Great Britain were victorious over Ukraine after being 0-2 down in their first game of the European Cup of Nations at Murrayfield Ice Arena.
The team saw seven first time call-ups to the senior squad for Jake Hayward, Rhodes Mitchell-King, Alex Rimko, Ivan Björkly Nordström, Finley Bradon, Brynley Capps and Austin Mitchell-King.
This game also marked the first time that the Men’s Senior team had played in Scotland in over 30 years.
1st Period
After a dominant face-off from Ukraine the puck was in both teams possession for the majority of the first 5 minutes with both teams making shots on goal. However it was almost Ukraine who scored first, but unfortunately the goal came off the pegs.
Matusevych Denys of Ukraine was knocked against the boards by 18 giving Ukraine the powerplay. This led to a slight argument between the teams, yet nothing came of this (12:43).
Feliks Morozov assisted by Vorona Olexei went on to use the powerplay to their full advantage scoring the first goal of the game (0-1, 14:37)
End of 1st: 0-1
2nd Period
Ukraine kicked off the second period with their second goal of the night from Victor Zakharov (0-2, 22:16)
GB answered with some more shots on goal yet none of these were successful. Ukraine kept hammering the GB goal with some close shots, but again there was a problem with the goals which led to the game being stopped for several minutes.
GB finally got a powerplay advantage as Vorona Olexei was sent off for having too many men on the ice (29:54)
Logan Neilson assisted by Liam Kirk and Jack Hayward took advantage of the powerplay seconds later and put a point on the scoreboard for GB, hitting it into the post then the back of the net (1-2, 30:18).
Ukraine did not let this shake them as they put in some great shots at the GB goal, but Patrick Larkin
assisted by Liam Steel and Brynley Capps answered back by scoring GB’s second goal (2-2, 35:23)
End of 2nd: 2-2
3rd Period
A heated start to the third period saw both teams gain some shots on goal. 7 minutes in GB was close to scoring but a small fight broke out between four of the players, causing Sam Lyne’s helmet to come off but it was not too serious for any penalties.
During a powerplay GB, they were aggressive in the Ukraine third with many shots flying past the goal with one hitting the crossbar. GB seemed to be getting unlucky with pucks hitting the crossbar as seconds later another close shot did the same.
Even though Ukraine were back to full strength the aggressive style of play of GB did not falter.
Going into the final 2 minutes, it was Ukraine that got a powerplay advantage as Clements was sent to the sin bin for tripping (58:43)
Ukraine then called a time out with 1 minute 17 seconds left on the scoreboard.
The advantage was then over as Ukraine player was sent to the sin bin for cross-checking (59:34)
Another time out was then called this time by GB.
End of 3rd: 2-2
Sudden Death
Normal game time ended in a draw of 2-2. This saw the game move onto sudden death where the teams play three on three for five minutes.
Seconds into the sudden death captain Liam Kirk set the arena alight by smashing the puck into the back of the net giving GB the win! (3-2, 60:22)
End of game: 3-2
Post-Match
After the match GB captain Liam Kirk spoke with ENRG
Kirk spoke about coming back from being two goals down.
He said: “I think the group responded really well after the first period. The conversation was more about just taking another step.
“It’s a faster game than what some of these players are used to.”
He talked about what the conversations were like when they were back in the game.
He said: “It was the same kind of message, let’s be confident, let’s play fast.”
Kirk scored the winning goal for the team, he was asked about what was going through his head leading up to it.
“I knew the ice was getting really choppy and snowy, so I knew if I got the opportunity I was just going to shoot it.”
“It was a nice feeling to get that win for us.”
Finally he talked us through preparations for the game against Slovenia.
He said: “They’ve got some chemistry but there is no real pressure on us this tournament.
“Its about developing the younger players and getting them ready for world championships.”
Great Britain Player of the match: 18 Sam Lyne
Ukraine Player of the Match: 14 Morozov Feliks
