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 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.

Hand names 22 man squad for World Championships

Great Britain’s Head Coach Tony Hand has named his 22 man squad for the World Championships in Hungary later this month; showing minor changes to the roster that made the trip to the pre-olympic qualifers in February. A strong 41 man squad was announced just over a week ago, with notable inclusions from English Premier League (EPL) teams; two of which have made the final cut.

Four changes have been made to the team that was originally selected for the final Olympic qualifers in Latvia in February. Steve Lee, who was replaced by Jonathan Weaver for Latvia due to injury, has been included from the start. Fellow defender, Luke Boothroyd, has also been included fresh from his play-off winning services for the Manchester Phoenix. Forwards Ben Davies (Cardiff Devils) and Aaron Nell, of the EPL Swindon Wildcats, have also made the cut in the 22 man squad.

Luke Boothroyd has been included in the team to fly to Hungary. Photo by David Steadman

Unfortunately Ben O’Connor has been denied release from his KHL club to attend the tournament; whilst Rod Sarich, Mark Garside and Jason Hewitt will also miss out.

GB have began their training camp this week, following the EIHL and EPL play-off finals weekend, before heading out to Hungary on Friday.

They will face the hosts in the first match of the Division One – Group A tournament. The teams play a single round-robin series. Each teams plays each opponent once and the winner of the event will be promoted to the Top Division. The last-ranked team will be relegated to Division I Group B.

Coach Hand said: “All games are tough at this level and they will be five difficult games for us throughout the tournament.

“We are taking a strong team away with us, even though we have key guys out. I would love the team to come away with a medal.
“We are looking forward to the three-day camp now and get ourselves prepared for an important week.”

Netminders

Ben Bowns (Hull Stingrays)

Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants)

Defencemen

Danny Meyers (Sheffield Steelers)

Dave Phillips (Belfast Giants)

Mark Richardson (Cardiff Devils)

Mark Thomas (Sheffield Steelers)

Steve Lee (Nottingham Panthers)

Luke Boothroyd (Manchester Phoenix)

Jonathan Weaver (Nottingham Panthers)

Forwards

David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers)

Robert Dowd (Troja-Ljungby)

Robert Farmer (Braehead Clan)

Ben Davies (Cardiff Devils)

Phil Hill (Cardiff Devils)

Robert Lachowicz (Nottingham Panthers)

Matthew Myers (Nottingham Panthers)

Greg Owen (Basingstoke Bison)

Craig Peacock (Belfast Giants)

Aaron Nell (Swindon Wildcats)

Ashley Tait (Sheffield Steelers)

Colin Shields (Belfast Giants)

 

The schedule of the games are as follows;

14th April@19:30 – Hungary v GB

15th April @16:00 – GB v Kazakhstan

17th April @16:00 – GB v Italy

19th April @16:00 – GB v Japan

20th April @12:30 – GB v South Korea

GB Preliminary Squad announced for Hungary challenge

Preliminary squad named ahead of Hungary World Championships. (photo by Diane Davey)

Great Britain Head Coach Tony Hand has named his 41 man preliminary squad ahead of the Division 1A World Championships in Budapest next month.

GB will be aiming for a promotion to the World’s top flight division as they take on hosts Hungary; as well as Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan and South Korea in the championship between 14 April and 20 April.

Hand will select a final 22 man roster before departure for the tournament next month following the conclusion of both the EIHL and EPL Play-off final weekends.

The GB rosters, even the preliminary named squads, have been dominated by Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) representatives. However in recent times English Premier League (EPL) players have been included for selection. This could have something to do with Hand being the Manchester Phoenix player/coach; and being in a better position to analyse opposing players and assess their qualities for the GB team.

There is a notable exclusion to the initial selection of Sheffield Steelers’ defenceman Rob Sarich, the only dual-national player in Riga, Latvia earlier this year. As such there are no dual-national players included in the preliminary squad for Hungary. Sheffield and Belfast are the most represented teams from the EIHL with 6 players each, whilst the recently EIHL Champions Nottingham have 5 players present. Basingstoke Bison are the most represented team from the EPL with 3 players.

