Netminder Thomas Murdy is hoping to maintain his recent improvement in form as he looks to seal a place in the Great Britain squad for next month’s World Championship tournament.

Murdy has been named in the 37-man training squad ahead of final selection for the competition in Croatia.

The Telford Tigers goalie has a save percentage of over 90 per cent which has brought him to the attention of the GB selectors, following his impressive supporting role during last year’s tournament in Eindhoven.

He said: “I didn’t think I would make the squad this year, so it has all been a bit of a surprise. It was a bit slow at the start of the season for me personally, so it has started to pick up.

“Hopefully, that form will carry on and keep on picking up towards the end of the season. The main thing is that I keep my head down, work hard and play the same way.

“Everyone here at Telford is playing well at the moment, so the aim is to keep that going and hopefully take our form into the play-offs.

“It is really nice to be put on the long list of players to be considered for the final Great Britain squad.”

The squad will be cut to 28 for the pre-tournament training camp, which gets under way on 6th April and includes two games against Poland at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham and Coventry’s Skydome.

Tigers’ Head Coach Tom Watkins, who is also Assistant Coach of the GB senior side, said: “Thomas is a guy who quietly goes about his business. He had a slow start to the season and needed to be better, but since Christmas he’s been playing really well.

“As a team we’ve been relying on him and Sam Gospel, but both have stepped up and in the second half of the season they’ve been very good for us.”

(Image permission: Steve Brodie)