Former Devil Peter Russell Praises His Great Britain Team

Peter Russell, a former Cardiff Devils director of player development, has praised his Great Britain players.

Russell, who is head coach for new Elite League club MK Lightning and GB, has guided the national team to wins against Croatia and Estonia in the World Champions.

Devils players Ben Bowns, Thomas Murdy, Mark Richardson and Matthew Myers are in the British squad, while Cardiff-born Jonathan Phillips is captain.

GB are playing their Division One Group B fixtures in Belfast and Russell said after their 5-1 win against Estonia: “It was a great performance and once again we showed we could get it done in the end.

“We had a sticky spot in the second period, but came out hard in the third period and got the job done.

“You just have to stay focused in a tournament like this and keep grinding out the results.

“Estonia gave us a tough game, but the deeper the game went we looked the fresher team.

“There’s a long way to go in this tournament but we have made a good start.”

Forward Liam Stewart, 22, says the bond in GB’s dressing room is special.

The son of rock singer Rod plays club hockey for Coventry Blaze and said: “This is a veteran group and they are really welcoming.

“We have a good group of guys and the bond in the room is special. Awesome.”

There are no games in the tournament on Tuesday, but GB will train before taking on Lithuania on Wednesday (7.30pm).

“We have many positives to take from the game against Estonia and we now need to build on them for Lithuania,” said Stewart.

“If we play our best and do what we need to do, then we will be OK.”

Russell has the luxury of Murphy and Cardiff’s Ben Bowns as his goalie tandem with both men capable of backstopping the team to victory.

“Ben’s a young guy, I’m trying to keep up with him,” says Murphy.

“I’ll just do my best whenever I’m asked to play and I will do whatever I can to help the team out.”

Wednesday’s fixtures are: Japan v Estonia (12.30), Netherlands v Croatia (4pm), Great Britain v Lithuania (7.30pm).