Coach Hand said: “There are a lot of new faces in this preliminary squad and it obviously gives me plenty of options. This is reward for the guys who have had a great season with their clubs.

“We have terrific talent in the UK, not just in the Elite League but in the EPL as well, and that shows in the strength of the squad. The final 22 will be a tough call, but I am lucky to be in this position with great talent at my disposal.”

The Pre-Olympic qualifying tournament held in Latvia in February showed that the GB team has made progress, however it also showed that the team has a number of weaknesses which will need to be addressed for Hungary. Despite having faced four of the teams in the past year or so, with Italy the only team GB hasn’t faced recently, the tournament will present new challenges for Hand and his men.

Although we cannot predict what will happen between now and April 14, with a number of games left to play in both the EIHL and EPL, injuries or other circumstances could see a very different and fresh squad fly out to Europe.

Although promotion to the top flight division is up for grabs for the winners, realistically GB will be competing for 3rd, 4th or 5th positions and therefore it would be an ideal opportunity to take some of the youth that is starting to develop, with a mixture of experienced players, and see how the team gets on. Success at international level for GB is a marathon and not a sprint, therefore if we miss out on the chance for promotion this time around; it is not to be seen as a setback but rather foundation building for the future years to come.

Schedule of Games:

14/04/13 – Hungary v GB (19:30)

15/04/13 – Kazakhstan v GB (16:00)

17/04/13 – Italy v GB (16:00)

19/04/13 – Japan v GB (16:00)

20/04/13 – GB v South Korea (12:30)

 

GB PRELIMINARY SQUAD

Netminders

 Ben Bowns (Hull Stingrays)

Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants)

Geoff Woolhouse (Sheffield Steelers)

Stevie Lyle (Basingstoke Bison)

 

Defenceman 

Luke Boothroyd (Manchester Phoenix)

Danny Meyers (Sheffield Steelers)

Jonathan Weaver (Nottingham Panthers)

Adam Carr (MK Lightning)

Phil Hill (Cardiff Devils)

Kevin Phillips (Braehead Clan)

James Griffin (Coventry Blaze)

Stevie Lee (Nottingham Panthers)

Ben Morgan (Sheffield Steeldogs)

David Phillips (Belfast Giants)

Mark Richardson (Cardiff Devils)

Mark Thomas (Sheffield Steelers)

 

Forwards 

Greg Wood (Sheffield Steeldogs)

Ashley Tait (Sheffield Steelers)

Joe Greener (Basingstoke Bison)

Ben Campbell (Guilford Flames)

Matthew Towe (Belfast Giants)

Matthew Myers (Nottingham Panthers)

Aaron Nell (Swindon Wildcats)

Ben O’Connor (Arlan Kokshetau)

Greg Owen (Basingstoke Bison)

Colin Shields (Belfast Giants)

David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers)

Leigh Jamieson (MK Lightning)

Robert Lachowicz (Nottingham Panthers)

Russ Cowley (Coventry Blaze)

Ben Davies (Cardiff Devils)

Matthew Davies (Hull Stingrays)

Robert Dowd (Troja-Ljungby)

Tom Duggan (Manchester Phoenix)

Robert Farmer (Braehead Clan)

Mark Garside (Belfast Giants)

Matthew Haywood (Braehead Clan)

Jason Hewitt (Sheffield Steelers)

Craig Peacock (Belfast Giants)

Jonathan Phillips (Sheffield Steelers)

Shaun Thompson (Bracknell Bees)

GB ontop in Japan

It is now some 12 days since Team GB returned from Japan having secured their place in the final qualification round for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Coach Tony Hand named his 22 man squad in October which featured just one English Premier League (EPL) player in the form of GB legend David Longstaff. However Hand was forced to make two late changes as Rob Sarich and David Clarke were forced to withdraw through injury. Their replacements were Stevie Lee from Nottingham and Leigh Jamieson of the Milton Keynes Lightning; who would feature as the team’s second EPL entrant.

