Tag Archives: #TeamGB

Team GB open with win after penalties; face hosts on Monday

Posted on by

Great Britain opened their IIHF Division 1A campaign with a shootout victory over Ukraine on day one of the competition in Romania.

Cardiff Devils goalie Ben Bowns was the hero in the shootout, stopping all four Ukraine attempts as he logged his 82nd cap for the national team – the equal-most for a goaltender.

Goals from Guildford’s Josh Waller and Nottingham’s Brett Perlini put GB two ahead as they struck in each of the opening two periods. However, Ukraine tied the game by the 32-minute mark to leave the sides level heading into the third.

With just over ten minutes to play, Denys Boradai put Ukraine into the lead to complete their comeback, but thankfully GB were able to tie the game just over 90 seconds later through Ben O’Connor – a goal given after video review.

Bowns came up big to keep the game level in overtime, before stopping four out of four in the shootout. At the other end, O’Connor and Belfast Giants’ Ben Lake sealed the win for Pete Russell’s team.

“We started slow, and then I think got a lot better in the second period,” said Russell post-game. “We took the lead and then perhaps got a bit too individual, but in the third period I thought we really pushed the game hand, and I liked how we showed good character to get scored on and then come back again.”

GB play hosts Romania on Monday night, live on Premier Sports.

Photo: Dean Woolley

GB begin Final Olympic Qualification Tournament

Posted on by

Team Great Britain head into the final round of qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics with three games separating them from Milan in two years time.

GB face Denmark, Norway and Japan over the next four days with the winners of the group in Aalborg qualifying directly for Winter Olympics.

Pete Russel’s team played two warm-up games last weekend against EIHL opposition, but tonight will see another step up as they face Denmark. The hosts are able to call on the services of NHLers Frederik Andersen, a goalie, and forwards Nikolaj Ehlers, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Lars Eller.

GB played Denmark at the 2024 IIHF World Championships and were beaten narrowly 4-3, but haven’t beaten the Danes since 2000.

Meanwhile, Mark Richardson will earn his 116th cap for the national team and equal Jonathan Phillips’ all-time appearance record.

Faceoff in Aalborg is at 19:30 local time, 18:30 in the UK, and the game is live on Premier Sports.

Photo: Dean Woolley

GB relegated after defeat to Norway

Posted on by

Great Britain were relegated from the top flight of World Ice Hockey after a disappointing 5-2 defeat to Norway in Prague.

The defeat meant that GB could no longer catch neither Norway or Austria, and were therefore confirmed back down in Division 1A with a game to still left to play.

Knowing that a win would keep them up, it was a disastrous opening period for Pete Russel’s men. Markus Vikingstad and Patrick Thoresen scored just over two minutes apart to put Norway 2-0 ahead with under seven minutes played. Eskild Bakke Olsen made it 3-0 at 12:25 as GB struggled to generate any Grade A scoring chances.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård converted a powerplay off a Josh Batch Cross-Check 78 seconds into period two to put Norway in complete control. Brett Perlini pulled one back at 24:56 to give GB some hope. Liam Kirk didn’t take a shift in the second period.

Bakke Olsen put Norway back four ahead 4:36 into period three, while a neat finish from Ollie Betterige got GB back to within three again with 12:35 to go.

Head Coach, Pete Russell, said: ”This team has emptied the bag for the whole tournament. We lost Kirky (Liam Kirk) who had been ill all night and we lost Cam Critchlow.

“This is the hardest tournament we’ve been too. We’ve come up against top-class players and I think every player has done the country proud. We’ve been facing the best teams in the world.

“We’ve been at the top level for four of the past five years and that’s an achievement. We desperately wanted to stay up but it wasn’t to be.

“Our players have given everything. That dressing room is so down now but it’s our job to get them back up again and come back for the final game against Austria.”

Photo: Dean Woolley

GB Squad named for 2024 World Championships

Posted on by
Great Britain men’s national team coach Pete Russell has named his 26-man squad ahead of training camp in preparation for the 2024 IIHF World Championships, which will be held in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia, in May.

21 of the squad named on Friday morning play their club hockey in the Elite League, with the other five based overseas. Team GB won promotion back to the top flight of men’s ice hockey in 2023 by winning Division 1A held in Nottingham, their only season outside of the top group since promotion in 2018.

The squad features all 22 players who won the Olympic Qualifying Round in Cardiff in February. Dundee Stars goalie Lucas Brine receives his first full international call-up to the senior team, while Josh Batch is also recalled, while Josh Tetlow and Ollie Betteridge return after injury.

Photo: Dean Woolly

Huge EIHL playoff race clash in Glasgow

Posted on by

Glasgow Clan and Dundee Stars meet on Friday evening at what is expected to be a sold-out Braehead Arena for a huge clash in the race for a playoff place.

Click here to watch Clan vs. Stars.

Clan sit two points above the Stars with both teams on level games, and only four fixtures each left after this evening. A win for the Stars would move them back into the playoff places by virtue of having more regulation wins than both Glasgow and Fife; while a defeat would continue to leave them two points short.

Glasgow would put a four-point cushion between themselves and ninth with a victory and also move themselves two points clear in sixth if they can get past Marc LeFebvre’s Stars.

The sides met in Braehead exactly a week ago, with Clan taking an 8-5 win in a game they had led 7-1. Dundee won the other league fixtures at Braehead Arena 4-2 just before Christmas. Clan have four wins from their last 10 home games while the Stars have logged just one victory in the same road stretch.

Photo: Al Goold

Stojanovic backstops Panthers to vital road win

Posted on by

A 29-shot shutout from Rok Stojanovič backstopped Nottingham Panthers to a one-goal win over Fife Flyers, keeping their playoff hopes alive.#image_title

Stojanovič pulled off a series of saves in close to keep the Flyers out in the opening period, including a couple of second attempts at the top of his crease.

If Stojanovič was the stand-out of period one, then Shane Owen was certainly that in the second. He made two excellent early saves to keep the scores level although the Flyers would go on to not convert on three powerplays over the middle session.

Lucas Chiodo hit the post early in period three for the second time in the game as the Flyers came closest to breaking the deadline. The first goal finally went in at 46:27 when Otto Nieminen’s moment of individual skill saw him get through on Owen and the rebound trickle home off either him or possibly Brady Poteau.

Having not taken advantage of their fourth man-advantage of the game, the Flyers entered the final 8:42 of the game still behind. They had Owen to thank for denying Mathieu Lemay shorthanded which was arguably the best chance of Mike Caruso’s Interference minor.

With Owen out for the final 82 seconds, the Flyers failed to work Stojanovič into any difficult saves and saw time expire without a goal on home ice.

By virtue of now having played more games than Coventry and Glasgow, the Flyers slipped down into eighth place. The Panthers moved to within five point of a playoff place with four games left to play – this weekend they face both the Blaze and Clan.

Photo: Flyers Images