Changes due as pointless GB 
are relegated

A 4-1 defeat to Division 1A lowest seeds South Korea on Saturday meant Hand’s team ended the tournament without a single point after five regulation losses.

Kazakhstan took the gold medal to return to the top tier, after beating Italy, who were also promoted to the elite level in second place.

Britain went into Saturday’s game knowing a regulation win would have been enough to retain their second-tier status.

Despite the setback, Hand’s team stand a good chance of securing an instant return with Poland, Netherlands, Romania, Lithuania and Croatia next year’s opponents in Division 1B.

“We were not good enough in the tournament, but we will bounce back I am sure,” said Hand, whose team only scored five goals all week.

“We need to find a way to improve and we need to bring fresh players in. Our offense let us down this tournament.”