GB Games 4 & 5/Relegation

Team GB v Japan

Same old, same old for Team GB as they were made to pay the price for another poor and ill disciplined performance despite another encouraging first 20 minutes.
Drawing the first penalty of the game, but then giving up the advantage 3 seconds late, Hashimito would make them pay with a wrist shot past the screen Murphy during 4 on 4 hockey.
Japan would present GB with further PP opportunities but their man advantage special teams were becoming predictable and Japan shut them down comfortably.

After getting out-shot 8-5 in the 1st period, Japan started the 2nd like a house on fire.
GB would get some respite with more power play opportunities but on a turnover they presented Ueno with a breakaway and he made no mistake to make it 0-2.

Japan had found their rhythm and were passing the puck around GB with ease, Osawa the beneficiary of a nice move and he finished well on the backhand.
GB would finally tally after good work from Farmer in keeping the puck cycle going, he would tip in a shot from the point from Richardson to give GB hope.
It was a forlorn hope as GB pushed and Japan with another tic-tac-toe passing movement making the static GB defence look silly. Kuji put the finishing touch to the move for a 1-4 shoreline and make Saturday’s game against Korea a must win in regulation to avoid relegation.

Team GB v Korea

All on the line, leave it all on the ice. I imagine that would have been the mantra in the dressing room before the game. A win in regulation would stave of relegation for Team GB and send Korea down instead.
Not even five minutes in Robert Dowd would give GB the perfect start shortly after a power play opportunity.
Instead of building on this, Team GB would give up three second period goals in the space of 11 minutes. All even strength and each a dagger into the hopes of GB.
GB would start the 3rd period on a power play but again it would be ineffective. Korea however would draw a penalty seconds afterwards and made no mistake on their opportunity with Kisung netting the goal to make it 1-4. Relegation for Team GB to Division 1B
GB would ring the iron 4-5 times but it’s too late for hard luck stories.
An inability to score (just 4 goals) has been the downfall throughout this tournament and the lack of discipline has reared it’s ugly head once too often.
Since the mid-point of the Italy game GB have not been good enough in this tournament. The early encouragement garnered from spirited displays against Hungary and Kazakhstan has long since dissipated.

I don’t follow the game closely enough to lay the blame at these players and coaches. As in every sport the National team needs a solid base, with a good structure, youth system and of course proper funding.
Perhaps the relegation will focus minds in getting the set-up right for future success, only time will tell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team GB v Italy Game 3

After the opening two games of the tournaments provided encouragement, today’s defeat was a step backward for Team GB.

The inability to clear the zone cost them dearly and with just a minute on the clock Di Casmirro had the easy job of slotting home a rebound in acres of space.
GB would respond and were certainly as good if not better than the Italians throughout the rest of the 1st period.
Robert Farmer would find a way past his man on the right boards and fire a beautiful wrist shot top shelf to tie the game. It was his first goal at this level and one he’ll never forget.
GB would fire the puck more on the power play and not get the luck with bounces but their inability to stay out of the box would come back to bite them

Italy would start the second period on the power play carried over from the end of the first and after a nice passing play Iannone would beat Murphy with a quick release shot from a saucer pass.
Italy took control of the game and it was only due to Murphy that the score remained at 1-2.

Farmer would have an early chance in the third as Italy fell asleep but the waking giant made GB pay with two goals in 73 seconds.
All thoughts of a comeback were dashed as on a power play, an awful turnover presented Italy with a 2 on 1 breakaway and they tallied on the rebound to make the score 1-5.

Italy would almost score a second short-handed tally late in the game but Bowns, who had been brought in for Murphy, made a nice save. That move made no sense to me with Murphy doubtless frustrated with those in front of him, then being pulled. He along with Ben Davies have been Team GB’s best players in the tournament.

A days rest had obviously done Team GB little favours as this was a very lacklustre performance.
All thought’s of a medal now done and dusted, GB must steel themselves to avoid relegation.
Games against Japan and Korea take on huge significance as losing their Division 1 status would be a massive body blow.
Enough negativity though as these are both games GB are capable of winning. Past performance in February against these nations and in the first two games here should give the team belief they can win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team GB – Hungary & Kazakhstan

IIHF World Championships

Game 1 v Hungary (2-4)

It doesn’t get much tougher than facing the host nation on the opening night in front of a full building of passionate fans.

Despite being badly out shot, Stephen Murphy kept GB in the game. GB then shocked the hosts by taking the lead.

David Phillips throwing a shot towards the net which somehow find it’s way in past the screened Hungarian goalie.

