Final day agony for the second year running for luckless Great Britain

DEFENCEMAN Steve Lee says Great Britain will come back stronger for next year's World Championships after suffering a second successive final-day heartache.

Last year in Eindhoven, GB needed a single point from their final Division 1B game against Lithuania, but lost 3-2 in regulation to allow Korea to take the gold medal and the accompanying promotion to the world game’s second tier.

In Zagreb, 12 months on, the mission was the same – a single point would be enough. This time Ukraine stood in their way, knowing a regulation win would put them back in with a chance of the gold medal themselves.

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With less than four minutes remaining, GB fell behind for the first time in the tournament and it was to prove a killer blow, head coach Pete Russell’s team losing 2-1 and settling for silver.

“We have come a long way, even from the Olympic Qualifiers earlier this year,” said Nottingham Panthers’ defenceman Lee. “But this team keeps growing – every year it gets better and better and there is now consistency. Whenever you are in a gold-medal game and lose, it is heartbreaking, but, hopefully, we can come back stronger from this.”

GB were in control for the first two periods and started stronger, former Sheffield Steelers’ forward Ashley Tait twice going close inside the first 30 seconds, only to be denied by netminder Eduard Zakharchenko.

Although they outshot Ukraine 15-3 in the first period, Russell’s team had to wait until early in the second session to take the lead when, for a third game running, Sheffield Steelers’ Jonathan Phillips – the team’s captain – tipped in a shot from Josh Batch at 21.54.

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A goalless second period saw Rotherham-born netminder Ben Bowns make a couple of smart saves, but Ukraine got the equaliser when Dmytro Chernyshenko struck at 44.25. Russell Cowley was then denied from close range by Zakharchenko and it proved to be a crucial moment when, at 56.04, Olexander Pobyedonostsev scored what proved to be the winning goal.