GB face Japan in penultimate game of tournament

Great Britain’s senior mens team are set to face Japan later on today in their penultimate game of the Division 1A World Championship tournament in Budapest.

So far in the tournament GB have struggled against their opposition and are yet to secure their first points of the tournamnet following a 4-2 defeat to Hungary, 5-0 to Kazakhstan and 5-1 against Italy on Wednesday. Their rivals today are Japan who currently occupy 4th spot in the table after their sole victory against Korea on Wednesday.

GB started the tournament in high spirits and pushed Hungary all the way in their opening game on Sunday night; however they have been left in deep water following the tough defeats to Kazakhstan and Italy. Japan have also struggled so far in the tournament with defeats also to Kazakhstan and Italy and their only victory coming against the lowest ranked side Korea.

GB will also end the tournament tomorrow afternoon when they face Korea. As with GB themselves and also Japan, Korea have struggled to match the pace of the top 3 in the group, however were able to record an impressive shoot-out victory against Hungary on Monday. They currently sit just above GB in the group standings with 2 points and GB will surely be looking for two victories from the final games to make the jump above at least one if not both of their rivals.

Today’s game will once again be shown on Premier Sports live on Sky with a face-off time of 16:00. Tomorrow’s final game against Korea starts at 12:30.

GB hoping to pull off the Italian Job

It is a big day for Great Britain as they face-off in their third match of the Division 1A World Championships; against tough opposition.

Italy is the team in the way today and GB will be hoping to turn their fortunes around against the 16th seed country.
Italy has been in good form so far in the tournament and has been the early leaders, alongside Kazakhstan, having won their opening two games.

It is a case of missed opportunities for GB however as they lost 4-2 to Hungary on the opening night and were blanked 5-0 by Kazakhstan a day later. However the results do not reflect the performance on the ice, with GB holding their own against two countries that are ranked well above them in the IIHF World Ranking order; but with the round robin style tournaments such as these the world rankings count for nothing and it goes down to how you play on the day.

Italy have comfortably beaten Korea (4-0) and Japan (4-1) so far in the tournament but GB will be hoping to put up a better fight in this afternoon’s game.

Belfast Giants’ netminder Stephen Murphy told the Ice Hockey UK website; “We are used to the pressure, we are used to the tough games, so we are well prepared for this. We need to keep our energy levels up and we have a lot of positives to take forward.

“Italy are a good team, they are an A pool team and tough opposition for sure. Our aim is to get something from the game and take it forward into our last two games.”

Penalty trouble was something that blighted GB during the final Olympic qualification round in Latvia earlier this year and was something that Assistant Coach Doug Christiansen hoped they could improve on in this tournament.

In Latvia GB was the highest ranked country in terms of penalties taken having registered 54PIM over the three games. So far in this tournament, improvements have been made, and GB are ranked 5th overall with 22PIM from their first two games.

Further improvements have also been seen in terms of scoring opportunities however luck has not bounced our way with those chances being converted into actual goals.

Both teams will feel a little refreshed having had a day off yesterday and GB will go into the game in high spirits and full of confidence. An early goal would give them a great boost which could lead them to victory; however they must not let their heads drop should Italy take the lead.

GB’s game will once again be shown live on Premier Sports (Sky channel 428) with the face-off at 3pm.

GB blanked again by Kazakhstan in 5-0 drama

It was day two of the World Championships (Division 1A) in Budapest and Great Britain faced Kazakhstan, looking for their first win in the tournament.

The last time the two countries met the Kazakhs gave a fine performance to blank GB 6-0 in the final Olympic qualifiers in Latvia back in February.

With that, surely at the back of their minds, they went into the game hopeful of a better performance and a little bit of revenge.

The game started with the better chances going GB’s way. On three separate powerplay opportunities mid-way through the period, GB had their best chances; however Kazakh netminder Vitali Kolesnik was up to the task and kept his clean-sheet.

With it looking like the first period would end scoreless, the Kazakhs showed their prowess on offense and scored two late goals; just 19 seconds apart.

Collecting the puck from his own blueline, Konstantin Romanov skated through the neutral zone making an initial pass to Andrei Spiridonov who gained the zone. With Romanov clear of the last defender he skated in un-opposed and put the pack past Belfast Giants’ Stephen Murphy.

