IIHF World Championship: Kirk holds key to Team GB survival bid

LIAM KIRK will be the man to watch as Team GB attempt to survive at the top level in the ice hockey World Championship - again.

Held in Czech Republic until 26 May, Great Britain skaters will compete against the best teams in the world for the fourth time in five years.

That in itself is a remarkable feat considering Team GB had languished in the lower divisions for exactly a quarter of a century between 1994 and 2019.

The first breakthrough in this new era actually came in 2017 before Kirk had made his debut back when Britain beat Croatia (4-2), Estonia (5-1), Lithuania (5-2), Netherlands (14-0), and Japan (4-0) to gain promotion from the third tier.

One year later, like London buses, a second successive gold medal arrived after victories against Slovenia (3-1), Poland (5-3) and Italy (4-3) set up a tie on the last night against hosts Hungary, from which Britain needed to force overtime for at least a point.

Trailing 3-2 with 15 seconds of regular time remaining, Robert Farmer scrambled in an equaliser - and, for good measure, GB then won the shootout after a goalless period of overtime.

In 2019, Team GB at times endured a tough baptism of fire in the top division in Slovakia, suffering notable thrashings against the hosts (1-7), Canada (0-8) and Denmark (0-9).

But France were also without a win ahead of what became a decider in the final round of preliminary fixtures.

A tight opening period was shaded by Team GB. In the second period, though, the tie shifted decidedly in favour of the French as, devastatingly, they scored three times in four minutes and one second of play.

Two of the goals came just six seconds apart - and a previously even game had taken on a very uneven score.

Yet, remarkably, the British team kept their nerve, and began to dominate. First, Robert Dowd finished neatly from a pass by Ben O'Connor - then, three minutes later, Hammond reduced the lead down to one after O'Connor's shot had been parried.

By then, the momentum switch was obvious - and, with 14 minutes still to go, Farmer found another vital goal in his locker.

Neither team could find a winner in regulation time - but, in overtime, skipper Jonathan Phillips held off some close attention down the left and found Ben Davies in front of the net.

Davies made no mistake - and Team GB were going to Switzerland in 2020 - or so they thought.

Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived putting the whole planet, and not just the ice hockey world, on hold.

The effects were still being felt in 2021, of course - and GB were able to play in the World Championship without fear of being relegated with all of the lower divisions cancelled.

As a matter of fact, though, Britain would have stayed up in any case with their 4-3 win over Belarus - and they had improved notably on their 2019 performance, scoring more goals and conceding far fewer.

In particular, Kirk starred throughout, scoring seven goals which, along with his two assists, led to him being named among the tournament all-star players.

However, the spectre of relegation returned in 2022 - and Britain entered the Championship with a forward line truly ravaged by injury.

Kirk, Hammond and Ollie Betteridge were all ruled out - so it was no surprise that Britain could not stand the heat as they slumped to the bottom of the overall top division standings following seven defeats out of seven,  six of them coming in regular time.

Nevertheless, Pete Russell's men refused to feel too sorry for themselves - and, had the advantage of home ice for the Division 1A campaign at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham in spring last year.

There, they regained their seat at the very top table by beating South Korea (4-0), Poland (5-4 in overtime), Lithuania (3-0), Romania (7-0), and - in a decider - Italy (5-3).

Mere survival again is the order of the day this time then - and frankly those hopes will be placed heavily upon the talented young shoulders of Kirk.

The 24-year-old left wing forward from Maltby in North Yorkshire became the first player born and trained in England to be selected by an NHL team when he was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2018.

Having most recently plied his trade at HC Litvinov on the Czech-German border in the Czech Extraliga, Kirk should feel somewhat at home in Prague. 

Meanwhile, he will be supported in attack by the likes of Cade Neilson, Dowd, Davies, Betteridge and Brett Perlini.

In defence, Team GB strongly favours experience with Mark Richardson, David Phillips, Evan Mosey and O'Connor all well beyond the age of 30.

And if they lack the legs to see out a shift, head coach Russell will need his goalkeepers, first-choice Ben Bowns and back-up Jackson Whistle, to perform at the top of their game - even in the more winnable matches against 12th-ranked Norway and 16th-ranked Austria. 

So, this tournament is expected to be an uphill struggle as ever. Additionally, Britain's form heading into the main event could have been better.

Back-to-back wins over Poland were tarnished by the concession of late goals in both matches, the second of which forced GB to penalty shots - while the latest international against Kazakhstan ended in a 5-2 defeat.

Britain also face a hideous start with ties against the top two in the world rankings - Canada and Finland - on the first weekend.

Russell must hope the confidence of his squad is not too damaged by their opening foray ahead of matches against Switzerland, Denmark and Czech Republic - and the vital last two of the preliminary stage against Norway and Austria.

Nevertheless, squad togetherness has been a feature throughout Russell's 10-year tenure in charge - and that, along with Kirk obvious sparkling quality, might just be enough for Great Britain to get over the line once more.

TEAM GB SQUAD
Head coach Pete Russell
Netminders Ben Bowns (Cardiff Devils) - Lucas Brine (Dundee Stars) - Jackson Whistle (Belfast Giants)
Defence Josh Batch (Cardiff Devils) - Nathanael Halbert (HC Innsbruck) - Sam Jones (Sheffield Steelers) - Evan Mosey (Cardiff Devils) - Ben O'Connor (Guildford Flames) - David Phillips (Belfast Giants) - Mark Richardson (Cardiff Devils) - Sam Ruopp (Lausitzer Fuechse) - Josh Tetlow (Nottingham Panthers)
Forwards Ollie Betteridge (Nottingham Panthers) - Cam Critchlow (Manchester Storm) - Johnny Curran (Coventry Blaze) - Ben Davies (Cardiff Devils) - Robert Dowd (c) (Sheffield Steelers) - Sam Duggan (Cardiff Devils) - Liam Kirk (HC Litvinov) - Robert Lachowicz (Glasgow Clan) - Ben Lake (Belfast Giants) - Cade Neilson (Alaska Nanooks) - Sean Norris (Belfast Giants) - Brett Perlini (Saale Bulls) - Cole Shudra (Sheffield Steelers)

TEAM GB FIXTURES AND RESULTS

			Score	Periods	Team GB goals	Team GB assists
Sat 11-May	11:20	CANADA	L2-4	(1-1, 0-3, 1-0)	Kirk (PP) O'Connor	Mosey, Lake Kirk, Betteridge
Sun 12-May	11:20	FINLAND	L0-8	(0-1, 0-5, 0-2)
Wed 15-May	19:20	SWITZERLAND	L0-3	(0-2, 0-1, 0-0)
Fri 17-May	15:20	DENMARK	L3-4	(2-2, 1-1, 0-1)	Kirk Neilson Halbert	Curran, Ruopp Mosey, Lake Lachowicz, Perlini
Sat 18-May	19:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	L1-4	(0-2, 1-2, 0-0)	Mosey (PP)	Kirk, O'Connor
Mon 20-May	15:20	NORWAY	L2-5	(0-3, 1-1, 1-1)	Perlini Betteridge	Dowd, O'Connor Lake, Mosey
Tue 21-May	11:20	AUSTRIA	W4-2	(0-0, 1-1, 3-1)	O'Connor (PP) Perlini (PP) Mosey Dowd	Lake Dowd, O'Connor Duggan, Tetlow Perlini

