DURHAM, UK -Thankfully there were no volcanic eruptions to stop me from making it to the Ice Hockey World Championships this year. Last years volcanic ash episode prevented me from making it to Slovenia to see GB participate in the 2010 tournament. The journey across to the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine went without a hitch and I arrived at my hotel in good spirits if a little tired. On the bus ride from the airport to the hotel I was deeply shocked by the many police check points and the ramshackle nature of the housing/shops we passed. Thankfully Kiev was similar to many major city’s and the poverty I has seen outside of the capital was no where near as prevalent in Ukraine’s biggest conurbation. My first game of the Championships was the clash between Poland against Lithuania on the first afternoon of play. Former Newcastle Vipers forward Jaro Rzeszutko was a threat for ‘Team Polska’ every time he got onto the ice and Poland were able to register a comfortable victory. GB began their campaign against the tournament hosts that night. Ukraine were highly fancied to take all 3 points from the game however Paul Thompson’s men obviously hadn’t read the script as the Brits put in a superb display to claim a 5-3 victory. David Clarke notched twice for GB and deservedly picked up the Man of the Match award at the end of the contest. The British fans who had made the long journey to Eastern Europe to see GB participate in the Championships were understandably overjoyed with their sides victory as the hosts were amongst the favourites to capture the gold medal at the end of the week. The locals seemed stunned that their national team could be beaten by Britain and the Ukranine’s head coach Dave Lewis was already under severe pressure on the first day of the tournament. Both Poland and Ukraine picked up victories on day 2 while GB faced top seeds Kazakhstan in the afternoon game. Kazakhstan had a wealth of talent on their roster however it was GB who took the lead in the first period. Veteran David Longstaff lighting the lamp after 14 minutes of the opening session. Kazakhstan tied things up in the middle stanza before Andrei Khomutov’s skilled side took the lead with just over 5 minuets of the contest remaining. Britain pulled Stephen Murphy for the extra skater in the closing stages however GB could not find a late goal. Despite the narrow defeat to Kazakhstan spirits were still extremely high amongst the travelling support as GB had the two weakest sides in the competition (Estonia and Lithuania) in their next 2 games. After a hectic schedule of 6 games in the opening 2 days of the championships both the players and fans were given a much needed rest day. The break obviously did Paul Thompson’s men the world of good as GB were 7-0 up after the 1st period of their game against minnows Estonia. There were 7 different scorers for Britain as all 4 of GB’s forward lines looked a threat. Belfast Giants Robert Dowd netted the pick of the goals. Astonishingly no further goals came in the remaining 2 periods of the game. Back up net minder Nathan Craze was given some ice time as Stephen Murphy came off after 45 minutes of play. Going into day 4 of the tournament 4 teams GB, Poland, Ukraine and Kazakhstan all had realistic aspirations of picking up a medal. Britain took on Lithuania in the 1st game of the day. Former Edinburgh Capitals player Dino Bauba is now assistant coach of Lithuania while there was also 4 current EPL players in the squad of the Baltic state. GB once again started the game on the front foot and the Brits held a 4-0 lead at the end of the first session. Corey Neilson was icing as a forward for Britain as Colin Shields was unable to play due to a shoulder injury. Neilson was highly effective at centre with Longstaff and Phil Hill playing either side of him. The player/coach of the Nottingham Panthers went on to pick up 1+2 as Britain ran out 5-2 victors against a spirited Lithuanian side. Kazakhstan beat Poland 4-2 in the 2nd game of the day. Poland came back from 3-0 down to get within a goal of the tournament favourites however a late short handed effort from the Kazaks meant Poland’s dream of a silver or gold medal were now over for another year. Ukraine continued to get their tournament back on track as they despatched Estonia 5-2 in front of a partisan home crowd in the evening game. With only 3 games left in the tournament things were delicately poised at both the top and bottom of the standings. Both Estonia and Lithuania were without a point and their clash was a relegation decider while Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Great Britain could all still take the gold medal if things went in their favour on the final day of action. Lithuania made sure that they would not be relegated out of Division 1 as they beat Estonia 5-2 in the opening game of the day. GB then took on Poland in the afternoon game. Polska started the better of the two teams and Britain had to ride their luck at times as the Poles had a number of good chances to take the lead very early in the game. Poland were able to get the better of the outstanding Stephen Murphy with almost 7 minutes of the clock when Drzewiecki fired home. The opening goal of the game seemed to shock GB into action as the scores were levelled after 13 minutes when captain Jonathan Weaver netted a power play marker before Russ Cowley fired Britain ahead only 40 seconds later. Poland were able to tie things up in the middle period and the game looked to be going to overtime before Ben O’Conner fired home on the power play with 53 minutes played. GB were able to hang on to claim all 3 points which gave Paul Thompson’s side a chance of capturing the gold medal if Ukraine could beat Kazakhstan by a 1,2 or 3 goal margin. Almost 7,000 fans crammed into the Palace of Sports for the final game of the Championships. Kazakhstan knew a point would see them crowned champions and they played a very disciplined cautious game throughout the early stages of the contest. The games first goal came after 31 minutes when Kazakhstan netted on the power play to the delight of their fans who were high up in stands behind the goal. Ukraine levelled things up before the end of the 2nd and went into the lead shortly into the third period. If the score had remained at 2-1 to the Ukraine GB would have taken the gold medal so all the Brits in the crowd got firmly behind the host nation. Unfortunately Ukraine could not hand onto their lead as the Kazaks tied the game up after 52 minutes before going on to find an overtime winner. GB had to settle for a silver medal, though it has to be remembered that this is the best Britain have done in the World Championships for over 10 years and Paul Thompson now has a roster full of quality players at his disposal. Overall Players of Tournament Net minder – Stephen Murphy (GB) Defenceman – Roman Savchenko (Kazakhstan) Forward – Olexander Materukhin (Ukraine) GB Players of Tournament 1st – Stephen Murphy 2nd – Matthew Myers 3rd – David Clarke Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
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