The second game moments later when Roman Savchenko made a diving poke check in his own zone to win the puck. Maxim Belyayev collected the puck and made a quick break down the right hand side, cutting inside he was knocked off the puck by Robert Dowd; but Ilya Solarev came from nowhere to fire the puck through traffic and past Murphy.

Matthew Myers battles for the puck during GB’s game against Kazakhstan

With a two goal deficit GB were not out of contention but had to create something big. They got an early opportunity just minutes into the second period on the powerplay. With the puck worked from behind GB’s net Colin Shields worked up centre ice and flicked the puck over to Dowd; with a backhand pass to Jonathan Weaver, the Nottingham Panther took a big slap shot from the blueline but was denied by the chest of Kolesnik.

Another chance and another missed opportunity came for GB. Ashley Tait worked the puck well from the corner and worked the puck to Phil Hill to the right of net. A sliding pass in front, through traffic, found its way to Danny Myers at the back door; but once again GB was to be denied by Kolesnik.

Despite looking the better team for the majority of the second period, GB hit penalty trouble late on, when David Clarke was called for cross-checking at 38:39. Less than 30 seconds later and GB were down to three men with Matthew Myers being called for delaying the game at 38:56. With the two man advantage the Kazakhs worked the puck well. With a big slap shot from the right face-off circle by Yevgeni Blokhin the puck was deflected off Murphy onto the backboards.
Dmitri Upper kept the puck in the zone and worked it back in front to Roman Savchenko who fired a strong wrist shot past Murphy on the glove side. The goal ended the second period and gave Kazakhstan a 3-0 lead heading into the final 20 minutes.

Robert Farmer and Ashley Tait battle for the puck in the corner.

The Kazakhs started the third period still on the powerplay. Working around the zone the puck was fed to Savchenko on the blueline. A big slap shot was deflected at first but found its way to Vadim Krasnolslobodtsev on the right and he left no doubt firing his shot past Murphy.

Mid-way through the third period and the Kazakhs almost made it 5-0. A well worked play saw Konstantin Savenkov break down the right after a long pass from his own zone. Skating in on Murphy the chasing Luke Boothroyd brought the Kazakh down and a penalty shot was awarded.

Savenkov stepped up and started zigzagging down centre ice. With a deke he fired the shot to Murphy’s right only to be denied by the post. Just over a minute later and the fifth goal did come; when Blokhin slotted home a pass at the back door with less than 10 minutes remaining. GB held on during the final phase to avoid any further heart break with the game ending 5-0.

Robert Dowd is tripped whilst working the puck in the zone.

It was a frustrating game for GB who looked the better side of the two for the majority of the game. However they were denied time and time again by Kolesnik and did not, despite their chances, look likely to beat the Kazakh goalie.
GB must now re-group and keep their heads held high ahead of their clash on Wednesday against Italy.
Kazakhstan and Italy have led the way so far in this tournament and GB will be hoping for a better performance to halt the winning run of their European neighbours.

After the game, David Longstaff said; “We did not deserve to lose that game in the way we did. We created so many chances but just could not find a way past their netminder. He had an excellent game and stopped us on so many occasions.”

“We can be proud of the way played the better hockey against a higher-ranked nation. There are plenty of positives despite the defeat. We will now rest up ahead of our next game.”

 

In the groups other games, Italy recorded their second victory of the tournament with a 4-1 beating over Japan. Whilst Korea gave the shock of the tournament so far coming back from 4-1 down to score three unanswered third period goals to tie the game. With overtime unable to find a winner, penalty shots were required where Korea overcame Hungary. This leaves GB in last place in the table and promotion hopes slipping away..

1.  Kazakhstan 6pts

2. Italy 6pts

3. Hungary 4pts

4. Korea 2pts

5. Japan 0pts

6. GBR 0pts

 

GB v Kazakhstan Updates – Period Three

Kazakhstan stretched their advantage further in the third period with the game ending a disappointing 5-0.
Inside the opening 2 minutes Vadim Krasnolobodtsev scores making it 4-0. With less than 10 minutes remaining Manchester Phoenix defenceman was called for hooking on a breakaway attempt and a penalty shot awarded. However Stephen Murphy was up to the task and denied Savenkov.