TEAM GB PLAYER POINTS
2+3 Evan Mosey
2+3 Ben O'Connor
2+2 Liam Kirk
2+2 Brett Perlini

1+2 Robert Dowd

1+1 Ollie Betteridge

1+0 Nathanael Halbert
1+0 Cade Neilson
0+4 Ben Lake
0+1 Johnny Curran
0+1 Sam Duggan

0+1 Robert Lachowicz
0+1 Sam Ruopp

0+1 Josh Tetlow

TOURNAMENT FIXTURES AND RESULTS

Date	Time	GROUP A		O2 Arena, Prague	Periods
10-May	15:20	SWITZERLAND	5-2	NORWAY	(1-1, 3-0, 1-1)
10-May	19:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	1-0 GWS	FINLAND	(0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0 OT)
11-May	11:20	GREAT BRITAIN	2-4	CANADA	(1-1, 0-3, 1-0)
11-May	15:20	AUSTRIA	1-5	DENMARK	(1-2, 0-1, 0-2)
11-May	19:20	NORWAY	3-6	CZECH REPUBLIC	(3-2, 0-1, 0-3)
12-May	11:20	FINLAND	8-0	GREAT BRITAIN	(1-0, 5-0, 2-0)
12-May	15:20	DENMARK	1-5	CANADA	(0-2, 1-0, 0-3)
12-May	19:20	AUSTRIA	5-6	SWITZERLAND	(2-1, 2-3, 1-2)
13-May	15:20	NORWAY	1-4	FINLAND	(0-2, 1-2, 0-0)
13-May	19:20	SWITZERLAND	2-1 GWS	CZECH REPUBLIC	(1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0 OT)
14-May	15:20	DENMARK	0-2	NORWAY	(0-0, 0-1, 0-1)
14-May	19:20	CANADA	7-6 OT	AUSTRIA	(3-1, 3-0, 0-5, 1-0 OT)
15-May	15:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	7-4	DENMARK	(1-1, 2-1, 4-2)
15-May	19:20	SWITZERLAND	3-0	GREAT BRITAIN	(2-0, 1-0, 0-0)
16-May	15:20	FINLAND	2-3	AUSTRIA	(2-0, 0-1, 0-2)
16-May	19:20	CANADA	4-1	NORWAY	(1-0, 1-0, 2-1)
17-May	15:20	GREAT BRITAIN	3-4	DENMARK	(2-2, 1-1, 0-1)
17-May	19:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	4-0	AUSTRIA	(1-0, 2-0, 1-0)
18-May	11:20	DENMARK	0-8	SWITZERLAND	(0-2, 0-3, 0-3)
18-May	15:20	CANADA	5-3	FINLAND	(2-2, 1-1, 2-0)
18-May	19:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	4-1	GREAT BRITAIN	(2-0, 2-1, 0-0)
19-May	15:20	NORWAY	1-4	AUSTRIA	(0-0, 0-3, 1-1)
19-May	19:20	SWITZERLAND	2-3	CANADA	(1-1, 1-2, 0-0)
20-May	15:20	GREAT BRITAIN	2-5	NORWAY	(0-3, 1-1, 1-1)
20-May	19:20	FINLAND	3-1	DENMARK	(0-0, 0-0, 3-1)
21-May	11:20	AUSTRIA	2-4	GREAT BRITAIN	(0-0, 1-1, 1-3)
21-May	15:20	CANADA	4-3 OT	CZECH REPUBLIC	(0-0, 0-0, 3-3, 1-0 OT)
21-May	19:20	FINLAND	1-3	SWITZERLAND	(0-0, 1-2, 0-1)

Date	Time	GROUP B		Ostravar Arena, Ostrava	Periods
10-May	15:20	SLOVAKIA	4-6	GERMANY	(0-0, 2-3, 2-3)
10-May	19:20	SWEDEN	5-2	UNITED STATES	(1-0, 2-1, 2-1)
11-May	11:20	FRANCE	1-3	KAZAKHSTAN	(1-2, 0-1, 0-0)
11-May	15:20	POLAND	4-5 OT	LATVIA	(1-0, 1-1, 2-3, 0-1 OT)
11-May	19:20	UNITED STATES	6-1	GERMANY	(2-0, 2-1, 2-0)
12-May	11:20	SLOVAKIA	6-2	KAZAKHSTAN	(3-0, 1-1, 2-1)
12-May	15:20	LATVIA	3-2 OT	FRANCE	(0-1, 0-0, 2-1, 1-0 OT)
12-May	19:20	SWEDEN	5-1	POLAND	(2-0, 1-0, 2-1)
13-May	15:20	UNITED STATES	4-5 OT	SLOVAKIA	(0-2, 1-2, 3-0, 0-1 OT)
13-May	19:20	GERMANY	1-6	SWEDEN	(0-3, 0-2, 1-1)
14-May	15:20	KAZAKHSTAN	0-2	LATVIA	(0-0, 0-2, 0-0)
14-May	19:20	POLAND	2-4	FRANCE	(0-2, 2-2, 0-0)
15-May	15:20	GERMANY	8-1	LATVIA	(2-0, 5-1, 1-0)
15-May	19:20	SLOVAKIA	4-0	POLAND	(2-0, 0-0, 2-0)
16-May	15:20	KAZAKHSTAN	1-3	SWEDEN	(0-1, 0-1, 1-1)
16-May	19:20	UNITED STATES	5-0	FRANCE	(4-0, 0-0, 1-0)
17-May	15:20	GERMANY	8-2	KAZAKHSTAN	(2-1, 3-0, 3-1)
17-May	19:20	POLAND	1-4	UNITED STATES	(0-0, 0-2, 1-2)
18-May	11:20	LATVIA	2-7	SWEDEN	(0-2, 2-4, 0-1)
18-May	15:20	GERMANY	4-2	POLAND	(0-0, 2-0, 2-2)
18-May	19:20	FRANCE	2-4	SLOVAKIA	(0-1, 1-2, 1-1)
19-May	15:20	UNITED STATES	10-1	KAZAKHSTAN	(4-0, 3-0, 3-1)
19-May	19:20	SLOVAKIA	2-3 GWS	LATVIA	(0-1, 0-0, 2-1, 0-0 OT)
20-May	15:20	SWEDEN	3-1	FRANCE	(0-0, 1-1, 2-0)
20-May	19:20	KAZAKHSTAN	3-1	POLAND	(1-1, 0-0, 2-0)
21-May	11:20	FRANCE	3-6	GERMANY	(1-1, 2-3, 0-2)
21-May	15:20	LATVIA	3-6	UNITED STATES	(0-2, 1-1, 2-3)
21-May	19:20	SWEDEN	6-1	SLOVAKIA	(1-0, 3-0, 2-1)

