Team captain Angela Taylor scored a hat-trick against Slovenia

Britain's women's ice hockey team beat Austria 4-3 in overtime to finish their pre-Olympic qualifiers a creditable second - but they will not progress.

Sheffield Shadows' Emily Turner scored the overtime winner against a strong Austrian side, a day after GB easily beat host nation Slovenia 5-1.

But their opening 3-1 defeat to Norway, while a worthy performance against a strong side, ended their Olympic hopes.

Norway now progress to the second stage of Olympic qualifying in November.

Had Britain topped their group, they would have kept alive their slim hopes of reaching the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Norway, seeded first in the tournament and ranked 13th in the world, were pushed to the wire by Britain on Wednesday.

I have long believed we could compete with the top nations when given the opportunity Anna Walters GB team manager

Britain then demolished struggling Slovenia 5-1 on Thursday, including a hat-trick from captain Angela Taylor, a second of the tournament for Henry, and a goal from Slough Phantoms' Beth Kavanagh.

Henry registered her third tournament goal to hand Britain an early lead in Friday's finale against Austria.

Taylor and Turner pushed GB into a commanding 3-1 lead and, though Austria came back to take the tie into overtime, Turner's winner sealed second place for Britain.

Failure to reach November's second stage of the Olympic qualifying process means a six-year wait for Sochi 2014, but results in Slovenia demonstrate a real improvement in Britain's competitive ability on the international stage.

Victory over Austria will form a strong foundation for the team's 2009 World Championship Division Two campaign, while Norway will not have expected to be held through two periods by the British side.

"I have long believed we could compete with the top nations when given the opportunity, and I hope we have proved that to many, many people this week," team manager Anna Walters told BBC Sport.

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