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Rising to challenge is something Israel's ice hockey players are used to.
That is crucial for the team playing at the under-20 division three world championships in Dunedin this week. Travelling via London and Hong Kong, some of the team's bags were lost in transit.
That has left the players short of gear, leaving them to rely on borrowed sticks from Dunedin players for its first two games.
''Once we found out we had bags missing we could either choose to use that as an excuse for not playing well, or be better because of it,'' coach Derek Eisler said.
''And the kids in the locker room have become better for it. If the players need their own stick to play hockey, then they're not very good hockey players. So they should be able to just pick up a stick and play.''
Israel was not the only team to have struck the problem. Bulgaria was also without its sticks for the first two days.
With the sticks now in the country, it was hoped they would be cleared through customs and arrive for the team's practice today.
That adversity was nothing new to the Israel team. Despite operating with just one full-sized rink in the country, the sport is enjoying a period of growth.
Its playing numbers have risen from 250 to 400 over the past two years and it now fields national teams at under-18, under-20 and senior level.
The limited amount of ice means players have to be committed. Those in the north travel up to two and a half hours to play in Metula.
In the south, players make use of smaller rinks, a curling-sized rink in Tel Aviv being the biggest. At younger ages, players begin with roller hockey, progressing to the ice if they show promise.
Last year the country finished fifth at the under-20 tournament, the first time it had competed since 1997. Before that, military commitments had hindered its ability to field a team.
''We haven't put together an under-20 team in quite some time because everyone has to go to the army,'' Eisler said.
''So what happens is that a lot of players, instead of staying at 20, they go into the army and stop playing hockey at the competitive level. But what we've done as a federation is ask the army to give our players a bit of a break and they're co-operating really good with us.''
After dropping its first game to Iceland 3-0 on Monday, Israel bounced back with a 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei yesterday.
Given the circumstances, Eisler was happy with how the team had started.
Meanwhile, New Zealand lost its first game to Turkey 6-4. After going down 3-0 early, New Zealand was unable to dig itself out of the hole.
Tomorrow, Israel meets China at 5pm and New Zealand plays Bulgaria at 8.30pm.
-By Jeff Cheshire