Index 2022

INDEX 2022

POLITICS
UK political crises
27.07  Stuck in the middle with you
11.09  That was the week that was
30.10  Yet more hard times ahead
US mid-term elections
14.11  Democrats defy expectations in US mid-term elections

FOOTBALL
World Cup
20.11  The big World Cup preview blog
03.12  Rashford and Foden help England dump out Wales
12.12  England fall to France as Morocco make history
19.12  Final: Sealed with a kiss
World Cup qualifiers
31.03  Bale keeps the Welsh World Cup dream alive
07.06  Wales end 64-year wait against weary Ukraine
Domestic football
30.04  Manchester City or Liverpool - who will blink first?
04.08  Premier League preview: Haaland signing sends Man City clear

OTHER
Snooker
15.04  Days of Thunder at the Crucible
04.05  Ronnie O'Sullivan - the greatest showman in snooker
Eurovision
19.05  Ryder restores British pride as Europe shows solidarity with Ukraine
Ice hockey
28.05  Team GB lose place at ice hockey top table
Cricket
15.06  Bairstow stokes the fire for recovering England
16.09  Reinvigorated England turn the tide
Formula 1
06.07  Sainz shines at Silverstone in maiden F1 win

Team GB lose place at ice hockey top table

GREAT BRITAIN collapsed from 3-1 up two days in a row earlier this week to suffer a painful relegation from the top flight of the ice hockey World Championships.

Team GB were beaten 5-3 by Austria on Monday, only just over 24 hours after a 4-3 defeat to Latvia at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.

Those defeats left Pete Russell's men on just one point from seven games, well short of the safety mark in Group B - but it could have been all so different if the build-up to the tournament had not been quite as disrupted by injury as it was.

Shorn of the brightest British hockey star of his generation, Liam Kirk, the team suffered further blows to the offence with the loss of Mike Hammond and Ollie Betteridge.

At least Team GB could call upon the vast experience provided by captain Jonathan Phillips who picked up a new national record by winning his 111th cap in the match against Austria.

But the lack of firepower was clearly in evidence in four warm-up matches, two each against Denmark and Italy, which finished with four defeats and an aggregate score of 1-16.

Nevertheless, in the finals themselves, Team GB acquitted themselves generally well -  and were shut out only by Sweden (0-6), hosts Finland (0-6), and the United States (0-3), the latter of which was a competitive battle.

In total, Team GB found the back of the net on 10 occasions in the four other matches, scoring one more goal than in the 2019 World Championship when Britain beat France in overtime to survive in their first season back in the top flight for 25 years.

This time, though, it was not to be - despite a stunning recovery from 3-0 down in the third period against Norway in their second game.

A trio of quickfire goals from Robert Dowd, Brett Perlini and Mark Richardson forced an unlikely period of overtime - but, while there was no further scoring in the additional five minutes, it was the Norwegians who prevailed on penalty shots for the extra point.

At the time, it still looked like a good point - but results elsewhere in Group B conspired against Team GB with Austria forcing overtime against the United States then causing a shock by beating the Czech Republic on penalty shots.

Meanwhile, Latvia beat Norway in a regulation time victory for three points - and the points from the match between the Latvians and the Austrians were split 2-1 in favour of the former after another match which went all the way.

As largely expected then, the Team GB campaign would be decided by their last two matches with Latvia (5) and Austria (4), well clear of Russell's side on a single point.

Britain looked set to close the gap on the teams above them when Lewis Hook restored a two-goal lead at 3-1 within seconds of Oskars Batna pulling one back for Latvia.

Those goals followed an opening period which was dominated by Britain and rewarded on the scoreboard with a goal from Perlini and a maiden senior international strike for Cade Neilson.

By the end of the second period, Latvia were back in it at 3-2 after scoring on the powerplay - and Britain critically failed to stay out of the penalty box in the third as the Latvians completed the turnaround with two further powerplay goals.

At least, at that point, Austria remained within reach - and any win in regulation time was enough for Team GB to survive again at the elite level on head-to-head

In a carbon copy of the Latvia game, things looked good again early on as Matt Myers and Dowd deservedly put Britain 2-0 up, and Neilson produced a quick response to an Austrian goal for a 3-1 scoreline.

The main difference this time was that, by the time Neilson scored, the match was in the third period and had less than 14 minutes left.

Nevertheless, that was still more than enough time for an Austria team who did not panic in the knowledge that a tie at the end of 60 minutes would be enough for them.

The Austrians quickly got back on level terms through Dominique Heinrich and Benjamin Nissner as Britain were overwhelmed - then went ahead for the first time through Thomas Raffl to leave Britain needing two.

Unsurprisingly, Team GB pulled the goalie - but that merely allowed Peter Schneider to slide the puck into an empty net from the very next attack.

That fifth Austrian goal arrived with an undoubtable thud of finality - the new boys had secured safety and Great Britain were going down.

Of course, right now, there is much about the future which remains uncertain.

The expulsion of Belarus and Russia from the Championships this year following the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine has left questions over the future structure of the promotion and relegation places between the top flight and the second-tier Division 1A.

Russia - if ever welcomed back into the international fold - almost certainly would be placed straight back into the Top Division with Belarus likely to go to Division 1A following their bottom-placed finish in 2021.

This year, though, there were still two promotion spots up for grabs with Hungary and Slovenia replacing Britain and Italy who were relegated after they also took just one point in Group A.

In some heartening news this week, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced Great Britain as the host of Division 1A in 2023 with the matches set to be played on home ice at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. 

Therefore, Team GB already stand an excellent good chance of ensuring that this memorable spell among the elite merely ended on a semi-colon - and not a full-stop.

