel, the senior will play for team Israel during the series.

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“This should be interesting,” Lymn told the Cleveland Jewish News. “At least I know enough about the shooters on the team I’ll be facing.”

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Lymn played this past summer in Israel on team Israel’s International Ice Hockey Federation division II team. In August, he represented Israel at the Latin American Games in Miami, Florida. In addition, Lymn played for team Israel during an exhibition against Kent State in September.

He is eager to appear in the nation’s blue and white jerseys again, he said.

“The main thing that we’re also trying to do is show that Israel’s team does a lot more than just exist,” Lymn said. “A lot of people that I talk to, they think the only sport Israel has is soccer, but they have a lot of other sports.

“It’s important to make people aware that Israel does compete on a world stage,” he added. “Obviously, not at the top for hockey, but they still play at competitive levels.”

Team Israel will appear at Mercyhurst Ice Center at 3 p.m. Jan. 21 and 8 p.m. Jan. 22.

“They have started an under-20 team, but one problem is that it took away the younger players from the national team, so they’re currently working through trying to balance having the younger team and the older team as well on the international level,” Lymn said.

Lymn, who is working toward obtaining dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, hopes to resume his playing career in some form or fashion after he graduates from Mercyhurst this spring. He’ll have some serious juggling to make that happen, though: He is planning to enroll at Reichman University in Herzliya, where he will continue his studies in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

“I became interested in counter-terrorism after being invited to the National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C., during high school,” he said. “After becoming counter-terrorism certified, I realized how exciting of a field it really is and how much you are able to do.”

Lymn ended up at Mercyhurst because there are few schools that offer both counter-terrorism studies and a hockey program.

In that respect, there is some symmetry for Lymn. As a goalie, his job on the ice is to prevent success for the opposition. If Lymn is lucky, that’ll be his life’s work off the ice as well. PJC

Steve Mark is a freelance journalist. This story first appeared in the Cleveland Jewish News.