It is a familiar situation for Great Britain.

Their final game of the 2022 IIHF World Championships has the ultimate all-or-nothing outcome.

A regulation win against Austria will keep Great Britain in the top pool.

Anything else, even an overtime or shootout victory, will relegate GB to Division 1A.

Considering the short window of preparation heading into the tournament, Great Britain has performed well up until this point.

A 5-1 loss to Czechia was notable for an excellent first-period performance.

The point earned against Norway came via a resolute third-period comeback to cut back a three-goal deficit.

Shutout losses to Sweden, USA and Finland were expected but there were periods of play in all three games that gave hope and showed pride.

The penultimate game for Great Britain was a 4-3 loss to Latvia.
In a game in which GB led 3-1, Latvia’s clinical power play helped the higher seed take a come-from-behind victory.

There were positives to take from the loss, however.
Great Britain controlled the game for thirty minutes and looked far stronger at 5v5 play.
Numerous scoring chances were created and three were taken.

Although nothing can be done about the egregious penalty calls, GB can clean up their play in the third period.
Turnovers and needless icings invited pressure and encouraged Latvia after being outplayed.

There is more than a fighting chance that Great Britain can pull off yet another great escape with a regulation win against victory.

They could certainly use some of the good fortunes that Austria has enjoyed so far in this tournament.

Two of their four points earned came in a late victory against Czechia.

The seventh seeds were lackadaisical with a 1-0 lead and handed the keys to Austria, allowing them to take the game to overtime and claim the extra point in the shootout.

Austria was also the beneficiary of more excellent hospitality in their second game.
The USA handed the 17th seeds a 2-0 lead before prevailing in OT.

Austria’s fourth point occurred in a highly entertaining game against Latvia.

All results were possible in a game of fluctuating fortunes before the eleventh seeds prevailed in a shootout.

Austria and Great Britain have not met in World Championship play since 2012, with the former claiming a 7-3 win.

Both these nations faced a similar scenario in 2019.
While Great Britain defeated France to avoid relegation, Austria imploded in a shootout loss to Italy to be relegated in a heart-breaking fashion.

Will those recent memories play a part?

In a one-off game, Great Britain has shown they can rise to the occasion in recent campaigns.

If GB can turn previous excellent periods of play into a full sixty-minute performance, another great escape is on the cards.

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