GB U18 Defeat NIHL Blaze

Great Britain Under-18s beat NIHL Coventry Blaze 10-1 at the Skydome in a warm-up game ahead of March’s World Championship in Estonia.

Toms Rutkis scored a natural hat-trick in the second period, while GB netminders Denis Bell and Renny Marr played half the game each.

Glen Billing’s shot top shelf put GB ahead at 4:11, before the Blaze hit back when Louis Brindle’s shot deceived Bell (6:46).

Corey Goodison’s slapshot from point (7:40) regained GB’s lead only 54 seconds later.

GB extended their 2-1 first-period lead with Danny Ingoldsby’s finish on the rebound at 22:23.

Rutkis then scored three times in just over 10 minutes with goals at 24:57, 32:08 and 35:44.

GB went to the second intermission with a 6-1 advantage and wrapped the game up with goals from Callum Queenan (46:25), Adam Finlinson (49:55), Ingoldsby with his second (51:06) and Kyle Smith (53:30).

Rutkis was named as GB’s man of the match.

Head coach, Martin Grubb, said: “It was a good workout for us. We started off pretty well.

“In the first period there were a lot of positives, but also a few negatives which we knew we had to change.

“It was our first game together and I thought we grew into the game.

“Credit to the Blaze as they gave us a good workout – and I am quite happy with that.”