Hungary would bounce back to even the game early in the second. Nagy making no mistake on the power play.  The pressure from the hosts was constant and just 6 minutes last Marton Vas would put them ahead.

Team GB would respond, drawing a penalty and after great work from Robert Dowd it was Colin Shields would tie the game with a nifty finish in close.

Hungary would again retake the lead, Ladanyi the goal scorer on this occasion. The hosts would then make it 4-2 but the goal was waived off for a kicking motion,  meaning GB would only be down a single tally heading into the third period.

This really galvanised the boys in blue and they outplayed Hungary for long stretches and out shot their opponents in the 3^rd.

Clarke would be brilliantly denied before Hungary hit them with a sucker punch.

It was a broken play off a blocked shot and before Murphy could get himself repositioned Sikorcin ripped the puck past him.

There would be no giving up from GB however as they continued to push the hosts. You could send one goal would bring about a storming finish but a combination of not getting the bounce of the puck and some great saves would deny them.

Bright spots for GB were the power play, the effort including laying bodies on the line and the 3^rd period in which they really took it to Hungary. You wouldn’t have had a clue which team was the top seed in those last 20 minutes.

Stephen Murphy was excellent in net and gave his team something to build upon.

Phillips 1G

Shields 1G

Meyers 1A

Tait 1A

Dowd 1A

Weaver 1A

Game 2 v Kazakhstan (0-5)

At times there is no hockey in justice.

Team GB outplayed their higher seeded opponents for over 40 minutes of this encounter but an inability to take their chances and getting sucker punched meant a lop sided defeat.

After conceding an early penalty, Team GB would earn three straight themselves putting Kazakhstan under pressure with Phillips having the best opportunity but he was superbly denied.

Then came the sucker punch at the end of the 1^st period. Romanov and  Solarev netting a goal each in the space 19 seconds late in the 1^st period.

The second 20 minutes would follow a similar pattern. GB would be the better team 5 on 5 and draw four penalties but could not find a way past the impressive Kolesnik.

Clarke having the best chance on the power play from a backdoor set-up but was a fraction away from getting GB back in the game.

GB would take a stack of penalties themselves to finish the period and on a 5 on 3 man advantage Savchenko made no mistake.

There was still a 5 on 4 advantage to start the 3^rd and just after that ended, Khazkhstan make it 4-0 to kill the game. They would make it 5-0 with their second power play marker of the game and although it flattered them, they sure did take their chances today.

Murphy did nothing wrong in the game and made some great stops but the story was Kolesnik in net for Kazakhstan who stood on his head making 36 saves for a shutout.

GB played their best match I’ve ever seen in my short time watching them. If they had taken just once of their chances when it mattered it would have been a different game.

They were battered in the face-off circle against Hungary but were far better today.

Ben Davies stood out for the men in blue. He may be small in stature but he hit hard, kept his legs moving and created turnovers.

GB will face Italy on Wednesday. The top seeds have won both of their games thus far and present another tough challenge.

Onwards and upwards for Team GB Ice Hockey

Onwards and upwards for Team GB

Just two months after the campaign to qualify for the Winter Olympics ended, Team GB head to Hungary for the World Championships in good heart.

Despite losing every game in February there was a lot to be positive about going forward and a new optimism to be found amongst all those connected with the team.

Great Britain head coach Tony Hand has named a 22-man squad which is in the midst of a 3-day training camp, almost unheard of in the past, before heading out to Hungary on Friday.

Team GB will be competing in Division I Group A.
In the World Championships the teams play a single round-robin series and face each opponent once.
The winner of the Group will be promoted to the Top Division. The last-ranked team will be relegated to Division I Group B.

As well as facing the hosts Hungary(19) in the opening game, Team GB will play Italy(16), Kazakhstan (17), Japan(22) and Korea(28).
Great Britain are ranked 21st in the world but have reasons to be optimistic going into the tournament.
In the pre-Olympic qualifying they beat Japan, and know what it will take to gain revenge on Korea for a defeat. In the same way they will know what to expect from Kazakhstan who handed them a heavy defeat in the final game in February.
In stretches against France and even Latvia they were able to hold their own and both those teams will be competing in the World Championships in May.

The talk from the head coach is that it will be a hard test but he expects the team to compete well and the goal at the outset is to gain a medal. This would be no mean achievement with what is laid out in front of them.

From what we witnessed in February we know the guys have talent and a good team ethic. The biggest issue was a lack of discipline and giving away too many soft penalties. If they can right that wrong and get some great goaltending along the way then maybe that medal isn’t such a high bar to reach.

