Rotherham ice hockey trio edge GB closer to the Olympics​​​​​​​

GB beat China 10-1, Serbia 11-0 and Romania 7-4 at Cardiff to book their place in the Final Qualifying round for the 2026 Winter Olympics.It is 76 years since the last time GB qualified.

At the heart of last weekend's accomplishment were Swinton goalie Ben Bowns, Maltby winger Liam Kirk and Kiveton Park international debutant Cole Shudra.

Bowns played two of the three games and put his success down to his “lucky mascot” – his newborn daughter Tayah, who wore a weekend jersey emblazoned with the message: “Nothing is impossible if you dare to dream.”

Kirk had the honour of being named an Alternate Captain for his country.

He repaid coach Pete Russell's faith by scoring twice against China and once against Romania.

Russell said the whole side had got the job done, despite only having two practice sessions before the tournament, scoring a total of 28 goals along the way.

He said Sheffield Steelers utility man Shudra had been “buzzing” on Britain's fourth line.

As for qualifying Russell said: “We dominated these games and I think we played decent.

"We have a dream, now we'll see what happens next.”

GB now progress to the Final Qualifying Round in August – the final stage before the next Winter Olympics, to be staged in Italy and due to start on February 6, 2026.

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