Road to Vancouver ends in Poland

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.

Have Skates, Will Travel

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!