Beam me up -- there's a new nickname for ice hockey ace Liam Kirk

GB captain Liam Kirk. Pictures by Dean Woolley

The Maltby forward was appointed Great Britain captain for last weekend's two international duels with Poland.

He was handed the "C" because of injury to Robert Dowd.

But it was still an enormous honour – and the 24-year-old led the team to two wins.

Ben Bowns, man of the match against Poland. Pictures by Dean Woolley

The former Sheffield Steelers' winger scored a goal and helped make another in the 3-1 win over Poland at a sold-out Planet Ice Leeds on Friday night.

On Saturday night, the skipper led them to a 2-1 victory over the same opposition in front of 5,000 fans at Nottingham Arena.

This time Kirk assisted on a goal in regular time before the match went to a penalty shootout.

Swinton-born goaltender Ben Bowns (33) excelled between the posts in that game, blocking 30 shots.

He was picked out as man of the match.

The challenge games were part of the Lions' build-up before their World Championship programme, which starts against the world's best side, Canada, on May 11, in Prague.

The Brits are ranked 20th in the world.

Kiveton Park's Cole Shudra, who also performed well for GB last weekend, is celebrating his best ever Elite League campaign.

The 25-year-old Steelers' winger scored 20 points in the EIHL regular season, eight goals and 12 assists.

He collected seven more points in Cup and Play off matches and was absent for only two matches out of a total of 70.

Shudra's team-mate Brandon Whistle described him as having an "unbelievable" season having stepped up from hockey's second tier.