Great Britain Head To Budapest For World Championship Challenge

Head coach Peter Russell will take his Great Britain team to Budapest for the 2018 World Ice Hockey Championships.

GB earned promotion to Division One by winning their group in Belfast this year and now go to Hungary for a tournament which will run from April 22 to April 28.

They will face Hungary, Kazakhstan and Poland plus relegated teams Italy and Slovenia.

Cardiff Devils players Ben Bowns, Thomas Murdy, Mark Richardson, Josh Batch and Matthew Myers will all aim to win place in Russell’s squad, while Cardiff-born Jonathan Phillips and Ben Davies are Welshmen certain to be considered.

Phillips, who plays for Sheffield, is the GB captain, while Davies has moved from Coventry Blaze to Guildford Flames for the 2017-18 Elite League season.

GB women will go to Bled, Slovenia for their Division Two Group A matches in April and they will face Australia, DPR Korea, Netherlands and Slovenia along with Mexico who were promoted from Division Two Group B.

Ice Hockey UK were successful in their bid to host the Under-20 World Championship Division Two Group A in Dumfries from December 10 to December 16.

They will take on Estonia, Japan, Netherlands, Romania and Korea.

At under-18 level GB travel to Tallinn, Estonia next April where they will play Estonia, Korea, Lithuania and Poland.

Britain’s under-18 women go to Krynica, Poland for the World Championship Division One Group B and will go up against Australia, China, Denmark, France and Poland. The tournament date is still to be confirmed.