Great Britain were beaten in their opening game of the IIHF World Championship by Austria, losing out 5-2 in Zurich.
It was the first game for both sides at the event that saw GB lose against one of the teams that was marked as a winnable game.
The game was difficult for GB from the start, with Ben Nissner scoring inside three minutes before Peter Schneider made it two on the six-minute mark. When Paul Huber made it three at 9:47, Pete Russell’s team found themselves three down inside ten minutes.
David Clements and Liam Kirk scored 37 seconds apart to pull GB back into the game.
Schneider put Austria back two ahead 6:43 into period two, before Leon Wallner restored their three-goal lead with just over six minutes left in the period.
The final period didn’t produce any goals, despite a couple of powerplays for each team, leaving Austria with a three-goal win, having outshot GB 33-20.
Photo: James Assinder
