Great Britain shared a 10-goal thriller with Italy at Planet Ice Milton Keynes but were on the wrong end of a 6-4 scoreline.
Brad Jenion and Travis Brown made their first Great Britain appearances, while Ben Bowns started between the pipes with Lucas Brine as back-up.
Great Britain beat Netherlands 1-0 after a shootout on day four of the Women’s World Championship Division I Group B to stay in contention for the gold medal.
Netminder Lucas Brine will replace the injured Jackson Whistle for next month’s World Championship in Switzerland which is taking place from 15th to 31st May.