Great Britain v Denmark – Growing confidence can enable GB to be adventurous in Kosice

JONATHAN PHILLIPS says Great Britain need to release the safety valve in order to prosper at the World Championships in Slovakia.
GB captain Jonathan Phillips. Picture: Dean Woolley.GB captain Jonathan Phillips. Picture: Dean Woolley.
GB captain Jonathan Phillips. Picture: Dean Woolley.

GB take on Denmark later today (3.15pm) in Kosice having followed up a 3-1 loss to Germany with an 8-0 defeat at the hands of No 1 seeds Canada on Sunday.

It leaves Pete Russell’s team bottom of the Group A table ahead of their clash against 12th seeds Denmark, who sit 10 places above them in the world rankings and who have already got a win on the board after a 5-4 overtime triumph against France.

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Phillips believes GB have won many admirers and earned respect with their performances so far and their battle with Germany in particular has given them the belief they have what it takes to survive at the top level.

“We’ve got a huge, huge task ahead of us, Denmark are a team stacked with SHL guys, some KHL players as well as a couple of NHL-ers, too,” said the GB captain.

“Again they are going to be quick, their thought process is going to be right up there in terms of how quickly they see things but from the game we played against Germany and the one against Slovakia before the tournament started, I think the confidence in us is growing to do more with the puck.

“We know we need to make better decisions in the sense of trying not to be too safe because the times where we try to be too safe is where we end up throwing the puck away and inviting more pressure on ourselves.

“So if we concentrate on our own game and make sure we’re doing that against Denmark, then I think we should have a very good game on our hands.”