GROUP A	W	W-OT	L-OT	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) SWITZERLAND	6	1	0	0	34	15	20
(Q) GERMANY	5	0	1	1	26	20	16
(Q) CANADA	5	0	0	2	34	18	15
(Q) SLOVAKIA	4	0	0	3	23	19	12
DENMARK	4	0	0	3	18	18	12
FRANCE	1	1	0	5	11	24	5
KAZAKHSTAN	1	0	0	6	19	31	3
(R) ITALY	0	0	1	6	12	32	1

• All matches at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland

13-May	14:20	FRANCE	2-4	SLOVAKIA
13-May	18:20	GERMANY	3-5	CANADA
14-May	10:20	DENMARK	9-1	KAZAKHSTAN
14-May	14:20	SWITZERLAND	5-2	ITALY
14-May	18:20	SLOVAKIA	1-2	GERMANY
15-May	10:20	ITALY	1-6	CANADA
15-May	14:20	FRANCE	2-1	KAZAKHSTAN
15-May	18:20	DENMARK	0-6	SWITZERLAND
16-May	14:20	SLOVAKIA	1-5	CANADA
16-May	18:20	FRANCE	2-3	GERMANY
17-May	14:20	ITALY	1-2	DENMARK
17-May	18:20	SWITZERLAND	3-2	KAZAKHSTAN
18-May	14:20	FRANCE	2-1	ITALY	OT
18-May	18:20	SWITZERLAND	5-3	SLOVAKIA
19-May	16:00	GERMANY	1-0	DENMARK
19-May	19:30	CANADA	6-3	KAZAKHSTAN
20-May	14:20	GERMANY	9-4	ITALY
20-May	18:20	KAZAKHSTAN	3-4	SLOVAKIA
21-May	10:20	DENMARK	3-0	FRANCE
21-May	14:20	CANADA	3-6	SWITZERLAND
21-May	18:20	ITALY	1-3	SLOVAKIA
22-May	14:20	KAZAKHSTAN	4-5	GERMANY
22-May	18:20	SWITZERLAND	5-2	FRANCE
23-May	14:20	KAZAKHSTAN	5-2	ITALY
23-May	18:20	CANADA	2-3	DENMARK
24-May	10:20	GERMANY	3-4	SWITZERLAND	GWS
24-May	14:20	SLOVAKIA	7-1	DENMARK
24-May	18:20	CANADA	7-1	FRANCE

GROUP B	W	W-OT	L-OT	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) FINLAND	6	0	1	0	25	5	19
(Q) SWEDEN	5	1	1	0	27	10	18
(Q) CZECH REPUBLIC	4	0	1	2	19	13	13
(Q) UNITED STATES	3	2	0	2	18	12	13
LATVIA	2	1	0	4	14	20	8
AUSTRIA	1	1	2	3	16	22	7
NORWAY	1	1	0	5	15	29	5
(R) GREAT BRITAIN	0	0	1	6	10	33	1

• All matches at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland

13-May	14:20	UNITED STATES	4-1	LATVIA
13-May	18:20	FINLAND	5-0	NORWAY
14-May	10:20	SWEDEN	3-1	AUSTRIA
14-May	14:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	5-1	GREAT BRITAIN
14-May	18:20	LATVIA	1-2	FINLAND
15-May	10:20	NORWAY	4-3	GREAT BRITAIN	GWS
15-May	14:20	AUSTRIA	2-3	UNITED STATES	OT
15-May	18:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	3-5	SWEDEN
16-May	14:20	LATVIA	3-2	NORWAY
16-May	18:20	FINLAND	4-1	UNITED STATES
17-May	14:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	1-2	AUSTRIA	GWS
17-May	18:20	SWEDEN	6-0	GREAT BRITAIN
18-May	14:20	NORWAY	5-3	AUSTRIA
18-May	18:20	FINLAND	2-3	SWEDEN	GWS
19-May	14:20	GREAT BRITAIN	0-3	UNITED STATES
19-May	18:20	CZECH REPUBLIC	5-1	LATVIA
20-May	14:20	GREAT BRITAIN	0-6	FINLAND
20-May	18:20	LATVIA	4-3	AUSTRIA	GWS
21-May	10:20	UNITED STATES	3-2	SWEDEN
21-May	14:20	AUSTRIA	0-3	FINLAND
21-May	18:20	NORWAY	1-4	CZECH REPUBLIC
22-May	14:20	GREAT BRITAIN	3-4	AUSTRIA
22-May	18:20	SWEDEN	7-1	NORWAY
23-May	14:20	UNITED STATES	0-1	CZECH REPUBLIC
23-May	18:20	AUSTRIA	5-3	GREAT BRITAIN
24-May	10:20	SWEDEN	1-0	LATVIA
24-May	14:20	UNITED STATES	4-2	NORWAY
24-May	18:20	FINLAND	3-0	CZECH REPUBLIC

QUARTER FINALS

26-May	14:20	GERMANY	1-4	CZECH REPUBLIC	Helsinki
26-May	14:20	SWEDEN	3-4	CANADA	Tampere  OT
26-May	18:20	SWITZERLAND	0-3	UNITED STATES	Helsinki
26-May	18:20	FINLAND	4-2	SLOVAKIA	Tampere

SEMI FINALS

28-May	10:20	FINLAND	4-3	UNITED STATES	Tampere
28-May	14:20	CANADA	6-1	CZECH REPUBLIC	Tampere

BRONZE FINAL

29-May

13:20

UNITED STATES

4-8

CZECH REPUBLIC

Tampere

GOLD FINAL

29-May

18:20

FINLAND

4-3

CANADA

Tampere OT

OVERALL RANKINGS

1 • FINLAND

2 • CANADA

3 • CZECH REPUBLIC

4 • UNITED STATES

5 • SWITZERLAND

6 • SWEDEN

7 • GERMANY

8 • SLOVAKIA

9 • DENMARK

10 • LATVIA

11 • AUSTRIA

12 • FRANCE

13 • NORWAY

14 • KAZAKHSTAN

15 • (R) ITALY

16 • (R) GREAT BRITAIN

GREAT BRITAIN TOURNAMENT POINTS
2+3 • Cade Neilson

2+2 • Brett Perlini

2+0 • Robert Dowd

1+1 • Ben Lake

1+1 • Lewis Hook
1+1 • Matthew Myers
1+0 • Mark Richardson

0+2 • Scott Conway

0+2 • Josh Batch
0+1 • Evan Mosey
0+1 • Joshua Tetlow
0+1 • Sam Jones
0+1 • Ben O'Connor

Curling medals spare Team GB blushes

EVE MUIRHEAD achieved her lifetime ambition as she led the Team GB women's curling team to a first Olympic gold at the Games in 20 years.

Muirhead, in her fourth Olympic appearance, matched the success of Rhona Howie in 2002 with a comprehensive victory in the Final against Japan on Sunday.

Coincidentally, there were similarities between the two campaigns. In 2002, Howie - then with the surname Martin - needed other results to go in her favour to lead her team to the knockout stages.

This time, the Muirhead rink also held a 5-4 record and required both Sweden and Switzerland to win to progress via the Draw Shot Challenge.

If that was not enough to shred the nerves of the British curling community, then the epic semi final against the Swedes certainly was.

It all started horribly as Sweden took four from the first end - but a thankfully rapid response of three allowed the Britain to play their way into the contest.

