LONDON, UK – Great Britain Universities Men’s team returned to the UK in high spirits this week after pulling off a shock win over Sweden at the World University Games in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
Siberian smiles for GB men
GB had looked like ending their second consecutive Universiade without a win after defeats to Canada, Latvia, Kazakhstan and Switzerland, however they pulled that elusive win out of the bag in style against the Swedish side in the final game.
An early goal from Josh Cook set the team off on a strong footing against the Swedes at the Crystal Ice Arena, and Matt Bradbury’s team never looked back. Another goal from Cook plus efforts from Scott Henderson, Liam Charnock and Andreas Siagris averted a last place finish for GB in their group, with the Swedes picking up the wooden spoon in the process.
“It makes all the difference when you’re not down by three goals after the first 20 minutes”, admitted 21 year old forward Siagris, when asked how the team managed to dig out the win and then celebrated afterwards.
“Getting an early lead, and playing from in front gave us the confidence we needed to start to play our game. We came out with a game-plan right from the start and executed it.
Siagris takes a break from Streatham to star in Siberia
“After the game we finally got to rock our changing room after the game with our winning songs. Some of the boys and I went upstairs to the concourse to see and take pictures with our families.
“Finally, we went out for a team dinner to a beautiful restaurant with a live band. It was a great way to not only celebrate the win, but wrap up the two week long experience.”
The Universiade is the international sports competitions among students, holding under the aegis of the International University Sports Federation (FISU).
Students from the age of 17 to 25 years and graduates who have received an academic degree or a diploma in the year preceding the competition are allowed to participate in competitions.
This year the games took place in Siberia, with Russian President Vladimir Putin present at the glitzy opening ceremony. This was Siagris’s second Universiade after competing with GB in Almaty Kazakhstan last year. Despite the long travelling times from the UK, Imperial College student Siagris was delighted to take part.
“It was a great event from start to finish”, explained the student, who is studying his Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the famed London institution.
“The welcoming and opening ceremonies were wonderful, the athletes village, ice rink and other facilities were all great, and the competition was excellent.
“Sadly we didn’t have much of an opportunity to go out and see the city whilst there, however there were some wonderful views whilst travelling to and from the ice rink each day. It was obviously cold there, sometimes -9 or colder, but once we were bundled up in our GB kit the temperature wasn’t an issue.”
A number of the GB team are currently icing in British league competitions with Captain Chris Cooke part of the Basingstoke Bison, Liam Charnock with Sheffield Steeldogs, Ivan Antonov with Bracknell Bees, Josh Grieveson with Solway Sharks and goalie Adam Long currently with the Manchester Storm amongst other examples.
Siagris is no exception and has played a starring role for Streatham IHC in the National Ice Hockey League where he has scored 12 goals and 21 assists in all competitions.
“Any time I get to go out and play hockey, that’s something I will always enjoy” says the hard working forward.
“This year is no different and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. The team results haven’t always been what we’ve wanted at times, but I’m really looking forward to play-offs.
“We have a great group of guys in the room and we’ve proven that when we’re on our game, and healthy, we can beat any team. The important thing for us is to get ourselves sorted, physically and mentally, for the start of play-offs.”
The next Universiade takes place in 2020 in Lucerne, Switzerland and GB will no doubt be looking to progress further up the rankings in an admittedly tough tournament.
The full 2019 roster can be viewed below:
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