2024 IIHF Mens World Championships Game One
Back in the top division after a one-year hiatus, Great Britain’s task of facing the number one seeds in the first game summed up the size of the challenge at this level.
Canada humbled Great Britain 8-0 in 2019 . The underdogs have come a long way in five years and delivered a performance to prove so.
First Period
With less than three minutes on the clock, GB thought they had delivered an early blow. Liam Kirk manoeuvred himself to earn some space and released a shot from just above the circles to open the scoring. The officials waived the goal off for goaltender interference.
Head Coach Peter Russell duly challenged without success, meaning GB faced a penalty kill with Johny Curran sent to the box.
After killing off the first penalty, GB were unlucky to find themselves down a skater once more on a somewhat disputable interference infraction, which denied Kirk a breakaway.
A make-up call levelled proceedings and Great Britain would have a shortened power play.
Who else, but Kirk fired home from just above the hash marks on a feed from Evan Mosey.
The euphoric Kirk celebrated by pointing toward the net with his ungloved hand to signify a shock 1-0 lead for the huge underdogs.
The joy lasted for thirty seconds as Michal Bunting levelled for Canada, who would have expected to take over the game at that point.
Canada was limited to twelve shots and Jackson Whislte turned aside eleven of those with some crucial stops to ensure the game remained deadlocked through twenty minutes.
Second Period
Canada struck at the six-minute mark of the middle frame to take a 2-1 lead. It was a scrappy goal and GB could consider themselves unlucky as Brandon Hagel slotted home from close range.
Jack McBain found himself in the box for slashing shortly after and Canada would find life tough on the penalty kill.
Often in competitive international tournaments, Great Britain has found life tough on the power play. Not on this occasion as they pulled the number one seeds this way and that but could not find a killer touch.
Both Robert Dowd and Kirk went close.
The underdogs continued to carry that momentum back at 5v5 and had Canada on the rack for two minutes. The best chance was a 3-on-1 break led by Robert Lachowicz, but his pass to Brendan Perlini was a little heavy with the goal at the latters mercy.
Not that it would have altered the outcome, but Great Britain could feel they were hard done in terms of power play opportunities. Perhaps the scoreline might have been a little closer with another pair of opportunities
Whistle continued to thrive between the pipes, though he couldn’t stop one of the tournament’s young superstars.
Connor Bedard scored twice in four minutes to propel his nation into a 4-1 lead.
The first was a little fortuitous, and the second was a tap-in after a fantastic passing movement from Canada. The latter was the first time in the game that Great Britain’s defensive coverage had let them down, but sometimes you have to credit the greater skill and talent in the opposition.
Third Period
The final frame was bereft of attacking action with Canada having secured victory.
Great Britain attempted to throw a spanner in the works by scoring after killing off another penalty.
It was one of the best goals of the tournament to date with Kirk starting proceedings by chasing down a loose puck. He turned back up the boards and then sent a perfectly weighted pass for Ben O’Connor to jump into the play. With a surge of speed, O’Connor split two Canadian defencemen before finding the net with a delightful backhand finish. It was the type of goal you dream about scoring as a kid and O’Connor made sure to enjoy the moment.
Incredibly, GB was able to pull Whistle late in the game for an extra attacker in search of a third goal.
There would be no late drama but GB could hold their heads high after producing a performance that everyone connected with the program and the fans could be extremely proud of.
Arguably the best overall performance in Peter Russell’s tenure and a contender for their greatest showing in the modern era.
Post Game Notes
I don’t wish to make this all about Liam Kirk but he was immense (as expected). A goal and a primary assist for Kirk, who has eight goals and eleven points in eight games at this level.
A player who won’t get many headlines in this defeat is Jackson Whistle. He stood tall through the first half of this game and was unfortunate on a couple of the goals he allowed. A 26-save performance from Whistle will only provide him and the team with confidence moving forward in this tournament.
Ben O’Connor loves to score spectacular goals for Great Britain, but this was next level. Offence will be tough to come by in this tournament, so as many players contributing as possible will be key.
Great Britain were 1-for-2 on the power play. It’s a facet of the game that they struggle with at this level. It was a huge step forward in terms of generating scoring chances.
On the theme of scoring chances, GB generated at least half a dozen high-quality scoring chances through the final forty minutes. That’s another improvement in their performance against such a talented opponent.
There were many notable individual performances but a word on Cole Shudra. He is new to this level but was accomplished whenever tasked with shifts. I would like to see him drive to the net at every opportunity given his stature and he almost scored on the one time he opted to do so. This showing will do wonders for his confidence to perform against the world’s best.
Player of the Game: Evan Mosey
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