Games will be shown on Premier Sports, with live coverage according to their website.

Schedule:
14 Apr 2013, Sun. 18:30 GB v Hungary
15 Apr 2013, Mon 15:00 GB v Kazakhstan
17 Apr 2013, Wed 15:00 GB v Italy
19 Apr 2013, Fri 15:00 GB v Japan
20 Apr 2013, Sat 11:30 GB v Korea

Team GB Roster:

GB SQUAD
Netminders: Ben Bowns (Hull Stingrays), Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants)

Defensemen: Luke Boothroyd (Manchester Phoenix), Stevie Lee (Nottingham Panthers),
Danny Meyers (Sheffield Steelers), David Phillips (Belfast Giants), Mark Richardson (Cardiff Devils),
Mark Thomas (Sheffield Steelers), Jonathan Weaver (Nottingham Panthers)

Forwards:
David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers), Ben Davies (Cardiff Devils), Robert Dowd (Troja Ljungby),
Robert Farmer (Braehead Clan), Phil Hill (Cardiff Devils), Robert Lachowicz (Nottingham Panthers),
Matthew Myers (Nottingham Panthers), Aaron Nell (Swindon Wildcats),
Greg Owen (Basingstoke Bison), Craig Peacock (Belfast Giants), Jonathan Phillips (Sheffield Steelers),
Colin Shields (Belfast Giants), Ashley Tait (Sheffield Steelers)

Ben O’Connor Interview

So before he headed out on a three week road trip this week, I was fortunate enough to interview Team GB defenseman Ben O’Connor.
Ben was part of the GB team that made it through to the last round of qualifying for the Winter Olympic Games in 2014.
Ben started his junior career in Canada before heading back to the UK.
He is now one of only two current Team GB players to be playing club hockey outside of the UK.

I know it’s only been a few days since the Olympic Qualifying games in Latvia but how do you think Team GB and yourself personally, performed?

Ben: I think we showed the hockey world that GB can play at that level and we have a good team.
I personally think I played hard and played well, though as for all my team-mates… (he was joking I promise!)

In the first game against Latvia was it daunting, or just an exciting prospect facing all their NHL/AHL players and of course the legend that is Sandis Ozolins?

Ben: Of course going into the first game is going to be tough, especially against the host nation, with a full arena, and that is before you look at their team list with experience . It was very exciting to be playing against Latvia on the world stage and once we scored our first goal to tie the game at 1-1, I think the nerves settled.

It must have given the team confidence knowing they competed so well in the 1st period and for stretches of the 2nd against Latvia. Something to build on for the upcoming WC in Hungary this April?

Ben: Yes exactly! We have shown what we can do and how well we can play. We need to come away from the tournament with our heads held high and learn from our mistakes. If we do so, I think we can have success in Hungary .

My last question regarding International hockey. You’ve been around the Team GB scene for a little while now. What do you believe is the biggest single thing UK hockey could do to give itself a better chance to compete at these major Championships?

Ben: Well playing outside the UK for 3 years now, I have seen how other countries & their national teams prepare for WC and OLQ campaigns. The leagues have international breaks and the national team goes away to have camps & exhibition games.
All of which helps when they come together at a tournament, it makes a big difference.
In past years we haven’t had the chance to go away for a camp, so I think you will be able to see just from GB’s trips to Japan and now Latvia how much more familiar and confident the guys are together in Hungary .

Despite being just 24 years young, you’ve had 14 clubs on your resume by my last count.
Have circumstances always dictated this or have you always been a guy to move onto pastures new for whatever reason?

Ben: (initially laughs) Yes its not easy moving around all the time but I make the decision based on my career and what I think is best for my hockey . I would like to stay and play for a team for more than one year but I also want to play at the highest level possible. Sometimes you have to move around new countries, new leagues and new teams to do so.

So you mention not playing in the UK for the past 3 years and I’m guessing not everyone will know that you now play professional club hockey in Kazakhstan. How did that initial offer come about and did you have to think long and hard about the decision to head east?

Ben: I played for GB at the World Championships in Ukraine and there were some representatives from Karaganda attending who saw me play. Shortly after I received an email offering me to go and play for them.
It was an easy choice for my career, but then the worry of living, everyday life style & culture crossed my mind. I put that aside after being assured everything was fine and I haven’t looked back since, couldn’t be happier.
Ben went on to say.
I’m really enjoying my time here. In last two years I have seen a big improvement to my game on and off the ice.
Training twice a day with gym work outs and maturing personally in a different environment, has all has helped my progression.

