A feature of the 2021 IIHF World Championships has been many unusual results and top nations not dominating as they usually would have in previous years.
Great Britain joined the club of underdog nations who have sprung surprises, by taking points from their last two games.
If you predicted Team GB taking four points through four games in this tournament, I suggest you buy a lottery ticket for the weekend!
Against the second seeds Russia, GB acquitted themselves well but was ultimately undone by a special team clinic. A 7-1 reverse was nothing to be ashamed of, however.
GB then pushed ninth seeds Slovakia all the way to the final seconds of the game, only losing 2-1 and came close to a tying goal late on.
Game Day three opponents were Denmark, the twelfth seed. Great Britain opened the scoring before two strikes put them behind. They never stopped fighting and battling for every loose puck.
They ultimately outplayed Denmark in the third period and deserved a tying goal with four minutes remaining.
A 3-2 overtime loss was due to a lack of discipline and penalties but it set right the wrong two years ago when GB was thumped 9-0 by this opponent.
Then history was made.
Great Britain put in an absolutely stunning performance to down thirteenth seeds Belarus.
GB was immense in the middle frame and dominated possession and scoring chances against a nation with almost a combined 6000 games in NHL and KHL experience.
The ‘plucky’ Brits may have been hanging on in the final seconds but they were more than worth the regulation victory. They were outright good, not plucky.
All this has been accomplished against a backdrop of circumstances that have worked against GB.
The majority of the roster has barely played competitive hockey since March 2020.
The five-week Elite League series and then a training camp in Coventry before this tournament is hardly the greatest preparation when you consider all the other nations have had their players in competitive action through this past season.
Andy French had arranged some exhibition games for GB to play in Latvia before the tournament started and that was shut down due to COVID protocols.
Instead of playing Germany and Latvia, Great Britain had to extend their camp in Coventry.
Great Britain is also without their head coach, Pete Russell, who made the difficult to remain at home due to family reasons.
Russell has been the driver behind Great Britain’s rise up the World standings and the man responsible for instilling a system and belief amongst the roster.
Connecting with the players and coaches via video calls, there will be no prouder man in the country right now, but again his absence is far from ideal in the circumstances.
Great Britain is ranked 19th in the world and they have already accomplished what many said wasn’t possible.
A point against Denmark and a regulation victory against Belarus are startling results and have created history in the process.
With four points in as many games, Great Britain has already surpassed their previous best points total at the top tier of World Championship hockey.
The regulation win against Belarus was the first in the top tier since March 9, 1962, and only the second in the nation’s history.
So what now with Sweden, the Czech Republic and Switzerland still to play.
On Sweden, Matthew Myers had this to say.
“They are an excellent team with a star-studded roster up and down the line-up. We know we will be up against it.
“What’s better than challenging yourselves against the best teams in the world? We are going to embrace it, we’re going to enjoy it.”
“We believe that every night we are going to get better and the next night is against Sweden and that’s what we’ll try to do, get better again and hopefully come out with the win.”
Myers is one of the heartbeats behind this GB team and he summed it up perfectly.
If Sweden plays to the best of its ability then it’s going to be a struggle for Great Britain to compete on a level playing field.
However, GB has shown they can hang with the best and the longer they can make life difficult for the fourth seeds then another possible shock could be on the cards.
The sixth-seeded Czech Republic has two points in three games at the time of writing, gained in an overtime win against Belarus.
Switzerland has had an unusual tournament, beating the Czechs 5-2, shutting out Denmark 1-0 before being torpedoed 7-0 by Sweden.
The odds are Great Britain will lose all three games but anyone should be reticent about making that prediction. This tournament’s buzzword is ‘unpredictably’ and Great Britain is proving they are not to be taken lightly, under any circumstances.
Liam Kirk has scored four goals in as many games and is currently tied for the tournament lead in goals.
Ben Bowns is ranked eleventh amongst goaltenders in save percentage (0.928).
Robert Dowd is tied for sixth in assists with three helpers.
Matthew Myers is ranked fifth in face-off percentage at 64.15%.
The hero of 2019, Mike Hammond has netted in back-to-game games.
Ten GB skaters have gotten themselves onto the scoresheet and it’s been an all-around effort with Great Britain’s best players bring their A-game.
Whatever happens in the next three games over five days, GB has earned a great deal of respect from the hockey world and shown their true worth.
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