Great Britain netminder Ben Bowns says the squad have settled in well to their surroundings in Budapest ahead of their World Championship Division I Group A campaign getting under way tomorrow against Slovenia.
GB come into the tournament on the back of last season’s promotion from Division I Group B in Belfast, while Slovenia were relegation from the top-level World Championship.
The Cardiff Devils netminder is under no illusions about the task ahead this week.
“We will face five very tough games this week but it is something we are all looking forward to doing,” said Bowns.
“For example, Slovenia played in the Olympics earlier this year and were in the top flight last season.
“The squad has settled in well and we have had a couple of great training sessions since arriving in Budapest.”
Eight players will make the full GB World Championship debuts tomorrow, but Bowns says the new guys have settled in well.
“This is a different roster from the one which won promotion in Belfast last year,” he added.
“But there are loads of guys with experience and the new guys are already very much part of the squad.
“There is an air of excitement about the camp and we can’t wait to get going.”
GB against Slovenia gets under way at 12:30pm tomorrow (11:30am UK time).
There’ll be live TV coverage on FreeSports with Aaron Murphy and Paul Adey, as well as full-match radio commentary on the BBC Sport website with Seth Bennett.
Photo credit: Dean Woolley.