Great Britain Head Coach Pete Russell has named his 23-man roster for the upcoming World Championship (Division 1B) tournament in Belfast.

There are first World Championship call-ups for Brendan Brooks and Sam Duggan, while Josh Batch, Luke Ferrara, Jack Prince, Zach Sullivan and Ross Venus are released from the initial 28-man squad.

GB warmed-up for the tournament with two games against Poland this weekend, with the Poles winning 4-1 at Nottingham on Friday before Britain triumphed 5-4 after penalty shots on Saturday at Coventry’s Skydome.

Russell said: “Cutting the squad is never easy, but I believe we have a fantastic 23 players who want to create some history next week.

“We have great balance across the squad and I think we will be very competitive.

“We know that the aim is the gold medal and there will be pressure on us to perform, but I believe we have the right group of players.

“The players will experience something a generation of players haven’t been able to do by playing a tournament on home ice.

“Everyone is so focused and excited about the challenges ahead.”

GREAT BRITAIN SQUAD

Netminders

Ben Bowns – Cardiff Devils
Stephen Murphy – Belfast Giants
Thomas Murdy – Cardiff Devils (reserve)

Defence

Mark Garside – Belfast Giants
Steve Lee – Nottingham Panthers
Ben O’Connor – Sheffield Steelers
David Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Mark Richardson – Cardiff Devils
Paul Swindlehurst – Manchester Storm
Jonathan Weaver – Telford Tigers

Forwards

Brendan Brooks – Fife Flyers
David Clarke – Nottingham Panthers
Russell Cowley – Coventry Blaze
Robert Dowd – Sheffield Steelers
Sam Duggan – Orebro (Sweden)
Robert Farmer – Nottingham Panthers
Robert Lachowicz – Nottingham Panthers
Evan Mosey – Rockford Ice Hogs (USA)
Matthew Myers – Cardiff Devils
Craig Peacock – Braehead Clan
Jonathan Phillips – Sheffield Steelers
Colin Shields – Belfast Giants
Liam Stewart – Coventry Blaze

(Image permission: Karl Denham)