Midweek International Musings...

We fly a flag in some foreign earth
We sailed away like our fathers before
These colours don't run..."
Iron Maiden: "These Colours Don't Run"

I appreciate that this is a little late, but with all the Elite League issues over the past few days, they've obviously taken precedence over any other news, for example the announcement of the final GB squad and their two games against Finland U23's before their trip to Poland for the World Championships. Last night in Ice Sheffield, the British team went down 6-2 to the Finns in their first warm-up game, and now face them again this evening at the Coventry Skydome, a game which you can follow live on the Breakaway's Twitter feed from 7:30 pm or so...please do me a favour and let me know what you think of it either via a comment on here or by email...

Just in case you're not aware of the GB squad, here it is, direct from the EIHL site:

Netminders

Jody Lehman (Sheffield Steelers)

Stevie Lyle (Belfast Giants)

Defencemen

Shane Johnson (Belfast Giants)

Danny Meyers (Nottingham Panthers)

Ben O’Connor (Coventry Blaze)

David Phillips (Belfast Giants)

Mark Thomas (Sheffield Steelers)

Forwards

Greg Chambers (Basingstoke Bison)

David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers)

Russell Cowley (Coventry Blaze)

Robert Dowd (Sheffield Steelers)

Jason Hewitt (Sheffield Steelers)

David Longstaff (Newcastle Vipers) – Assistant Captain

Matt Myers (Nottingham Panthers)

Greg Owen (Briancon Diables Rouge)

Phil Hill (Cardiff Devils)

Colin Shields (Belfast Giants)

Ashley Tait (Sheffield Steelers) – Assistant Captain

Tom Watkins (Coventry Blaze)

So far, so similar...Phil Hill has replaced original pick Jonathan Phillips due to injury, and Mark Thomas has returned to the international squad...which in my eyes is a return that should perhaps have happened a year or so earlier as a replacement for Leigh Jamieson, but that's probably why I'm just a fan and not the GB coach...Shane Johnson, Greg Chambers and Jody Lehman are the only dual-nationals in the squad, with Lehman expected to be the starter, and Stephen Murphy and Stevie Lyle fighting it out for the backup slot, with Lyle slightly ahead at the moment...

That's the GB team disposed of fairly quickly...let's look at the opponents...

NETHERLANDS:
The Dutch are one of the weaker teams in the group, with players based mainly domestically (goalie Phil Groeneveld and forward Jamie Schaafsma play in Italy, and defenceman Chad Euverman plays in France). They also have players ranging from eighteen to thirty-five, and a name that may be familiar to longer-term British hockey fans in forward Doug Stienstra, who played for Bracknell Bees in the 2001/02 ISL season. However, the Dutch are not seriously considered to be among the medal threats-and usually sit just above the relegation zone...

UKRAINE
The team from the far east of Europe are, along with Poland, possibly the most unknown quantity in the group. There is one name which may be familiar to British hockey fans...Vyacheslav Timchenko played one season for Hull Stingrays in 2003/04-however, the team now play exclusive in the Russian or Ukrainian leagues. They're the team with the oldest average age in the tournament-the youngest player is 25-year-old Andri Mikhnov. The Ukrainians are arguably one of the stronger teams in the group, as well as GB's first opponents on Friday...

POLAND/ROMANIA
We'll take the two Eastern European teams together. The Poles will be familiar opponents to this GB team, having beaten them on penalty shots last time the two met in Olympic qualifying, while the Romanians are one of the lower teams in the group, and will simply be hoping for a medal. The Poles, along with GB, Italy and Ukraine, will all fancy their chances of gold and will be the ones fighting for top spot-a result against them is going to be tricky to get, particularly with the Eastern European home advantage, but is crucial if GB are to progress...

ITALY
The Italians are perhaps the team the British players will find most familiar, particularly the Blaze contingent as they face six of the Bolzano squad who narrowly beat them in the Continental cup-speedy little American-Italian centre Jonathan Pittis being perhaps the most dangerous. I've also seen forward Mike Souza play when he spent a brief period in the DEL with Cologne a few seasons ago-and he will be one that the GB defence need to keep an eye on...
However, even if you're not a Blaze fan, the Italian squad still contains several names that should be easily recognisable to those who've followed British hockey for more than a season or two:, ex-Dundee Star Cristiano Borgatello, ex-Blaze and Newcastle Vipers forward Steve Gallace, and ex-Cardiff Devils forward John Parco are all in the squad for the games in Torun, as well as Trevor Johnson, who I believed was the same one who played for Belfast but, I am informed by Mattski, is not, hence this post being slightly changed. They also contain the tallest player in the tournament in 6'8, 203lb Bolzano captain Roland Ramoser. The Italians, having already played at the Olympics in Turin, rival Ukraine as the strongest team at the tournament, and will certainly be one of, if not the toughest opponent GB will face this week.

There you go-that's all the info on GB's trip to Poland you'll need...if you're not coming to Coventry this evening, don't forget the Twitter update feed, and keep keeping your eye on the puck.