Great Britain Women were beaten 4-2 by Slovenia Women in their second game at the World Championship Division II Group A in Dumfries.

Abigail Culshaw scored her first GB goal and Kim Lane was also on target, but Slovenia netted four unanswered goals in between to record their first win at the tournament.

Culshaw scores first GB goal
GB outshot Slovenia 13-4 in the first period and Saffron Allen, Chloe Headland, Kim Lane, Georgina Farman and Casey Traill all went close to scoring.

At the other end, Julija Blazinsek waltzed into the offensive zone and her shot came back off the pipes.

But GB’s pressure told inside the last minute of the first session as Culshaw stole the puck, broke into the offensive zone and fired low for her first senior goal (19:36).

Slovenia equalise on the powerplay
Slovenia made a good start to period two and Nicole Jackson produced a fantastic point-blank save from Sara Confidenti’s shot.

The number four seeds equalised on the powerplay as Blazinsek pulled a nice move in front of goal to score on the powerplay (26:18).

Chloe Headland was denied after a great skate into the offensive zone and Steph Towns came so close to her first GB goal, but Pia Dukaric produced a top-class glove save.

Confidenti’s two-goal burst 
Confidenti scored two goals in two minutes at the start of the third period to change the complex of the game.

A one-time finish on the powerplay at the backdoor (40:34) was followed by a nearside top-shelf finish from the right circle (42:27).

Confidenti then turned provider as she broke two-on-one with Pren, who scored with a neat finish at 52:34.

Lane’s deflected shot (56:35) gave GB some hope but they were unable to get their way back into the game despite 43 shots throughout the night.

Head coach, Cheryl Smith, said: “It was disappointing for us and the coaching staff are frustrated.

“We had a good first period but then mistakes crept into our game. Some of our decision-making wasn’t the best and it punished us.

“It’s good we have a game tomorrow as we have a quick chance to put it right.”

In Thursday’s other games, DPR Korea Women beat Australia Women 4-2 while Spain Women were 2-0 winners over Mexico Women.

Tomorrow’s games get under way at 1pm with DPR Korea and Spain Women, which is followed by Australia Women against Slovenia Women (4:30pm).

GB Women take to the ice at 8pm against Mexico Women. Tickets are available online and you can pay on the door.

GB games are live on FreeSports with Aaron Murphy and Paul Adey, which is available free on Sky Channel 422, Virgin Media Channel 553, on Channel 64 on Freeview and BT and on Freesat Channel 252.

Other games will also be shown on a webcast, provided by 247.tv, which you can purchase by clicking here.

#WhoRunTheWorld
#LionessRoar

Photo credits: Karl Denham (above) and Martin Turner (below).