Still 8-7 down in the ninth but with the hammer, Muirhead, Vicky Wright, Jen Dodds, and Hailey Duff then produced a brilliant series of shots.

The penultimate end culminated in a fantastic tap shot from British skip Muirhead to register an amazing four - and an out-of-the-blue three-score lead.

But Sweden refused to go quietly - and their skip Anna Hasselborg executed a perfect take out to score three and make it 11-11.

Deep breaths were required for the extra end - but the British curlers, with the hammer, held their nerve well - and, in a ridiculously high-scoring match, kept the house clear for Muirhead to draw to the button for a 12-11 triumph. 

To some relief, the Final was a far more straightforward affair as Britain immediately took charge with an early two then stole a point in the fifth end to lead 4-1 at the halfway stage.

Japan were forced to settle for one point only in the sixth end before Muirhead broke the back of the match with a brilliant four in the seventh.

Olympic curling finals must contain at least eight ends so Japan were obliged to continue - but, after again being forced to take just one from the eighth, they briefly considered a concession.

At 8-3 with a potential two ends left, there was seemingly just enough life left in the contest.

However, another well-constructed end in the ninth left Team GB well in the clear - and the emotional celebrations could begin.

Meanwhile, the men's curling team also brought home a medal from the Ice Cube venue, taking silver after a tough 5-4 defeat to Sweden in a Final which required an extra end.

That was a real shame for Bruce Mouat's rink who had dominated the competition up until then. Britain lost just once in the round robin stage to the United States - and overcame the Americans in the semi final anyway.

Both of Britain's knockout matches in the men's competition were extremely tactical encounters with opportunities for scoring quickly shut off.

In the semi final, the United States - trailing 5-4 - blanked the sixth, seventh and eighth ends to retain the hammer throughout the second half of the match.

The Americans were also trying to blank the ninth to the carry the hammer into the final end but allowed to Britain to steal one before further errors from the United States in the 10th decided the contest for certain.

If anything, the Final was even tighter - with only one single instance of a team taking two shots throughout the whole match when Sweden scored in the second end.

Sweden blanked the fifth and sixth ends, and tried to continue the run beyond that. However, Britain stole a point to level the scores in the seventh end then forced Sweden to take only one from the eighth.

With no clear way to scoring two, Britain blanked the ninth end - but had no choice other than to take only one point from the 10th end to level the score 4-4.

Sweden had the hammer for the extra end - and, having again reduced the scoring opportunities through their lethal take-outs, used it to full advantage to draw into the button for victory.

It was truly an agonising defeat for Britain's men - but they did at least take a well-deserved place on the podium.

Beyond curling, though, there were no other medals for Team GB as the 2022 cohort fell short of the pre-Games target set by UK Sport of between three and seven medals.

Certainly, it feels like a step backwards after the previous two Winter Olympics in Sochi (2014) and Pyeonchang (2018) delivered five medals on both occasions.

In response, UK Sport chief Sally Munday said: "I think you probably liken us to a wounded lion.

"We'll lick our wounds, we'll work out what needs to be different and we will come back fighting and roaring for Milan-Cortina (in 2026)."

Fighting talk - and, in fairness to UK Sport and the Olympians themselves, this has not been an easy cycle for a non-alpine country like the United Kingdom.

Undoubtedly, the impact of COVID-19 has been a big factor.  Around 60% of Britain’s 50-strong squad spend large parts of their year abroad so less time to train on snow and ice due to travel restrictions has inevitably hurt Team GB medal prospects.

By contrast, curling is such a part of Scottish heritage that even the granite stones used in competition all come from Aisla Craig, an uninhabited island off the coast of Ayrshire.

Rather more pertinently, Muirhead, Mouat and their teams were able to train at a bespoke venue in Stirling.

Nevertheless, Team GB bosses have got wounds to lick.

Skeleton had delivered at least one medal for Britain at every Winter Olympics since its reintroduction to the Games at Salt Lake City in 2002.

For sure, double Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold has now retired - but Laura Deas, who was on the track in Beijing, won bronze in 2018 and is a far better athlete than her 19th-placed finish suggested. Instead, questions must be asked of the equipment used by Team GB.

After all, a nation famed for its prowess in the research and development surely can come up with something better than the pile of junk which the four British sliders had to endure at these Games.

Furthermore, the appropriate allocation of funds to the right areas was highlighted by the impressive showing by the self-funded Team GB quartet in the four-man bobsleigh.

Pilot Brad Hall, Nick Gleeson, Greg Cackett and Taylor Lawrence finished in an extremely creditable sixth place having been required to resort to a crowdfunding campaign.

Gleeson said: "Everything we have gone through, everything we have had to do, everything we've had to sacrifice, top six is like a medal for us.

"I really hope UK Sport take a long, hard look at us. We've beaten a whole host of nations with a significantly bigger budget."

Outside of the Team GB sphere, the Olympic medal table was dominated - once again - by Norway, already the most successful Winter Olympics nation of all.

The Norwegians topped the standings for the second time in a row - and the ninth time in history - with 16 gold medals, eight silver, and 13 bronze.

However, the biggest story of the Games involved Russia which again officially represented their Olympic Committee - rather than their flag - due to a ruling in December 2020 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

That followed the exposure of a state-sanctioned doping programme - but, disgracefully although equally unsurprisingly, that measure does not seem to have made the slightest bit of difference.

On day seven of these Games, a doping scandal erupted yet again in the Russian camp when 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva was revealed to have tested positive in a drugs test which had taken place six weeks prior to the start of the Games.

Traces of trimetazidine, a cardiovascular agent banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), had been found in the sample provided by Valieva.

The teenager blamed a mix-up with medication taken by her grandfather - but, with the investigation still ongoing, CAS did not suspend Valieva.

It was a bizarre decision which was out of line with the usual protocol - and, sadly, her ongoing competitive responsibilities had a devastating effect on a vulnerable youngster.

Skating in the ladies' singles, Valieva fell twice during her routine and dropped out of the medals having previously been top of the standings in the short programme.

Valieva left the ice in tears - but, incredibly, there was little sympathy forthcoming from her coach Eteri Tutberidze who was immediately critical of her performance.

Depressingly, for many viewers around the world, that became the iconic image of these Games.

Now, this 24th edition of the Winter Olympics was hardly without controversy even before the torch was lit at the Opening Ceremony.

At best, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was ambivalent to the high-profile reports of human rights abuses in China - and, quite frankly, everything about these Games from the hosts felt cold in the completely wrong way for a Winter Olympics.

Already, the visit to Milan-Cortina in 2026 sounds like it is going to be more fun.

Of course, Great Britain has sent a team to every Olympic Games - both the summer and winter versions - and so, it was only right that, despite understandable reservations and a high-profile diplomatic boycott, Team GB still sent a squad to Beijing.

