Image: Image: Knospins04 / Wikimedia Commons
Image: Image: Knospins04 / Wikimedia Commons

IIHF World Championship: history-making Team GB shine in defeat

We actually skated with Sweden for twenty minutes,” Matthew Myers remarked in the wake of his 100th appearance from Team Great Britain. “After that we gave them too much respect and their skill and speed started to cut through.”

Friday marked another defeat for Team GB in Latvia, with the Brits’ record slipping to 1-0-1-3 at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. Defeat against Sweden, by a scoreline of four goals to one, saw Team GB fall to seventh in Group A, leaving Pete Russell’s side on four points from five games.

Fixtures against the Czech Republic (Saturday 28 May, 10:15 AM) and Switzerland (Tuesday 1 June, 10:15 AM) are all that is left on the agenda in the preliminary stage – Great Britain’s time in Latvia is probably about to come to a close.

For me, it’s impossible to write those words and not smile from ear to ear.

Again. Great Britain’s time in Latvia is probably about to come to a close.

Mathematically, at least, it is still possible for Great Britain to qualify for the quarter-finals of the IIHF World Championship. Russell’s men have already played Russia, Slovakia, Denmark, Belarus and the Swedes. And they’re still in with a shot. It’s both unbelievable – and thoroughly well-deserved.

How did we get here? Well, you probably know the story. Back-to-back promotions from the third tier saw Team GB promoted to the top pool. In 2019, Russell’s men completed their own miracle on ice, beating France in overtime to stave off relegation back to the second division. That, alone, was historic.

On Wednesday (26 May), Britain – led by Corey Neilson and Adam Keefe – made history again, defeating Belarus 4-3 in regulation time. It was Britain’s first regulation win at the World Championships since 9 March 1962.

Check this out.

Twenty-one thousand, six hundred, and twenty-eight days passed between Team GB’s first and second wins in the top pool.

Allow me to give you some context. The Beatles made their radio debut on 8 March 1962. It was a three-song session. I can only assume it went well. John F. Kennedy was President of the United States at the time. England was yet to win a World Cup. The University of Warwick was still three years away from being founded.

British ice hockey fans were forced to wait a lifetime to see their nation win at the Worlds – the wait is over.

Team GB began their tournament with back-to-back defeats, losing 7-1 against Russia and 2-1 versus Slovakia. Next came Denmark, who skated away with a 3-2 overtime victory. History was made next, Great Britain defeated Belarus 4-3 thanks to goals from Liam Kirk (x 2), Ben Davies, and Mike Hammond.

Quickly, let’s compare Belarus’ experience with Great Britain’s.

  • NHL Appearances: 588 – 0
  • KHL Appearances: 5,233 – 0
  • AHL Appearances: 1,346 – 87
  • SHL Appearances 61 – 0
  • Liiga Appearances: 147 – 0

Simply historic.

Today, Team GB were defeated 4-1 by Sweden, the nation ranked fourth in the world. Of course, Team Sweden were without some of their brightest stars. William Nylander, who led the Swedes to gold in 2017, is currently knee-deep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 2019, just four members of Sweden’s roster were not playing in the NHL. In 2021, Team Sweden includes only five NHLers.

This year’s competition is very different to the ones before it. Even so, Team GB are significantly outgunned by their rivals.

Think about the mitigating circumstances. The 2020/21 British ice hockey season was cancelled. Team GB entered the tournament on the back of a short training camp, having played zero exhibition games. Also, their head coach is currently working from home.

With exception to the game against Russia (which was always likely to be lopsided), Team GB have been in every single game. They are competing at the highest level, having not played together in over twelve months.

At the time of writing, Liam Kirk leads the tournament in goal-scoring – three goals ahead of Calder Trophy candidate Jason Robertson.

Whatever happens next, this roster has made history. Put some respect on their name.

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