CZECH REPUBLIC 5-1 GREAT BRITAIN

Great Britain produced a spirited performance in their opening game at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Tampere, but were beaten 5-1 by the Czech Republic who are ranked seventh in the world.

Ben Lake scored his second international goal, while Cade Neilson and Josh Waller made their Great Britain debuts and became the 424th and 425th players to represent their country.

Strong first-period for GB
GB had the game’s first real chances in the opening period, as Josh Waller was denied on the breakaway by Lukas Dostal’s right pad, while Robert Dowd also went close at the backdoor.

At the other end, Ben Bowns made a huge pad save from Tomas Hertl’s shot from the slot to deny the NHL’er. It was GB who ended the period the stronges with Ben Lake having two chances in quick succession.

Czechia lead despite more GB pressure
The second period started with both teams having chances to break the deadlock. Bowns came up big to stop Jiri Cernock on a breakaway but the Czechs finally went ahead when Matej Blumel finished off a well-worked move through Bowns five-hole (27:09).

Cade Neilson nearly marked his debut with a goal when he hit the post on the next shift and Robert Dowd went close, before Jakub Flek tipped in Jan Scotka’s for Czechia’s second (32:24).

Still GB kept pressing and Evan Mosey just failed to convert on the doorstep on the powerplay.

Three third-period goals for Czechia
Early in the final period, David Jiricek’s one-timer on the powerplay took a deflection past Bowns as the homeside opened up a three-goal lead (41:11).

Jiri Cernoch scored on the rebound (46:43) and Matej Blumel finished off a two-on-one break (48:28), but GB kept pushing and got the reward their performance deserved.

Midway through the period, Scott Conway sent Ben Lake free who produced a superb backhand finish on the breakaway before crashing into the boards (50:53).

Russell: We showed a lot of heart
GB Head Coach, Pete Russell, said: “I thought we showed a lot of heart. Our structure was good. We battled and competed.

“We had some chances, especially early on and could have put a couple of them away.

“It is something for sure to give the guys confidence that they can play with speed at this level.

“I thought we played really well. We can’t be happy and it’s tough to say that. We want to stay at this level.

“We need to build on it. I thought the guys were fantastic and we need to build on it.”

Great Britain return to action tomorrow as they play Norway at 12:20 (10:20 UK time). Norway were shutout 5-0 by Finland on Friday.

Great Britain World Championship schedule
Saturday 14th May 2022 – Czech Republic 5-1 Great Britain – Goal: Ben Lake
Sunday 15th May 2022 – Norway v Great Britain 12:20 (10:20 UK time)
Tuesday 17th May 2022 – Sweden v Great Britain 20:20 (18:20 UK time)
Thursday 19th May 2022 – Great Britain v USA 16:20 (14:20 UK time)
Friday 20th May 2022 – Great Britain v Finland 16:20 (14:20 UK time)
Sunday 22nd May 2022 – Great Britain v Latvia 16:20 (14:20 UK time)
Monday 23rd May 2022 – Austria v Great Britain 20:20 (18:20 UK time)