The 22 man squad that headed to Japan were;

Netminders 

Ben Bowns (Hull Stingrays)

Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants)

Defence

Danny Meyers (Sheffield Steelers)

Ben O’Connor (Arlan Kokshetau)

Dave Phillips (Belfast Giants)

Mark Richardson (Arlan Kokshetau)

Stevie Lee (Nottingham Panthers)

Mark Thomas (Sheffield Steelers)

Jonathan Weaver (Nottingham Panthers)

Forwards

Robert Dowd (Troja-Ljungby)

Robert Farmer (Braehead Clan)

Mark Garside (Belfast Giants)

Jason Hewitt (Sheffield Steelers)

Leigh Jamieson (Milton Keynes Lightning)

Phil Hill (Cardiff Devils)

Robert Lachowicz (Nottingham Panthers)

David Longstaff (Guildford Flames)

Matthew Myers (Nottingham Panthers)

Craig Peacock (Belfast Giants)

Jonathan Phillips (Sheffield Steelers)

Colin Shields (Sheffield Steelers)

Ashley Tait (Sheffield Steelers)

The Olympic pre-qualification games for Group J (GB, Japan, Romania and South Korea) were held in Nikkō, Tochigi – Japan. Great Britain, ranked 21st had the option to host the Group J contest, however passed the rights to the next highest-ranked team which was Japan.

Great Britain were first up on Friday 9th November as they faced South Korea in the opening game of the weekend. GB made a great start to the game and were 2-0 up within the opening 5 minutes as Craig Peacock and David Longstaff scored.

Won Jung Kim pulled a goal back for S.Korea within 57 seconds. However a goal by Ben O’Connor’s in the 17th minute ensured GB led 3-1 at the first interval.

Won Jung Kim netted his second at 22:27 to pull S.Korea back to a one goal deficit. But Colin Shields scored at the half-way mark of the game to restore GB’s two goal advantage. Won Jung Kim completed his hat-trick at 38:45 and Geunho Kim then leveled the game shortly after the second interval in the 46th minute of play.

Both teams held on for the remainder of the game and no further scoring was seen; sending the game into overtime. With the overtime period still unable to declare a winner the opening game of the tournament went to penalty shots. Shields and Longstaff missed for Great Britain, with Sang Wook Kim and Min Ho Cho successful for S.Korea; who took the victory 5-4. However GB earned a very valuable point from the game.

On Saturday 10th November Great Britain were once again in action in the opening game of the Day as they faced Romania. The game saw David Longstaff reach the milestone 100 caps for Great Britain which was suitably celebrated with a 3-0 victory. In addition to Longstaff; Matthew Myers and Jonathan Phillips and netminder Stephen Murphy, all reached the 50 game milestone for what turned out to be a memorable day in Japan.

With Japan beating South Korea 3-2 in overtime, a dramatic end to the weekend was set, with the winner of the Great Britain v Japan match on Sunday likely to win the group and earn their place in the final qualification round.

With a late face off time on Sunday 11th November; Great Britain were able to rest up as they prepared to face Japan. Two goals in 30 seconds in the opening period saw GB take a 2-0 lead.

Craig Peacock netted on the powerplay at 9:59 and Ben O’Connor scored his third goal of the tournament at 10:29 two give GB the required lead in the game. A scoreless second period set up a thrilling final 20 minutes which saw Japan pull a goal back through Shuhei Kuji just 4 minutes into the period; but GB held on to take the victory and to earn their place in the final qualification rounds.

Head coach, Tony Hand, said: “This is a huge moment in the history of British ice hockey. I am so, so, proud of every one of these guys and so should everyone back home. We have proved we can compete at this level and now we want to prove we can compete at a higher level.

“Every single guy played their heart out and we did this with talent and determination.No-one should under-estimate how much this means to British ice hockey. It is massive.We are one step away from Sochi 2014 and now get to test ourselves against some of the world’s best hockey nations.”

Following the contest it was confirmed that Team GB would be traveling to Latvia for the final Olympic qualification round. GB have been placed in Group E and will play Latvia, France and Kazakhstan between 7th and 10th of February 2013.

GB are ranked 21st in the world and will be the lowest seed in their group with Latvia ranked 11th in the world, France 14th and Kazakhstan 17th.

Coach Hand and Team GB are now within touching distance of the Winter Olympics due to be held in Sochi, Russia in 2014.