Team GB won't be going to the 2010 Winter Olympics.Friday's 2-1 defeat to Japan means that it's all over for head coach Paul Thompson and co.Of course, even if Team GB had come through the pre-qualification event, they would have had to negotiate an even tougher final round in February in Group E, Group F or Group G.Reaching Vancouver was always unlikely, but getting through to the final qualification stage in February would have undoubtedly elevated the game's profile in Britain, especially when all things Olympic are in vogue. Next time, hopefully the game in Britain will be economically stable enough to allow for a schedule break around qualification. As Thompson told the elite league website:"It's a crying shame for the guys who have done everything we expected of them. Some of the younger players have really shown their quality, we are down and disappointed today but I'm as sure as I can be that the future with these lads is more promising than it has been in the past."
Still, let's not be too disappointed. When it comes to Olympic dreams being shattered, it could be worse.
Paul Thompson is ready for the busiest month in his career as he begins his mission to take the national side to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
With Olympic qualification on the line, the Blaze competing for their third straight Elite League title and also entering European club competition later this month, Thompson has a hectic November schedule.And in an interview with skysports.com, Thompson revealed just how busy he is.
“It’s ridiculous – I keep having to look up at the scoreboard to see who we’re playing in all of these different competitions!” Thompson joked.
“It is an awfully busy time and a draining time, but it’s an exciting time and I’m looking forward to our first game.”
Team GB's first game is against Poland, who won the last meeting between the teams at the World Championships in April after a penalty shootout.
“I’ve been speaking to my assistant coaches on a daily basis,” Thompson said.
“For the last couple of weeks we’ve been discussing how we are going to put the lines together and work on our powerplays and penalty killing to get the right balance.”
With so much administrative work required this month in addition to the actual games, Thompson praised the work of Andy Buxton, who is the general manager of the GB senior men’s team.
“I’m grateful to have a guy like Andy to help me out because he does a lot of work and takes care of many of the problems and issues that come up,” Thompson added.
“While I do a lot of admin work for the Blaze, Andy does a lot of the admin for the national team and it would be very difficult to get it all done without him.”
Buxton believes that allowing Thompson to concentrate on winning games and not have to worry about paperwork will enable the team to perform better in Poland.
“We have a good off-ice team and we try to take away all the worries and concerns from the coaching staff and players,” Buxton told skysports.com.
“If we can do the best job that we can to take care of everything off the ice, all Paul has to worry about is his team and trying to win the game.”
Ideally, Team GB would have flown into Poland last weekend, took a few days to unwind, practice and get ready for Thursday’s opening game against the host country in the pre Olympic qualification tournament.
But with Elite League fixtures and the extra cost of financing an extended stay both factoring in, head coach Paul Thompson and company are travelling today.
In an interview with skysports.com, Andy Buxton, the GM of the men’s senior team, outlined the travel itinerary.
“We leave Coventry at 5:00am for a two hour bus journey to Heathrow,” Buxton said.
“Then we have a flight to Warsaw and then we have an internal flight in Poland. From there we have another hour and a half on the coach to Sanok and then when we arrive we’ll probably just collapse!”
Still, it could be worse. It’s fair to say that Japan, who are also in Group D, have a slightly harder travel itinerary!
With only two days remaining until Team GB face Poland to begin their mission to qualify for Vancouver 2010, Newcastle Vipers coach Rob Wilson has said that depth up front will give the national side the edge they need.
In an interview with skysports.com, Wilson said that the team’s ability to rotate four forward units will be the key to success.
“Going to Poland is not going to be easy,” he said.
“There are going to be some tough teams over there, but I like how our team is put together. I think that for the first time in a long time we’re going to be able to play four very strong lines with some good hockey players.”
Two players from Wilson’s Vipers squad have been called up to play in the tournament – defenceman Jez Lundin and forward David Longstaff.
Longstaff is one of five Team GB players in the top 15 for individual points scoring in the Elite League.
“We’ve got the likes of Longstaff, Steve Thornton, Colin Shields, Greg Chambers, Greg Owen and Ashley Tait – there’s some pretty good offence there,” Wilson added.
“If we can get some good play around them, some solid goaltending and our defence step up we’ll have the offence to win some games so I think it will be interesting to see how we do.”
Having seen Stephen Murphy's performance in the 6-2 win against Cardiff on Sunday night, it would be big a surprise to see Stevie Lyle start in goal for Team GB on Thursday against Poland. Lyle's only game this weekend was Saturday's 6-3 home defeat against Hull.
Murphy was the number one to finish the World Championships in April and, if anything, he has only improved since. Of course, we won't find out until head coach Paul Thompson confirms it, but if I were a betting man...Still, it's not exactly an easy decision. And Murphy's Phoenix team-mate Nathan Ward wouldn't like to be the one to choose between them."It’s tough to say, but I’m sure whoever gets in there will be deserving," Ward told the Manchester Phoenix game programme."Murphy’s a great goalie, he’s proved it this year and he’s given us a chance to win every game."You can hear more from Ward in next weekend's Phoenix game programme.
Continuing elite hockey today's coverage of the build up to next week's Olympic qualification tournament, here's an update on the Team GB goalie battle between Stevie Lyle and Stephen Murphy.
Belfast goalie Lyle might have lost his chance at being the starter after conceding five goals on 24 shots on Saturday as the G-men crashed 6-3 at home against Hull.
Phoenix netminder Murphy allowed the same amount of goals in a 5-4 defeat to the Panthers. However, considering the relative strength of the opposition, looking at the league table, Saturday's results could give Murphy one hand on the starting job.
With the Giants out of action tonight, a good outing from Murphy at the Altrincham Ice Dome, where the Phoenix host the Devils, could help him lock down the position.
At this point, it's fair to say that head coach Paul Thompson is no wiser about who should start, unless he's secretly made up his mind already.
Maybe Murphy will make his decision much easier tonight.