Less than 20 seconds later and Jonathan Weaver was also called for hooking gifting Kazakhstan a 5-on-3.
Just over a minute into the powerplay Yevgeni Blokhin scored the final goal of the game gifting Kazakhstan 5-0 victory and their second of the tournament.

GB v Kazakhstand Updates – Period Two

With the period looking like it would remain scoreless, with chances for both sides, Kazakhstan scored with 8 seconds remaining to lead 3-0 going into the third and final period. Roman Savchenko added to the first period strikes to give Kazakhstan the advantage.

GB v Kazakhstan Updates – Period One

In the second game of the World Championships in Budapest GB face Kazakhstan. However after the opening 20 minutes GB are 2-0 down with a big performance needed to get back in the game!!
Despite early penalty trouble for Kazakhstan they took the lead through Konstantin Romanov at 17:42. Just 19 seconds later and it was 2-0 when Ilya Solarev beat Stephen Murphy to double the lead.

GB suffer first game defeat to hosts.

Hungary 4 – 2 Great Britain

Great Britain opened their Division 1 A World Championship tournament in Budapest with a loss to the hosts, Hungary, in a 4-2 thriller.

The hosts had the better chances of the early exchange of the opening 20 minutes, however it was GB that got on the scoreboard first. With GB holding possession in the offensive zone, Ashley Tait fed the puck across ice to David Phillips on the blueline who fired a shot on goal. With Levente Szuper screened in front the shot floated through the five-hole to give them a 1-0 lead at 16:06.

GB celebrate the opening goal of the game against Hungary

The second period started with GB conceding their second penalty of the game as Jonathan Weaver was called for hooking. With the man advantage Hungary set about breaking down the GB defence. Working up the ice Marton Vas fed the puck to Balazs Ladanyi in the centre circle. Making his way to the left of the zone he centred the puck to the unmarked Gergo Nagy who one timed his shot past Stephen Murphy to level the scores early in the middle stanza.

Just before the mid-way point of the game Hungary took the lead for the first time. Janos Vas’ shot from the right was deflected away by Murphy but only as far as Marton Vas who fired the shot into the empty net from the left.

Less than two minutes later and GB were back in it at 2-2. Gaining the puck on the blueline Weaver made a quick pass to Rob Dowd who was rushing down centre ice. Despite a trip he was able to flick the puck on goal. With the initial shot blocked the puck bounced loose in front for Colin Shields to slot home and tie the scores.

Ladanyi put the hosts in front again at 36:37 for a lead they would not surrender. Working into the GB zone he fired a shot from the left face-off circle which was deflected past Murphy for 3-2. Hungary would have gone into the break with a two goal cushion, but their fourth effort was washed out, giving GB a glimmer of hope in the final 20 minutes.

Shortly after the break GB went close to equalising the scores once again when Matthew Myers big slap shot from centre ice only to be delfected away; but Phil Hill almost went close collecting the rebound and working his way around the back of the net, but Szuper was up to the task and the scores remained 3-2.

Hungary did grab a fourth in the game with less than 10 minutes to play. Arpad Mihaly worked behind the GB net before turning and releasing a shot on Murphy. With the shot going wide the puck worked is way around the boards to the blueline  where Andras Horvath slapped the puck back into the zone, despite a block by Robert Lachowicz the puck dribbled through to Ladislav Sikorcin, with a big slap shot the puck beat Murphy on stick side to make it 4-2.

GB had a late chance on the powerplay but couldn’t make it count and so the game ended with defeat.

Head Coach Tony Hand said to IHUK; “This was a performance to be proud of but sadly it did not go our way. We perhaps were not spot on offensively in the first period, but we got better as the game went on.

“The guys gave everything they had and threw their bodies on the line. We must not get too down and must lift ourselves now for tomorrow’s game.”

GB see themselves in 4th place in the group behind opening day winners Italy, Kazakhstan and Hungary.

Kazakhstan beat Japan in the opening game of the tournament 5-2, before Italy provided a clinicaly performance to romp to a 4-0 victory over Korea.

GB will face-off against Kazakhstan in the second game today, after Italy beat Japan 4-1 in the early game of the day.

The last time the two countrys met at the final Olympic qualification game in Latvia, Kazakhstan had the measure of GB and won 6-0. This is definitely something GB will be hoping to revenge when they take to the ice at 3pm.