Great to hear the move is paying dividends for you. With that in mind and spending a year in France and now in your 2nd season in Kazakhstan, do you see yourself as a talisman for British players and hockey, by showing the rest of Europe and Russia that GB players can compete in other leagues?

Ben: In a way I guess , but we all showed at the qualification tournament in Latvia that we all can play at this level. I would like to see more British players in Europe or Russia. It would only increase the standard of the national team and also give other British players coming through, more responsibility in the elite league with more ice time .

You seem like you’re having a great season.
32 points in 38 games(league leading defenseman), and far less penalty minutes than at this stage last season. Do you put this down to anything specific or just the aforementioned training regime?

Ben: Maturity in not taking stupid penalties. As for the points I’m an offensive defenseman. I like to jump up in the play and we have a good team this year. I just want to help the team win and if I get points that’s great but if not that’s ok to.
It was nice to break the league record because the current record holder is also playing on our team.

Just a couple more questions about your club hockey.
Brett Parnham has just joined your team. Do you remember/know him at all from your time in the OHL?

Ben: I actually live with him now. I didn’t know him in the OHL but we were both together for 2 months at the start of the season in Karaganda , so its nice to have a familiar face around.

You came pretty close to winning the Championship with Sary-Arka Karaganda last season. Do you think Arlan Kokshetau can win their first ever Championship this year?

Ben: Yes it was a great experience to be apart of last year .
Arlan Kokshetau have a great opportunity this season. Currently sitting first in the league with 9 games left, 6pts clear, and we have a great team.
To bring the championship to Kokshetau would be very special for the city and myself, as I have never won anything with a club team before .

If I may, just a few quickfire questions to end with.
Do you support/follow an NHL team?
Ben: Detroit Red Wings

What was the best thing about playing junior hockey in Canada?
Ben: Every single day was amazing, I loved it all.
Playing in the OHL against and with great players, which now most of them are big names in the NHL, was very special .

Have a favourite pre-game/post game meal?
Ben: Pre-game is chicken and pasta. Post game anything! (laughs) Again pretty boring, pasta and any meat.

Lastly, who is the best forward you have faced in your career to date?
Ben: Playing against Kopitar in Slovenia U18 WC was special.
When I played in the OHL every team had a “stud”, Patrick Kane, Bobby Ryan to name just two, so I have been lucky enough to have played against some very good hockey players.

Thank you so much for your time Ben.
I’m sure everyone will join me in wishing you all the best for the rest of the season with Arlan Kokshetau and look forward to seeing with you with Team GB in Hungary.

Ben: Thank you very much! I would also like to thank all the GB fans who made the trip to Latvia. The support was amazing so thank you.

On a personal level a huge thank you to Ben for agreeing to do this interview at such short notice and for giving me a fair amount of his valuable time.

 

My response to Jonathan Liew

So today I was pointed towards an article in The Telegraph about Ice Hockey.
My first thought was it must be some mistake.
My second thought after reading said article was that I must be still be asleep as I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Perhaps the least intelligent and laziest piece of journalism I have ever set my eyes upon. All this from Mr Jonathan Liew who won the “Young Sports Writer of the Year Award” in 2011.

My response to his article:

“For another, I can now sit in front of my television on a Friday afternoon and be confronted by live ice hockey.
To be more precise, an Olympic ice hockey qualifier between Great Britain and France on ESPN. Being as inquisitive of nature as I was oblivious of remote-control location, I decided to give it a go. And so began one of the most confusing half-hours I have ever spent in front of an electrical appliance.
The first befuddlement was this: where was the puck? A hockey puck, you see, is just three inches in diameter and can travel at speeds of over 100mph. When it is not zipping across the rink like a photon leaping at superluminal velocity from the violent fission of a radioactive nucleus, it is lost in a whirr of flailing limbs and flying sticks, obscured by large angry men, padded and wadded as if carrying out essential maintenance work to the sun.”

Well you might not be able to spot the puck Jonathan but apparently most of North American can, as well as fans of the KHL(that’s the Russian league by the way), Scandinavia, Czech Republic, Germany and I could go on.

“Attempting to follow the puck made my eyes hurt after a while. Great Britain, meantime, were 3-0 down, which was predictable enough for a country in which ice denotes a potential lawsuit rather than a potential sporting surface. Perhaps they were having trouble locating the puck as well. Perhaps they were being distracted by the frequent blasts of funfair music that accompanied any break in play.”

Perhaps a journalist before watching a new sport should do some research or is that a little too controversial? GB were playing at the very highest level against some very talented teams. But then you wouldn’t know that as you failed to….research. Who am I to judge a professional writer though?

