Great Britain Suffers Second Crushing Defeat at Ice Sledge Hockey Europeans

Great Britain suffered their second crushing defeat in Group A at the 2011 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Ice Sledge Hockey European Championships on Wednesday (16 February) in Solleftea, Sweden, losing to Germany 20:0.

After a good start into the tournament on Sunday, when Great Britain beat The Netherlands 1:0, the team lost their next game to favourites Norway 21:0. Before the tournament Matt Lloyd, the goalkeeper of the British team, said the national coach had set a target of two victories for the tournament against The Netherlands and Germany. But the fairly inexperienced team has so far not lived up to its aspirations.

In the other games of the day Estonia beat The Netherlands 6:0 and will now qualify for the semi-finals providing they beat Great Britain on Thursday and Norway defeat Germany.

In Group B of the European Championships, the top two sides both registered their third wins in as many games. Czech Republic beat Russia 7:2 whilst Italy defeated Poland 5:2. The two undefeated sides will battle it out on Thursday for top spot in game that will be broadcast live on the internet. As hosts of the tournament Sweden will be looking to finish on a high with victory over Poland.

More than 130 players from 10 different countries are competing in the 2011 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey European Championships, held in Solleftea, Sweden.