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| Felicity Gregory, Dean Lahan, Mark Colquitt, Karl Nicholson and Daniel Hartshorm (Photo by Rox Photography) |
A number of players and team staff from the Mayhem sledge team were involved with the Great Britain international side at the weekend as they took part in a 4 game challenge series against Ukraine at the Lee Valley Ice Centre in east London.
Karl
Nicholson, Dean Lahan, Felicity Gregory and Mark Colquitt were already
experienced international players but the tournament saw a GB debut for Mayhem
netminder Daniel Hartshorn.
This
was quite an impressive achievement as he only started playing in goal last
season having previously played out as a defenceman.
Talking
about his first international experience, Hartshorn said:
“Pulling on the GB jersey and representing my country for the first time was an incredibly proud moment and something I’ll never forget. The whole weekend was a fantastic experience, and what impressed me most was seeing how much we grew as a team. With every game we became stronger, fought harder and learned more about each other.”
“It
was also a real privilege to share the ice with the Ukraine team. They were an
incredible group of players, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to play
alongside and against them over the weekend. Their skill, determination and
spirit made the experience even more memorable.”
“To
finish the weekend by being named MVP in our final game was a huge personal
honour, but having such supportive teammates and coaches around me made the
whole experience even more special. I gave everything I had out there, and
hopefully this is just the beginning of my journey with GB.”
The Ukraine team provided tough opposition and, despite some battling performances from the British team, managed to win all 4 games. They won the first game on Friday 1-3, the game on Saturday morning 1-3, the game on Saturday afternoon 0-3 and the final game on Sunday 0-2 for a 4-0 series win.
Mayhem players Lahan and Nicholson scored the two Team GB goals. Peggy Assinck and her brother Patrick were team coaches for the GB team and Peter Hagan helped out in an off-ice capacity.
The
Saturday afternoon also saw an exhibition game to showcase the GB Women’s team against
a composite side made up of GB and Ukraine men’s players and coaches.
Mayhem
player Emily Maclean played for the GB women with Karl Nicolson as head coach while
Peter Hagan was bench coach for the select team. The game finished as a 0-7 win
for the Ukraine select.
The
Mayhem are back in league action this weekend after the international break
with an away trip to face bottom side Peterborough Phantoms on Sunday.
It
is the last game of the regular league schedule and, if the Mayhem win, they
will finish in third place in the final table, which will give them a more
favourable draw in the Play Offs which will take place at Lee Valley on 12/13th
September.