“So I turned to the commentary for guidance. This proved equally baffling. I didn’t catch their names, but the main commentator was an American or a Canadian who had evidently been dared to use as many household objects in his commentary as possible. “Bellemare tries to get it through the tray.
Just whistles right through the crease. France call for it off the point.
Right off the glass. Hecquefeuille! Bombs away!”
The expert summariser was a Briton who clearly had long-standing ties to the sport, but was so devoid of insight as to be practically unlistenable — a sort of Niall Quinn of the rink, if you will. “GB have got to get themselves in this, and that means scoring a goal,” was just one of his many phrases that will ultimately fail to get printed on a commemorative tea-towel.
“Penalty to GB!” the commentator cried. Some good news at last!
Unfortunately, despite its ostensibly tantalising purport, “penalty to GB” meant it was Britain being penalised. Apparently one of the British players had been found guilty of “slashing”, whatever that meant, and had to leave the ice. Off he went to buy himself a toffee apple, and possibly a ride on the whirling waltzer.”

American or Canadian? The accents are very different and quite frankly makes you come across as someone who is ignorant.
You have no knowledge of the sport Jonathan, so why would you expect to understand everything the commentators say?
Do you think an American writer would understand a British commentator talking about Cricket with sayings like “he clipped that through mid-wicket” or the captain is moving his silly mid-off? Is the sarcasm really needed or can you not make a point without using it?

“Then Britain scored. It happened as abruptly as that. Such is the blinding speed of the game that the naked eye is often ill-equipped to keep pace.
All I can tell you is that they were playing ice hockey, just like normal, when all of a sudden the British guys started throwing their arms in the air and embracing. Even after the third replay, I was still none the wiser.”

If you cannot even tell a goal has been scored after watching a 3rd replay then I’m not even sure how you’re a sports writer let alone watcher.

“Likewise, I was content to plead ignorance of the sport as a whole. In an ideal world, I could devote hours and months to studying and appreciating the game: its nuance, its lexicon, its characters. Should ESPN continue its ice hockey coverage, I could even become a regular spectator one day.
But it will never happen, and for this we can blame the dizzying array of choice that modernity has provided us. In this cash-poor, time-poor, post-Olympic landscape, every sport claims to be the best possible use of our time. This has benefits. Never has it been easier to find sport. But by the same token, never has it been harder to discern the indispensable from the inessential; to tell the difference, as it were, between minced beef and minced horse.”

I understand you have been forced/paid to watch a sport you have little time for and I or any other hockey fan does not expect everyone to love the game as we do.
However I would expect a professional journalist to at least research some rules and the teams involved.
Ice Hockey UK and Team GB have done more in the last year to promote the sport than ever before, without any money like Cycling for example enjoys.
A minority sport like hockey struggles enough as it is without a journalist like yourself writing a demeaning article about the game, it’s players and it’s passionate fans. Especially when said journalist writes for a National newspaper and in that respect has a certain amount of power over it’s readers.

I truly hope you are never forced to review Ice Hockey or any other minority sport again in this country.

No GB miracle but a work in process

There was no fairytale ending for Team GB as they were soundly beaten 6-0 by Kazakhstan in their last game of the Olympic Qualifying tournament.

It all went wrong just 30 seconds in as a turnover at the blue line allowed Starchenko to net his 3rd goal of the tournament.
Just a minute and 40 seconds later Romanov made it 2-0. Despite taking yet more penalties, GB escaped the first period at 2-0.
The game was over a contest not long into the second period as Kazakhstan netted three times in just 4 minutes 34 seconds. A short handed goal at the end of the period just rubbed salt into the wound for GB. The 3rd was a little more even affair and although GB weren’t able to break the shutout, Ben Bowns also kept a clean sheet for 20 minutes.
Despite being shelled throughout the game Ben made 36 saves, a fantastic first senior outing for the 22yr old.

So what now for Team GB ice hockey?
Next up is the World Championships Division 1 Group A in Hungary.
This starts on the 14th April, just a few days after the end of the British Elite League finals weekend.
GB will face hosts Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea and Kazakhstan.

http://www.iihf.com/competition/345/

The two Olympic qualifying groups can surely only benefit this group of players going forward into this tournament.
Granted they have much to learn but this team is full of young promising players. Six of the current roster were born in the 1990’s.

The exposure the team has received will hopefully encourage those involved to support Team GB as best as possible in the future and also convince committees holding the purse strings to loosen them a little.

http://www.icehockeyuk.co.uk/