Ice Hockey UK linesman Andy Dalton says it was a huge honour to officiate at the recent Olympic Final Qualifying tournament in Riga.

Germany booked their place at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018 by topping the four-team group, which also included Japan and hosts Latvia.

Dalton was linesman for Germany’s 5-0 win over Japan and for Latvia’s 3-1 victory over Japan.

“It went really well and it was a very proud trip for me. I worked two games and was standby for the deciding game,” Dalton said.

“It’s my first time officiating some of the Pool A nations at an event like that, so now I’ve got a taste for it I want more.

“We had ice practices and meetings to establish any rule interpretations and any specific rules for this tournament.

“All in all it was a great experience and I learnt a lot in a short space of time that I intend to take into the upcoming season.”

IHUK referee-in-chief, Simon Kirkham, said: “It was an excellent tournament for Andy and he should be very pleased.

“We had some excellent reports back about him and I know the IIHF were impressed.”