GB end long road trip with a bang

HEAD coach Paul Thompson paid tribute to his Great Britain players after they ended an arduous 26-hour coach trip with a convincing victory in their opening World Championship match in Slovenia.

The fallout from the Icelandic volcano had seen the team's Gatwick flight to Llubljana on Friday morning cancelled, leaving them no option but to take the long road by coach to the former Yugoslav republic.

Their plight was helped after the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) agreed to put back their match against Croatia almost four hours and it proved to be worth the wait.

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Only arriving at the rink two hours before face-off, GB hammered the Croats 4-1 to leave themselves sitting top of Division One's Group B table after the first round of matches.

To watch Paul Thompson interviewed and to see GB prepare for their World Championship challenge go HERE

"What a group of guys we have here," said Thompson.

"I don't think I could be more proud than I am right now. They had 26 hours on a bus, with not a word of moaning or groaning. They just did their job, put their gear on and played their hearts out under the most difficult of circumstances.""

It was a Sheffield Steelers combination which got GB off to a flyer at 4.48 when Rob Dowd set up Jonathan Phillips to fire home,although Croatia levelled through Dominic Kanaet on a 5-on-3 powerplay at 12.45.

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But GB - who took bronze at last year's championships in Poland - took control in the second period, regaining the lead at 30.56 when Colin Shields helped set-up defenceman Ben O'Connor before Jonathan Phillips fed Greg Chambers to make it a two-goal game at 37.07.

As Croatia chased the game, Phil Hill and Ashley Tait - joining up with the national side afte his Italian club's hasty play-off final defeat - combined to enable Dowd to celebrate his decision of agreeing another year with the Steelers by firing fire home on the powerplay at 56.29.

To watch Paul Thompson interviewed and to see GB prepare for their World Championship challenge go HERE

"We will all be glad to get to the hotel after the last two days of travel," added Thompson. "We can get a good night's sleep and then get back to our normal routine tomorrow.

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"We are all delighted and to be honest a little relieved that this game is now over. Korea will be another difficult game and we are back on the ice at midday Sunday, so it's food and rest for these guys now."

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