Leeds Knights captain Kieran Brown enjoys positive GB debut at World Championships
KIERAN BROWN enjoyed a positive Great Britain debut as Pete Russell’s team started their World Championship campaign with a 4-3 win after a shootout against Ukraine.
The Leeds Knights’ captain was one of three GB players at the Division 1A tournament making their senior debut, alongside fellow forward Logan Neilson and defenceman Joe Hazeldine.
Brown is the only NIHL National player selected by head coach Russell and was in action again on Monday night as GB took on the hosts Romania in Sfântu Gheorghe.
The 24-year-old former Bradford Bulldogs junior made it a debut to remember when he posted an assist on Brett Perlini’s strike which put GB 2-0 ahead in the 22nd minute in front of a 2,100-plus crowd at the Sepsi Arena.
But GB found themselves trailing 3-2 with just over 10 minutes remaining, a situation rescued by Ben O’Connor’s deflected effort from a tight angle off the left boards at 52.42 before a goalless overtime brought about the shootout.
O’Connor found the target again, as did Ben Lake, while netminder Ben Bowns turned away all four Ukraine attempts.
Brown, along with fellow debutant Neilson, saw his ice time drop significantly in the third as GB chased the game, but still impressed his team-mates and head coach.
“They are all fantastic players and great human beings off the ice in the dressing room and they are going to have a long future in this shirt, playing for their country,” said former Sheffield Steelers’ defenceman, O’Connor.
“I told them before the game just to have fun, take it all in because you only have one first game.
“I think they did a great job today and they are going to build on that as the tournament goes on and get better and better.”
Head coach Russell explained his decision for changing the lines and going with more experienced players in the final 20 minutes.
“They lost ice time in the third period, two of them,” said Russell. “But it wasn’t because of anything they had done wrong, we were just chasing it a little bit and so we had to change the lines up and try and get back into the game.
“But, yeah they were fine. It’s a new experience for them, so hopefully during the tournament we’ll play better as a team and they’ll get more involved and that’s important.”