Opening-day defeats for Men and Women
Great Britain Men and Great Britain Women’s Universities sides were beaten in their opening games at the 28th Winter Universiade in Almaty
GB Men fall to defeat against Slovakia
Great Britain Men’s Universities were beaten 9-0 by Slovakia in their opening game.
Slovakia took the game with period scores of 3-0, 2-0 and 4-0 as GB were outshot 61-13, with keepers Adam Long and Matthew Croyle sharing netminding duties with half a game each.
Coach, Matt Bradbury, said: “I can’t fault the guys. We came up against a top-class nation and we never gave up.
“A lot of their players were from the Extraliga, so you can see the standard we were up against.
“We lost 11-0 to them four years ago, so I see this as improvement.
“It was tough out there but I give credit to my players for the way they played.”
Defeat for GB Women against Kazakhstan
GB Women’s Universities were beaten 11-0 by Kazakhstan, who are the hosts of the 28th Winter Universiade.
Netminder Samantha Bolwell faced a staggering 63 shots as Kazakhstan won the game with period scores of 4-0, 4-0, 3-0.
Coach, James Ashton, said: “The biggest thing for the players was the realisation of what the level of competition in other countries is.
“Kazakhstan’s roster was mostly made up of international players – they are formidable.
“We have a lot of players with no international experience and it is hard for them to be on an even par.
“What is important is learning and using these experiences to understand what they need to do to be better players.
“I was proud of them all. No-one complained or moaned. They stuck together and played hockey.”
Click here for a link to the gamesheets for both the men’s and women’s games today.