Muirhead, for one, is certainly pleased with the decision - and no one encapsulates the Olympic spirit better than the 31-year-old from the Fair City of Perth.

A gold medal, following an Olympic career spanning more than a decade, is finally hers at last. 

TEAM GB SQUAD

• Alpine skiing Billy Major, Dave Ryding, Alexandra Tilley, Charlie Guest
• Bobsleigh Brad Hall, Nick Gleeson, Greg Cackett, Taylor Lawrence, Mica McNeill, Montell Douglas
• Cross-country skiing Andrew Musgrave, Andrew Young, James Clugnet
• Curling
  [Men] Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan Jr., Ross Whyte 
  [Women] Eve Muirhead, Vicky Wright, Jennifer Dodds, Hailey Duff, Mili Smith
• Figure skating Natasha McKay, Lilah Fear, Lewis Gibson
• Freestyle skiing Lloyd Wallace, James Woods, Gus Kenworthy, Isabel Atkin, Kirsty Muir, Katie Summerhayes, Zoe Atkin, Will Feneley, Leonie Gerken-Schofield, Makayla Gerken-Schofield, Oliver Davies
• Luge Rupert Staudinger
• Short-track speed skating Farrell Treacy, Niall Treacy, Kathryn Thomson
• Skeleton Matt Weston, Marcus Wyatt, Brogan Crowley, Laura Deas
• Snowboarding Katie Ormerod, Huw Nightingale, Charlotte Bankes
• Speed skating Cornelius Kersten, Ellia Smedling

CURLING Women's competition

	Skip	W	L	DSC	Team GB results
(Q) Switzerland (SUI)	Silvana Tirinzoni	8	1	19.14	L5-6
(Q) Sweden (SWE)	Anna Hasselborg	7	2	25.02	W8-2 | W12-11 (SF)
(Q) Great Britain (GBR)	Eve Muirhead	5	4	35.27	-
(Q) Japan (JPN)	Satsuki Fujisawa	5	4	36.00	W10-4 | W10-3 (F)
Canada (CAN)	Jennifer Jones	5	4	45.44	L3-7
United States (USA)	Tabitha Peterson	4	5	33.87	W10-5
China (CHN)	Han Yu	4	5	30.06	L4-8
South Korea (KOR)	Kim Eun-jung	4	5	27.79	L7-9
Denmark (DEN)	Madeleine Dupont	2	7	23.36	W7-2
Russia (ROC)	Alina Kovaleva	1	8	29.34	W9-4

CURLING Men's competition

	Skip	W	L	DSC	Team GB results
(Q) Great Britain (GBR)	Bruce Mouat	8	1	18.81	-
(Q) Sweden (SWE)	Niklas Edin	7	2	14.02	W7-6 | L4-5 (F)
(Q) Canada (CAN)	Brad Gushue	5	4	26.49	W5-2
(Q) United States (USA)	John Shuster	5	4	32.29	L7-9  | W8-4 (SF)
China (CHN)	Ma Xiuyue	4	5	23.55	W7-6
Norway (NOR)	Steffen Waldstad	4	5	20.96	W8-3
Switzerland (SUI)	Peter De Cruz	4	5	15.74	W6-5
Russia (ROC)	Sergey Glukhov	4	5	33.72	W8-6
Italy (ITA)	Joel Retornaz	3	6	30.76	W7-5
Denmark (DEN)	Mikkel Krause	1	8	32.84	W8-2

MEDAL TABLE Beijing 2022 Olympics

Pos		G	S	B	TOTAL
1	NORWAY (NOR)	16	8	13	37
2	GERMANY (GER)	12	10	5	27
3	CHINA (CHN)	9	4	2	15
4	UNITED STATES (USA)	8	10	7	25
5	SWEDEN (SWE)	8	5	5	18
6	NETHERLANDS (NED)	8	5	4	17
7	AUSTRIA (AUT)	7	7	4	18
8	SWITZERLAND (SUI)	7	2	5	14
9	RUSSIAN OLYMPIC TEAM (ROC)	6	12	14	32
10	FRANCE (FRA)	5	7	2	14
11	CANADA (CAN)	4	8	14	26
12	JAPAN (JPN)	3	6	9	18
13	ITALY (ITA)	2	7	8	17
14	SOUTH KOREA (KOR)	2	5	2	9
15	SLOVENIA (SLO)	2	3	2	7
16	FINLAND (FIN)	2	2	4	8
17	NEW ZEALAND (NZL)	2	1	0	3
18	AUSTRALIA (AUS)	1	2	1	4
19	GREAT BRITAIN (GBR)	1	1	0	2
20	HUNGARY (HUN)	1	0	2	3
21	BELGIUM (BEL)	1	0	1	2
21	CZECH REPUBLIC (CZE)	1	0	1	2
21	SLOVAKIA (SVK)	1	0	1	2
24	BELARUS (BLR)	0	2	0	2
25	SPAIN (ESP)	0	1	0	1
25	UKRAINE (UKR)	0	1	0	1
27	ESTONIA (EST)	0	0	1	1
27	LATVIA (LAT)	0	0	1	1
29	POLAND (POL)	0	0	1	1

Free hit for Team GB in ice hockey finals

"THEY'RE going to Switzerland!" roared commentator Aaron Murphy as he called the final dramatic overtime play of Great Britain's incredible comeback triumph against France two years ago.

But, ultimately, neither Great Britain - nor anyone else - got to go to Switzerland after the tournament last year inevitably ended up on the long list of sporting events which were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, coronavirus has not magically gone away - and, even this year, all of the divisions below the elite tournament were again cancelled. 

For Team GB, that was good news as the resultant removal of relegation in these World Championships has guaranteed that, whatever happens this year, Britain will keep their place in the top flight in 2022.

In fairness, Britain had earned their place among the elite in 2018 - and retained it in 2019 - on merit with two brilliant victories over Hungary and France, respectively.

In 2018, promotion to the top division for the first time since 1994 was achieved when Robert Farmer equalised against the Hungarians with 15 seconds of regulation time remaining to give Britain the point they needed.

Then, the campaign in 2019 came down to what was effectively a relegation playoff against the French after six inconsistent performances had all ended in defeat. 

France were also without a win going into the match - and a tight opening period was shaded by Team GB.

In the second period, though, the tie shifted decidedly in favour of the French as, devastatingly, they scored three times in four minutes and one second of play. Two of the goals came just six seconds apart. 

An even game now had a very uneven score - yet, remarkably, the British team kept their nerve, and began to dominate. 

First, Robert Dowd finished neatly from a pass by Ben O'Connor - then, three minutes later, Hammond reduced the lead down to one after O'Connor's shot had been parried.

By then, the momentum switch was obvious - and, with 14 minutes still to go, Farmer found another vital goal in his locker.

