National Governing Body for Skater Hockey in Great Britain
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Home > News > Archive > 23.08.2006 |
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NEWSBienne Seelanders Tournament 2006Date Posted : 17th August 2006
The GB U21s team was composed of the players listed below, with Mike Gibbons being the only over-age representative:
Lewis Sheperd-White (KSF); John Dibble (Gloucester Boxers);
Captain - Nick Avery (Chelmsford Checkers); Assistant Captain - Ben Clements (Chelmsford Checkers); Robert Dennis (Chelmsford Checkers); Easy Chalmers (Oxford Fong Pei); Chris Dartnell (Borehamwood Crusaders); Hayden Craven (Reading Rhinos); Tom France (Chelmsford Checkers); Michael Gibbons (Gloucester Boxers); Karim Linnard (Oxford Fong Pei); Jamie Milton (Shene Youngbloods); Ben Moody (Reading Rhinos); Steve Osman (Reading Rhinos);
Coach - Hugh Jones Bienne Seelanders Tournament for Men Results The opening game on Friday night was a close affair for most of the match, with the scores even at 2-2 until midway through the second half, when Team GB scored twice in quick succession. At this point, the hosts gambled on pulling their netminder, but to no avail, as GB broke down 2 attacks and scored with ease into an empty net on both occasions. This encouraging start against one of Europe’s top Senior teams was followed by a hard-fought 3-3 draw against a talented Swiss Under 18 side in rapidly deteriorating conditions on Saturday afternoon at the outdoor rink. This result was ground out of pure grit and determination, as the GB boys continued to improve as a team. Saturday’s second game saw the first defeat of the tournament to a strong Rossemaison side, who were in fine form and worthy of their 4-2 win. Let it be said, however, that our Under 21’s fought well against an experienced and talented senior Swiss side, who have played together as a successful unit for many years. Indeed, the Swiss spectators were unanimously full of praise for the technical performance of this British side. Team GB were placed second in their division and thus faced the 3rd-placed team from the other group, namely Dusseldorf Rams, on Sunday morning. By now, the rain was heavy and constant, with large pools of water forming on the playing surface. Despite this, the standard of hockey remained remarkably high, with every challenge contested hard and Team GB adjusting well to the conditions. With 2 minutes remaining, however, the Rams led 2-1 and all seemed lost until an opportunist goal gave the boys a well-deserved equaliser. The prospect of a penalty shoot-out against a German side left the GB supporters with a sense of impending doom: not the players, however, as they converted all but one of their chances to overwhelm the Rams and move on with confidence to the semi’s. By now, the team was gelling well and displaying a team spirit to be proud of. The game against Rothrist was expected to be a tough encounter but turned out not to be, as the GB team remained strong throughout, played with an impressive pace and fluency and dominated a highly-respected Swiss team from beginning to end, running out 4-2 winners, a score which certainly flattered the Swiss. Entering the final, confidence was high, especially given the result against Seelanders in the opening match. A 4-3 defeat, however, came as no real surprise, given the partisan nature of the spectators and a number of disappointing refereeing decisions, which meant that Team GB spent most of the game short-handed. All in all, though, this was a tremendous performance by Team GB U/21 in a very tough tournament, from which players and coach can take a great deal of pride and from which Team GB management and coaching staff at all levels can draw enormous encouragement for the years to come. Hugh Jones’ said during the weekend that his aim is to raise the bar in terms of performance and achievement and to create a platform for consistent success in the years to come. If the way these boys performed on and off the pitch at this tournament is anything to go by, then we are on our way. Ben Moody was deservedly named in the tournament Dream Team.
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For the 20th edition of this prestigious annual tournament, Team Great Britain entered an Under 21 selection, following trials and training sessions held over the last couple of months at Faringdon and Oxford. The participating teams were: