Logan Neilson hat-trick powers Great Britain to opening day victory
The first game of an international tournament for a favoured seed or an underdog is always a tricky affair.
Great Britain began slowly but grew into the game before turning the screw to record a relatively easy regulation victory.
First Period
Great Britain was slow out of the gate, failing to match the early endeavours of Spain.
Too many misplaced passes from GB negated any offensive threat in the early going and Spain capitalised on their first real opportunity less than four minutes in.
Lucas Brine could only push Luca Basile’s shot out with his right pad directly to the unmarked Pol Gimenez for a tap-in.
The tying goal arrived with 11:29 on the clock.
Arguably it was GB’s best moment of the game during 5v5 action.
Jack Hopkins and Finley Howells combined to tee up Logan Neilson for an easy first international goal.
That ended the scoring in a period featuring sixteen shots in total (9-7 GB) and three power plays of which two were for GB.
Second Period
Special teams are very often the difference-maker in international play and it was heartening to see Great Britain take advantage in the middle frame.
Bradley Bowering teed up Finley Howells waiting in the right circle to release a huge slap shot.
Julio Rapun made the initial save but Zaine McKenzie, who had parked himself in front, reacted quickly to slot home the rebound.
To Spain’s credit, they kept plugging away and were rewarded by a tying goal.
It was extremely fortuitous with the puck taking several deflections and a weird bounce in front of Brine. Pablo Tello reacted quickest to score for his nation.
It was GB’s turn to respond, which they did quickly and emphatically.
Leading from the front, Capitan Liam Stenton stepped up to the plate.
He picked up a rebound from a blocked shot just above the hash marks. He evaded one Spanish player before rifling a shot past Rapun.
Both special teams were doing well and upon killing a penalty assessed to Neilson, the same player exited the box and scored seconds later.
Neilson entered the Spanish zone on the right-wing, cut across to the middle of the zone before placing a long-range backhand effort, top shelf by the surprised Rapun.
Notching the lone assist on the goal? Liam Steele. The highly touted Great Britain rookie recording his first point in his nation’s colours.
It was 4-2 after forty minutes of play and Great Britain was now feeling better about themselves.
Third Period
That confidence manifested itself in the form of a further three goals as Great Britain enhanced their goal differential.
Following another successful penalty kill, GB struck at 5v5.
Alex Graham is never afraid to shoot, even low in the left circle. He used a Spanish defender as a screen and snuck the puck under Rapun’s arm, blocker side.
That goal, timed at 47:47, was followed by another less than three minutes later.
It was another power-play marker, but of a different variety to the others.
McKenzie and Bradley Bowering combined to find Howells at the side of the net. The latter had time to control the puck with his skate before slotting home past the unbalanced Spanish goaltender.
Inside the final two minutes and you wondered if the game could have a fairytale finish.
A shot on the turn from Neilson found a way through a screen in front, and past an unsighted Rapun.
A hat-trick on your Great Britain debut is something special and doubtless a moment the young man will remember for the rest of his career.
A 7-2 victory is the perfect start to this campaign after a long break from international play.
There is still much to work on, but this group is showing promising early signs.
Post Games Notes
Great Britain out-shot Spain 36-23.
GB was 3/7 on the power play and killed all four penalties.
Lucas Brine turned aside 21 shots.
Logan Neilson was named Player Of The Game for Great Britain.
Logan Neilson 3-0-3
Finley Howells 1-2-3
Zaine McKenzie 1-1-2
Alex Graham 1-1-2
Jack Hopkins 0-2-2
Bradley Bowering 0-2-2
Liam Stenton 1-0-1
Liam Steele 0-1-1
Calum McGill 0-1-1
Bayley Harewood 0-1-1
Nathan Ripley 0-1-1
Quotes courtesy of IHUK:
Head coach, Martin Grubb: “I thought we started a little slow and nervous – and took a bit too long to find our groove. That cost us the early goal but we were never going to panic.
“We stressed the importance of sticking to our structure and making sure we executed. I think once we did that – especially in the second and third periods – we controlled the game.
“We are delighted to get the opening victory and there were plenty of positives to take from the game. We will also be working hard to ensure we tidy a few things up and continue to try and get better each day.”
GB return to action tomorrow when they face Lithuania (face-off 11:00 UK time).
1) Logan Nielson from Finley Howells and Jack Hopkins ES
2) Zaine McKenzie from Finley Howells and Bradley Bowering PP
3) Liam Stenton from Alex Graham and Jack Hopkins PP
4) Logan Nielson from Liam Steele ES
5) Alex Graham from Bayley Harewood and Nathan Ripley ES
6) Finley Howells from Zaine McKenzie and Bradley Bowering PP
7) Logan Nielson from Calum McGill ES
If you have enjoyed this article and would like to support my work please consider donating https://ko-fi.com/markukleaf or PayPal.me/markukleaf
Alternatively, if you feel inclined to support me longer term please consider becoming a patron https://www.patreon.com/markukleaf
Thank you for considering the above, reading this article and for your continued support.
UK Hockey Blog 