Neither team could find a winner in regulation time - but, in overtime, skipper Jonathan Phillips held off some close attention down the left and found Ben Davies in front of the net.

Davies made no mistake - and Team GB were going to Switzerland, or so they thought.

This year, instead of going to Switzerland as commentator Murphy had foretold, Team GB were meant to travel to Minsk, the capital of original co-host Belarus, after being drawn in Group A.

But, on 18 January, there was another big change. International ice hockey governing body, the IIHF, decided that the World Championship could not be played in Belarus due to "safety and security issues".

And, to be honest, it would be difficult to pretend that outcome did not come as a surprise.

For months, the Belarusian capital had been paralysed by a series of protests against the government in Minsk which has been under the control of Alexander Lukashenko for the last 27 years. 

Lukashenko has built a despotic cult of personality and continues to hold in an iron grip on Belarus to the extent that he has even been described as the last dictator in Europe

Several political groups, politicians and international entities, including the European Parliament, called for Belarus to be stripped of it matches - and, eventually, the situation there became so untenable that the IIHF felt obliged to act.

Group A matches will now be held at the Olympic Sports Centre in Riga, the capital of Latvia, which has also retained its own hosting rights of Group B.

Those matches in Group B - between Latvia, Canada, Finland, United States, Germany, Norway, Italy, and Kazakhstan - will be played, as planned, at the Arena Riga.

Meanwhile, alongside Great Britain and Belarus, Group A features Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark - and, effectively, the Russia national team.

In line with a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on doping sanctions in December, however, the Russian team is prohibited from competing under the Russian flag or using the Russian national anthem at any Olympic Games or World Championships until 16 December 2022.

Instead, Russia must compete as "neutral athletes", not that those circumstances make the number two-ranked team any less of a threat.

By contrast, Great Britain - at 19th, the lowest ranked team - are still going to find it difficult at times to compete over the next 12 days against some of the powerhouses of the sport, even if the big guns are shorn of many of their Stanley Cup-tied NHL stars.

Meanwhile, Team GB will be without their usual coach Pete Russell who will miss the tournament after he chose to spend time with his family following the end of his season at Freiburg in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Assistant coaches Adam Keefe and Corey Neilson will co-lead this British campaign in his place.

Nevertheless, the aforementioned lack of relegation should lift a weight off the shoulders of the players - and, hopefully, that means Team GB can, once again, punch above their weight.

Pos	GROUP A	W	OTW	OTL	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	RUSSIA	3	0	0	1	15	7	+8	9
2	SWTIZERLAND	3	0	0	1	14	10	+4	9
3	SLOVAKIA	3	0	0	1	11	12	-1	9
4	CZECH REPUBLIC	1	1	0	2	12	13	-1	5
5	DENMARK	1	1	0	2	7	9	-2	5
6	BELARUS	1	0	1	2	8	12	-4	4
7	GREAT BRITAIN	1	0	1	2	8	15	-7	4
8	SWEDEN	1	0	0	3	12	9	+3	3

21-May	14:15	RUSSIA	4-3	CZECH REPUBLIC
		Burdasov [04:16 PP] Shvets-Rogovoy [35:27 SH] Barabanov [45:28] Grigorenko [59:41]	(1-1, 1-1, 2-1)	[09:26] Flek [37:53] Vrana [57:23 PP] Kubalik
21-May	18:15	BELARUS	2-5	SLOVAKIA
		Stefanovich [53:25 PP2] Sharangovic [54:22]	(0-3, 0-0, 2-2)	[03:53] Pospisil [09:17 PP] Cehlarik [11:02 PP] Pospisil [45:05] Hrivik [59:15 EN] Cehlarik
22-May	10:15	DENMARK	4-3	SWEDEN
		Nick Jensen [30:40] Nick Jensen [37:33] Kristensen [38:09] Nick Jensen [48:22 PP]	(0-0, 3-2, 1-1)	[22:06] Klingberg [35:09] Tommernes [50:56] Klingberg
22-May	14:15	GREAT BRITAIN	1-7	RUSSIA	📺
		Liam Kirk [18:46 PP]	(1-4, 0-1, 0-2)	[05:53 PP] Burdasov [07:19 SH] Grigorenko [09:21] Burdasov [10:51] Tolchinsky [30:08] Karnaukhov [49:59 PP] Kuzmenko [53:04] Slepyshev
22-May	18:15	CZECH REPUBLIC	2-5	SWITZERLAND
		Chytil [14:46 PP] Smejkal [54:59 PP]	(1-1, 0-2, 1-2)	[17:09 PP] Hoffman [24:12 PP] Meier [38:19] Scherwey [50:27 PP] Meier [57:08 PP] Hoffman
23-May	10:15	GREAT BRITAIN	1-2	SLOVAKIA	📺
		Liam Kirk [22:03]	(0-1, 1-1, 0-0)	[00:25] Hrivik [24:42] Lantosi
23-May	14:15	SWEDEN	0-1	BELARUS
			(0-0, 0-0, 0-1)	[40:33] Nesterov
23-May	18:15	DENMARK	0-1	SWITZERLAND
			(0-1, 0-0, 0-0)	[13:12] Meier
24-May	14:15	SLOVAKIA	3-1	RUSSIA
		Kelemen [30:00] Gernat [53:19 PP] Daloga [58:59 EN]	(0-0, 1-1, 2-0)	[31:06 PP] Barabanov
24-May	18:15	CZECH REPUBLIC	3-2 OT	BELARUS
		Kovar [29:44] Zadina [33:03 PP] Kubalik [61:23 PP]	(0-0, 2-1, 0-1) (1-0)	[25:52] Sharangovich [51:30] Yeryomenko
25-May	14:15	GREAT BRITAIN	2-3 OT	DENMARK	📺
		Ben O'Connor [02:33] Mike Hammond [56:18]	(1-2, 0-0, 1-0) (0-1)	[10:19] Jakobsen [13:44 PP] Nick Jensen [64:35 PP] Lauridsen
25-May	18:15	SWITZERLAND	0-7	SWEDEN	📺
			(0-2, 0-2, 0-3)	[08:35] Froden [10:00 PP] A Kempe [22:33] Olofsson [30:24] Froden [41:18 PP] Nygren [47:14] Lundkvist [50:46] Tommernes
26-May	14:15	RUSSIA	3-0	DENMARK
		Morozov [39:18 PP] Barabanov [49:41] Voronkov [56:35]	(0-0, 1-0, 2-0)
26-May	18:15	BELARUS	3-4	GREAT BRITAIN	📺
		Kodola [29:15] Platt [51:19] Prince [57:43]	(0-1, 1-2, 2-1)	[13:38] Liam Kirk [37:06] Ben Davies [38:35] Liam Kirk [48:41] Mike Hammond
27-May	14:15	SWITZERLAND	8-1	SLOVAKIA
			(1-0, 3-0, 4-1)
27-May	18:15	SWEDEN	2-4	CZECH REPUBLIC	📺
			(2-0, 0-0, 0-4)
28-May	14:15	SWEDEN	Score	GREAT BRITAIN	📺
			(Periods)
28-May	18:15	DENMARK	Score	BELARUS
			(Periods)
29-May	10:15	CZECH REPUBLIC	Score	GREAT BRITAIN	📺
			(Periods)
29-May	14:15	SWITZERLAND	Score	RUSSIA
			(Periods)
29-May	18:15	SLOVAKIA	Score	DENMARK
			(Periods)
30-May	14:15	BELARUS	Score	SWITZERLAND
			(Periods)
30-May	18:15	SWEDEN	Score	SLOVAKIA
			(Periods)
31-May	14:15	CZECH REPUBLIC	Score	DENMARK
			(Periods)
31-May	18:15	RUSSIA	Score	SWEDEN	📺
			(Periods)
01-June	10:15	SWITZERLAND	Score	GREAT BRITAIN	📺
			(Periods)
01-June	14:15	SLOVAKIA	Score	CZECH REPUBLIC	📺
			(Periods)
01-June	18:15	RUSSIA	Score	BELARUS
			(Periods)

