Great Britain held on for a stunning 4-3 World Championship triumph over Belarus in Riga, one of the finest results in their ice hockey history.
Liam Kirk, who is gradually growing into a world-class player, was brilliant with another two goals as Great Britain beat the odds to just about hold on against a Belarussian side loaded with world-class players.When Mike Hammond gave GB a 4-1 lead in the third session, it appeared as if they were on their way to a historic victory. GB had one point from their first three games in this Latvia tournament.
Belarus, on the other hand, demonstrated class by rallying from a one-goal deficit thanks to goals from two Canadian dual-national players who have dedicated their international future to Belarus, Geoff Platt and Shane Prince.Despite Belarus throwing everything at GB’s great goaltender Ben Bowns in a nail-biting finish, GB hung on for what is perhaps their finest achievement since a very different British team won the Olympic gold medal in 1936.And at the heart of it all was Kirk, a 21-year-old who currently shares the World Championships goalscoring lead with four strikes in four games to lead his side to a highly believable fifth position in Group A.
Their experience effectively demonstrated the disparity between these two perspectives. Belarus had more than 500 NHL and 5,000 KHL appearances between them, while none of the GB players had ever played in any of North America’s or Europe’s top leagues.