Bison’s Owen calls it a day

Greg Owen retires from ice hockey after 12 seasons.

Basingstoke Bison’s British star, Greg Owen, has announced his retirement from professional ice hockey, just over a week after the conclusion 2012-13 EPL season.

The 31 year old centre, is currently with the national squad ahead of their Division 1A World Championship in Hungary this coming week, however has advised that following the completion of the tournament on 20th April he will be hanging the skates up for good.

Owen got his first taste of ice hockey in 1996-97 icing for the Oxford City Stars in the English Division 1 for only 3 games. Over the next 4 years Owen represented both the GB under 18 and under 20 sides in the World Junior Championships; whilst also registered with the Notre Dame Hounds in the Junior A Saskatchewan Junior Ice Hockey League.

2001-02 saw Owen ice in his first full season for the Hounds, registering 70 points from 63 appearances. The following season saw a return to British shores when he joined the Bracknell Bees in the Ice Hockey Superleague. He split his time between the Bees and Milton Keynes Lightning in the 3rd tier English Premier League. Owen went on to score 63 points from 40 goals and 23 assists during 36 games for the Lightning whilst also helping them to capture the play-off title.

2003-04 saw a return to the Bees in the newly formed British National League (BNL). Owen went on to win the double with the Bees in 2004-05 as they claimed the BNL title and the Challenge Cup in only their second season in the league.

The 2005-06 season marked the first appearance that Owen would make for the Basingstoke Bison, during two separate spells with the Hampshire squad, having been signed from the champions by coach Mark Bernard. With Bernard’s departure in 2006, current Player/Coach Doug Sheppard took over the helm and with Owen back for a second season he formed the infamous partnership with line mates Brad Cruickshank and Greg Chambers. As part of the “Bison Line” Owen went on to have a break-out year in senior hockey scoring 54 points from 53 starts.

Despite the departure of Sheppard, following the appointment of Ryan Aldridge as player/coach of the Bison, Owen returned to the Herd for a third season in 07-08, registering almost a point per game as he racked up 52 points in 54 appearances.

France came a-calling in 2008 as Owen made his first move abroad since his early career to join Briançon in the French Ligue Magnus. A more competitive league than the EIHL saw Owen score just 21 points during the 25 starts. He was also called up to represent GB during their 2010 pre-Olympic qualifying rounds in Poland. However GB finished 3rd in their group and missed out on qualifying for the final Winter Olympic selection.

A year later marked the return back to the UK and the EIHL as Owen joined the Coventry Blaze. He was reunited with former line-mate Chambers and with Head Coach Paul Thompson adding Cruickshank at the 2010 trade deadline, the former “Bison Line” was once again together however this time causing terror for the Blaze. The Blaze tasted success with the capture of the EIHL league title and Owen’s first title in the top flight league.

Despite returning for a further two seasons with the Blaze, they could not reach the same heights as in previous years, and following the conclusion of the 2011-12 season he announced that he would prefer to move closer to home (Reading); sparking a many rumours as to his intended destination.

With Sheppard returning to lead the Bison for the 2012-13 season, he looked to put a competitive team together to launch a full challenge in the EPL. Turning to previous team-mates Sheppard announced that former Bison and 06-7 team-mate, Owen had signed for the season ahead alongside his former line-mate Chambers.

Sheppard lead the Bison to their best ever league finish in the EPL with 2nd and also taking them to their first play-off finals weekend, reaching the semi-finals where they lost to eventual winners Manchester.

Having assembled a competitive team, Sheppard would have surely been hoping to keep the core of his players for the next season, with Owen being one of huge experience and influential to their title challenge.

The loss for the Bison will prove a huge void to fill ahead of the 2013-14 EPL season with Owen still one of the top Brit centres in both the EPL and EIHL. Many expected him to be re-signed by Sheppard for a further season as they continue to lead the Herd charge back to success; however you cannot fault or be angry against a guy that wants to give up a huge part of his life and passion for his family.

