Great Britain target positive ending in Riga to latest IIHF World Championship campaign

Pete Russell’s team head into tomorrow’s final game of the tournament against Group A leaders Switzerland keen to add to their four-point haul, gained from a 3-2 overtime loss to Denmark and a 4-3 win over Belarus

They currently sit seventh in the group standings following back-to-back losses to Sweden (4-1) and the Czech Republic (6-1), both top-five ranked nations.

Lake, who played in the Spring Cup for Sheffield Steeldogs, hopes two days’ solid rest after Saturday’s defeat to the Czechs will enable GB to spring another surprise in the top tier before they head home, enabling them to avoid finishing bottom of the standings.

“We want to show the hockey world we can compete at this level,” said Lake. “Finishing above that bottom place is our top goal, but also finishing the tournament on a high would be nice.

“If we can put together a good performance against Switzerland, that would be great.

“We have a couple of days rest here. We can refresh our bodies and our minds and if we do well on Tuesday, we could end the tournament on a high here.”

Belarus currently sit bottom of Group A and finish their tournament with a clash against Russia, who can seal a last eight spot with victory over Sweden today.

On Saturday, GB came up against their most potent opponent so far, with the Czech Republic keen to ensure they remained in the hunt for the knockout stages.

The Czechs took the lead through Lukas Klok at 8.01, doubling their advantage just 33 seconds into the second period through Filip Ronek before Libor Sulak made it 3-0 at 24.29.

An overrun GB then conceded a fourth when New York Rangers’ Filip Chytil cut in from the right and beat Whistle at his near post, but they rallied on a power play late in the period which saw Matthew Myers force the puck home.

GB conceded twice more in the third, Radan Lenc making it 5-1 at 51.33 before Sulak completed a comfortable win with his second of the game at 57.58.

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