Team GB’s qualification path to the 2026 Winter Olympics began this weekend in Cardiff and they navigated the first stage with relative ease.
That’s to the credit of Head Coach Pete Russell’s team, who made light work of China (10-1) and Serbia (11-0) before dispatching a spirited Romania 7-4 on Sunday evening.
Brett Perlini scored twice against Romania, replicating his brace from the previous game against Serbia, whilst Liam Kirk added one to his pair against China and Cade Nielson completed the set of scoring in all three games.
Despite the usual frustrations that accompany most good news in British Ice Hockey – in this case, the impact on attendance caused by a clash with Elite Ice Hockey League games and the previously-lamented high pricing of the webcasts – it was a positive weekend for Team GB and they will go into the final qualification section at the end of August in confident mood.
That stage is split into three groups being hosted in Denmark, Latvia and Slovakia respectively. Further details on the line-ups for the three groups will be announced in due course.
Before all of that, there is the exciting prospect of the World Championships in Czechia, taking place between the 10th and 26th of May.
Great Britain are in Group A for that event, alongside Austria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Switzerland.
