GB U18 To Face NIHL Blaze

Great Britain Under-18s face Coventry Blaze’s NIHL side at the Skydome on Tuesday (3rd February) as part of their preparations for March’s World Championship.

The game is part of a two-day training camp for the GB youngsters, being held in Ice Sheffield on 3rd and 4th February.

GB will take part in the IIHF Division 2A tournament in Tallinn from 22nd to 28th March, where they will come up against hosts Estonia, as well as Croatia, Korea, Netherlands and Poland.

U18 head coach, Martin Grubb, said: “The Coventry game will be useful in our preparations for the trip to Estonia.

“Any time you can get match practice ahead of a World Championship is a bonus.

“We can test systems in a game situation and see how players react to certain situations.”

NIHL Coventry assistant coach Ainsley Smith will take charge of the Blaze, with coach James Pease taking up his role as assistant on the GB bench.

Smith said: “Everyone is looking forward to the game and taking on the GB youngsters.

“We have some youngsters on our team who can look at what they can aspire too.

“It would be great if the Blaze fans could turn out to support us and the future of GB ice hockey.”

Entrance to the Skydome on Tuesday for the 8:15pm face-off is free, but you will be able to make a donation to GB on the door.