THREE Scots have been confirmed in Great Britain’s 23-man squad for the World Championship in Belfast later this month.
Dundee-born goaltender Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants), defenceman Mark Garside (Belfast Giants) from East Kilbride and Glaswegian Colin Shields (Belfast Giants) will be joined by Fife Flyers’ Canadian star forward Brendan Brooks who is making his British debut.
Braehead Clan forward Craig Peacock is also listed along with three players who have played for Scottish clubs, defenceman Ben O’Connor and Paul Swindlehurst, who have appeared for Edinburgh Capitals and Dundee Stars, respectively, plus former Ayr Scottish Eagles and Fife Flyers star Jonathan Weaver.
Singer Rod Stewart’s son Liam is also included and this is the first men’s World Championship in the UK for 25 years.
Belfast’s SSE Arena will host the six-team IIHF World Championship Division 1, Group B, event from 23 to 29 April.
The home side face Japan, who were relegated from Division 1, Group A, last year, and Division 2, Group A gold-medal winners Netherlands, as well as last year’s opponents Croatia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Braehead defenceman Zach Sullivan has been released from the squad.
GB warmed-up for the World Championship with two games against Poland, with the Poles winning 4-1 in Nottingham on Friday before Britain won 5-4 after penalty shots on Saturday in Coventry.
Scots-born coach Peter Russell said: “I believe we have a fantastic 23 players who want to create some history next week.
“We have great balance across the squad and I think we will be very competitive.
“We know that the aim is the gold medal and there will be pressure on us to perform, but I believe we have the right group of players.”
Netminders: Ben Bowns (Cardiff Devils), Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants)
Defence: Mark Garside (Belfast Giants), Steve Lee (Nottingham Panthers), Ben O’Connor and David Phillips (both Sheffield Steelers), Mark Richardson (Cardiff Devils), Paul Swindlehurst (Manchester Storm), Jonathan Weaver (Telford Tigers);
Forwards: Brendan Brooks (Fife Flyers), David Clarke and Robert Farmer and Robert Lachowicz (all Nottingham Panthers), Russell Cowley and Liam Stewart (both Coventry Blaze), Robert Dowd and Jonathan Phillips (both Sheffield Steelers), Sam Duggan (Orebro, Sweden), Evan Mosey (Rockford Ice Hogs, (USA), Matthew Myers (Cardiff Devils), Craig Peacock (Braehead Clan), Colin Shields (Belfast Giants).
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