GB shut out by Swiss in Prague

Photo: Dean Woolley

Team Great Britain were shut out by Switzerland on Wednesday night at the IIHF World Championships.

After a narrow loss to Canada in their opening game, followed by an 8-0 loss to Finland, Pete Russell's side were beaten 4-0 by an impressive Swiss side.

New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier was awarded a penalty shot just 90 seconds in, but Jackson Whistle stood tall to deny the Swiss an early lead. Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi's shot was saved by Whistle at 3:48, only for the puck to land on Hischier's stick to open the scoring. Dean Kukan flipped a wrist shot through Whistle's glove 14 minutes into the game for the 2-0 lead. 

GB pushed back in period two but without troubling Akira Schmid in the Swiss net. Winnipeg Jets' Nino Niederreiter squeezed a shot off the post to make it 3-0 towards the end of the second in what was the game's final goal. 

"In the second they got some momentum, they had some chances and we didn’t execute as well with the puck. But they’re a tough team, it’s hard to get to their net, hard to get pucks through," said Josi of Team GB's performance.

Man of the Match Cade Neilson, celebrating his 23rd birthday, added: "I think we played pretty well, they're a very good team. It was a big improvement from the game against Finland, we're going in the right direction, and just have to figure out where we need to improve."