Sheffield Steelers' Luke Ferrara set to make GB senior debut

Defenceman Ben O’Connor and David Phillips have been joined by forwards Robert Dowd, Jonathan Phillips and Luke Ferrara.

Head coach Pete Russell’s team will face Poland in Nottingham on Friday, April 14 and in Coventry the following night, after which the squad will be cut to 23.

Russell will then prepare his team for the World Championship Division 1B tournament in Belfast where they will face Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Netherlands and Japan from April 23-29.

Ferrara can expect to make his first senior international appearance after being cut from an initial 41-man squad last year ahead of two warm-up games against the same opponents before the GB headed to Zagreb for last year’s worlds.

he has impressed again under Steelers’ head coach Paul Thompson, although the South Yorkshire club only have the play-off title to play for this season after falling off the pace in the Eluite League title race and losing 3-2 to Cardiff Devils in the Challenge Cup final in South Wales on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Peterborough-born winger has scored 14 points, including six goals, in 63 appearances.

Full GB squad - Netminders: Ben Bowns (Cardiff Devils), Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants), Jackson Whistle (Giants). Defenceman: Josh Batch (Devils), Mark Garside (Giants), Steve Lee (Nottingham Panthers), Ben O’Connor (Sheffield Steelers), David Phillips (Steelers), Mark Richardson (Devils), Zach Sullivan (Braehead Clan), Paul Swindlehurst (Manchester Storm), Jonathan Weaver (Telford Tigers). Forwards: Brendan Brooks (Fife Flyers), David Clarke (Panthers), Russell Cowley (Coventry Blaze), Robert Dowd (Steelers), Sam Duggan (Orebro, Sweden), Robert Farme (Panthers), Luke Ferrara (Steelers), Robert Lachowicz (Panthers), Evan Mosey (Rockford Ice Hogs, AHL), Matthew Myers (Devils), Craig Peacock (Clan), Jonathan Phillips (Steelers), Jack Prince (Storm), Colin Shields (Giants), Liam Stewart (Blaze), Ross Venu (Blaze).