Owen is one of those players that can frustrate the hell out of an opposition. He plays a clean, fast and clinical game on the ice. He can create plays and act as a set-up man which was evident during the seasons he spent alongside Cruickshank and Chambers; but he can also hit the net himself when required. His first season in the EPL saw him amass a season high points total from 30 goals and 37 assists for 67 points. He was the second highest point scorer for the Bison, behind only Chambers; and he was also 6th highest British point scorer for the whole league.

Owen played with a level or maturity and experience, which would on some occasions, make him oblivious to the watching fan, as he went about his business on the ice and did it well! He was also a leader and respected by both his team-mates and fellow players.

Sheppard commented to the Basingstoke Gazette, “I am so glad to have played with Greg and he was a great leader for the team. I can understand that he now wants to spend time with his family.”

So what is next for Owen and the Bison? Well I am sure Owen will continue to be involved in ice hockey in some capacity whether it is watching and cheering on the Herd next season or in another way. For Sheppard the search now starts for a replacement and what big shoes they’ll have to fill.

Good luck in everything you do in your future Greg!!!

Team GB to be shown on British Television

For the first time in its history the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be broadcast live on TV in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The 2013 World Championships, including Great Britain’s Division 1A games will be shown live on the Premier Sports channel. 

Premier Sports, is operated through Britain’s BSkyB platform (SKY), under channel #428. Infront Sports & Media, is the marketing partner of the IIHF and they secured the agreement with Premier Sports ahead of this week’s tournament in Hungary which will show GB’s games live and in full length. In addition to showing GB’s games live, they will also broadcast 20 games of the 2013 Ice Hockey World Championship taking place in Stockholm and Helsinki between 3rd and 19th May.

Premier Sports, is currently only available by subscription, and is received through satellite in over 10 million homes. The channel is no strange to Ice Hockey coverage, having broadcast games from the NHL, and the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will slot nicely into it’s ever expanding sports portfolio.

It is a very clever move by the IIHF to bring both Team GB’s games, as well as the 2013 World Championships, into the British market. Although the coverage will only be available via Premier Sports satellite subscription channel it is a step in the right direction to raise the profile and interest in Ice Hockey in Britain. As shown with the 2012 summer Olympics in London, the nation get behind to support their national teams, even in sports they may not have a clear understanding of. Regardless if anyone knows what Ice Hockey is or how it is played, if viewers see that Team GB are competing they will most likely turn on and sit-back to watch.

There are only a few nagging issues in regards to the format of the deal; being only through a satellite subscription channel, you may lose the general viewing audience, with the potential that the only viewers will be those that know of the sport or already have the channel and kick back to watch. But as I said it is a step in the right direction to bring Ice Hockey to the forefront of sport in Britain.

The viewing schedule for the games is as follows;

Game 1 (14/04/13) – GB v Hungary (6:30pm)
Game 2 (14/04/13) – GB v Kazakhstan (3:00pm)
Game 3 (17/04/13) – GB v Italy (3:00pm)
Game 4 (19/04/13) – GB v Japan (3:00pm)
Game 5 (20/04/13) – GB v Korea (11:30am)

Backroom calling for GB legend

All-time Great British legend David Longstaff will be joining the back room staff for the upcoming Division 1A World Championship tournament in Hungary later this week.

Longstaff, a veteran with 101 caps at international level, retired from playing duty earlier this year after nearly 20 years in the GB set-up. He made his first appearance for GB in 1994 and has been a vital addition in major tournaments and world championships since.

He is coming off the back of a league and cup double for the Guildford Flames in the English Premier League and his experience and eye for talent will be greatly used during the tournament.

Longstaff commented to the IHUK website; “I am very proud and honoured to be asked to join the GB staff by Tony Hand. I loved playing for the national side and now to back with GB again is fantastic.”

“We have a great group of guys here and I am looking forward to being involved.”

Head Coach Tony Hand added: “Lobby had a fantastic playing career for GB and he is a terrific addition to our staff.

“He has always been a popular player in the dressing room and his 101 caps at international level prove he has the experience.

“We will use that experience and he will scout other teams at the tournament – something which is very important when you play five games in such a short space of time.”

It is a smart move by Hand and the GB organisation to include Longstaff within the team; in a support capacity. Whilst he will not be lacing up the skates, his eye for the game and ability to read plays will prove vital as GB lock horns with the likes of Italy, South Korea, Kazakhstan and the hosts Hungary during the round robin tournament.