Pos	GROUP B	W	OTW	OTL	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	FINLAND	3	0	1	0	11	5	+6	10
2	GERMANY	3	0	0	1	19	9	+10	9
3	UNITED STATES	3	0	0	1	13	5	+8	9
4	KAZAKHSTAN	1	2	0	1	8	8	-	7
5	LATVIA	2	0	1	1	9	7	+2	7
6	CANADA	1	0	0	3	6	12	-6	3
7	NORWAY	1	0	0	3	9	15	-6	3
8	ITALY	0	0	0	3	5	16	-11	0

21-May	14:15	GERMANY	9-4	ITALY
		Kuehnhackl [15:56] M Mueller [18:44] Rieder [24:23] Tiffels [27:47 PP] Noebels [35:13] Reichel [37:52] Noebels [38:35] Plachta [42:52 SH] Pfoederl [48:41]	(2-2, 5-0, 2-2)	[17:42] Petan [18:07] Frigo [43:22 PP] Bardaro [44:06 PP] Frank
21-May	18:15	CANADA	0-2	LATVIA	📺
			(0-1, 0-1, 0-0)	[19:58] Indrasis [28:39] Batna
22-May	10:15	NORWAY	1-5	GERMANY
		Lilleberg [36:21]	(0-1, 1-3, 0-1)	[19:44] Plachta [23:19 PP] Gewanke [26:04] Pfoederl [30:35] Reichel [44:41] Bergmann
22-May	14:15	FINLAND	2-1	UNITED STATES
		Ohtamaa [26:54] Pakarinen [35:41]	(0-0, 2-1, 0-0)	[38:01 PP] Robertson
22-May	18:15	LATVIA	2-3 GWS	KAZAKHSTAN
		Darzins [27:44] Ri. Bukarts [45:25] [3/8 in shootout]	(0-0, 1-1, 1-1) (0-0) (0-1)	[38:59] Shin [45:37] Blacker [4/8 in shootout]
23-May	10:15	NORWAY	4-1	ITALY
		Trettenes [10:04] Rosseli Olsen [25:12 PP] Trettenes [36:01 PP] Trettenes [40:59]	(1-0, 2-0, 1-1)	[51:55] Frank
23-May	14:15	KAZAKHSTAN	2-1 GWS	FINLAND
		Panyukov [35:56 PP] [3/4 in shootout]	(0-0, 1-1, 0-0) (0-0) (1-0)	[33:24] Lundell [1/4 in shootout]
23-May	18:15	CANADA	1-5	UNITED STATES	📺
		Comtois [51:35]	(0-1, 0-3, 1-1)	[07:42] Robertson [21:19] Clendening [23:27 PP] Moore [38:20] Moore [57:06] Tennyson
24-May	14:15	LATVIA	3-0	ITALY
		Karsums [32:08] Darzins [58:48] Karsums [59:48 EN]	(0-0, 1-0, 2-0)
24-May	18:15	GERMANY	3-1	CANADA	📺
		Loibl [10:46] Plachta [11:24] Holzer [57:59 EN]	(2-1, 0-0, 1-0)	[18:19] Paul
25-May	14:15	UNITED STATES	3-0	KAZAKHSTAN
		Clendening [06:57] Moore [21:33 EA] Drury [41:58]	(1-0, 1-0, 1-0)
25-May	18:15	FINLAND	5-2	NORWAY
		Pakarinen [14:24] Lundell [21:40] Nousiainen [25:54] Innala [47:17 PP] Bjorninen [53:25]	(1-1, 2-0, 2-1)	[01:30] M. Olimb [41:13] Lindstrom
26-May	14:15	KAZAKHSTAN	3-2	GERMANY
		Shin [26:39] Starchenko [40:31 PS] Akolzin [55:42]	(0-0, 1-2, 2-0)	[29:38] Kuehnhackl [34:07 PP] Eisenschmidt
26-May	18:15	CANADA	4-2	NORWAY
		Brown [00:22] Henrique [10:23 PP2] Mangiapane [34:41] Henrique [50:14 SH]	(2-0, 1-2, 1-0)	[29:08] Valkvae Olsen [30:28] Rosselli Olsen
27-May	14:15	UNITED STATES	4-2	LATVIA	📺
			(2-2, 2-0, 0-0)
27-May	18:15	FINLAND	3-0	ITALY
			(2-0, 1-0, 0-0)
28-May	14:15	KAZAKHSTAN	Score	CANADA
			(Periods)
28-May	18:15	LATVIA	Score	NORWAY
			(Periods)
29-May	10:15	ITALY	Score	KAZAKHSTAN
			(Periods)
29-May	14:15	NORWAY	Score	UNITED STATES
			(Periods)
29-May	18:15	GERMANY	Score	FINLAND	📺
			(Periods)
30-May	14:15	ITALY	Score	CANADA	📺
			(Periods)
30-May	18:15	FINLAND	Score	LATVIA	📺
			(Periods)
31-May	14:15	UNITED STATES	Score	GERMANY	📺
			(Periods)
31-May	18:15	NORWAY	Score	KAZAKHSTAN
			(Periods)
01-June	10:15	CANADA	Score	FINLAND
			(Periods)
01-June	14:15	ITALY	Score	UNITED STATES
			(Periods)
01-June	18:15	GERMANY	Score	LATVIA
			(Periods)

📺 Live coverage of all seven of Great Britain's matches will be provided by Livesports (Freeview Ch 64, Sky HD Ch 422, Virgin TV Ch 553 and on the Freesports player). Livesports will also have coverage of 18 other games across the tournament.