OLYMPIC PRE-QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT
GB v Poland - 6 Nov, 1825 GMT; GB v Japan - 7 Nov, 1440 GMT; GB v Romania - 9 Nov, 1325 GMT
Live commentary on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire and the BBC Sport website It is 60 years since Great Britain were last represented in ice hockey at the Olympics but Paul Thompson's team this week begin their bid to end that run.  GB's Ashley Tait (right) in action against Poland |
In stark contrast to the 19 gold medals Team GB picked up in Beijing this summer, the winter version of the Games has brought just nine in history. While many remember figure skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1984 and the curlers of Salt Lake City in 2002 among that number, fewer will recall any British ice hockey success. Britain were indeed champions in 1936 but, since those heady days, times have been harder with no team even entered into the qualifying competition for the last Games in Turin two years ago due to a lack of funding. On Thursday they begin their bid to make it to the 2010 Games in Vancouver, travelling to the Polish town of Sanok, where they face Japan, Romania and hosts Poland in pre-qualification.  | We're going there knowing that if we play our best we have a very good chance of getting to the next round |
Coach Thompson, who has been in charge of the national side since 2006, believes the week ahead represents his biggest challenge yet. "When you mention the word 'Olympics' everyone sits up and notices," he told BBC Sport. "But I think the next game I coach Great Britain is always the biggest one because you are coaching your nation." Team GB go to south-east Poland confident of winning their group - which they need to do if they are to reach the final round of qualifiers in February - despite being ranked third highest of the four teams in the pool. "We all feel that we've got a good chance of qualifying because we've beaten Japan, only lost on penalty shots to Poland and have convincingly beat Romania in the last two years," said Thompson. "So we're not going there thinking 'oh crikey', we're going there knowing that if we play our best we have a very good chance of getting to the next round." The Brits were unfortunate to be edged out 1-0 on penalties by Poland at the World Championship in Austria in April.  Belfast's Steve Thornton returns from a self-imposed international exile |
And they are keen to avenge that defeat on their opponents' home ice on Thursday in a crucial opening game. "That game is the tournament, that's how I look at it, but I don't want to put any pressure on the guys," said Thompson. "I do actually feel that we were the better team over 60 minutes the last time we played them. But that's gone now, it's history and we have to start again. "They're the host nation and they'll be at full strength but if we can get off to a win in that first game it would be massive. "They are a talented team with good skaters who move the puck really well. But I think offensively we skate as well as them and I really want us to play a high tempo energy game." Thompson, who has led his club side Coventry Blaze to the Elite League championship in three of the last four seasons, is happy with the squad he has selected. "I think offensively this is the strongest line-up we've had. Defensively we've brought in a couple of young guys so we'll see how that goes but I think we have some good defencemen, in Danny Meyers and Jonathan Weaver. "I just feel we're going there with far more experience this time." Thompson has been able to recall Belfast Giants duo Paul Sample and Colin Shields, who were both absent from the last World Championship. | 606: DEBATE |
And Belfast player/coach Steve Thornton returns, four years after beginning a self-imposed international exile. The GB coach is less happy with his side's preparation for the competition though, as the team fly out just a day before their first game and with only a 90-minute training session on Tuesday under their belt. "An hour and a half's preparation before an Olympic tournament shows you where we're at," he said. "But I think if you look at last year's World Championship we were playing in the last game for a silver medal whereas in the years gone by we've been playing to avoid relegation. "The games we've played have shown we've improved, our level of performance has showed that we've improved, the number of points we've got in the championships have shown that we've improved. "But it's a slow process and there isn't a short-term fix."
Great Britain squad: Netminders: Stevie Lyle (Belfast Giants), Stephen Murphy (Manchester Phoenix) Defencemen: Kyle Horne (Edinburgh Capitals), Leigh Jamieson (Coventry Blaze), Jez Lundin (Newcastle Vipers), Danny Meyers (Nottingham Panthers), Ben O'Connor (Coventry Blaze), David Phillips (Belfast Giants), Graeme Walton (Belfast Giants), Jonathan Weaver (Coventry Blaze) Forwards: Greg Chambers (Basingstoke Bison), David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers), Russell Cowley (Coventry Blaze), Jason Hewitt (Sheffield Steelers), David Longstaff (Newcastle Vipers), Matt Myers (Nottingham Panthers), Greg Owen (Briancon Diables Rouges), Jonathan Phillips (Sheffield Steelers), Paul Sample (Belfast Giants), Colin Shields (Belfast Giants), Ashley Tait (Sheffield Steelers), Steve Thornton (Belfast Giants), Robert Dowd (Sheffield Steelers)
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