Great Britain face Italy on a hugely important gameday four at the World Championship Division I Group A in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania at 12:30 (10:30 BST).
GB have three wins from three to their name as an opening-day 4-3 penalty-shot victory over Ukraine was followed by overtime wins against Romania (2-1) and Japan (5-4).
Italy have had an up and down tournament so far. After beating Japan 4-1, they lost 3-2 to Ukraine after a shootout.
The Italians went top of the group on Wednesday with a massive 4-1 victory over Poland.
Italy have seven points from three matches and GB, Ukraine and Poland are all on six points, with Pete Russell’s side in second because of their head-to-head record.
Team News
GB expect to be at full-strength for the meeting in the Sepsi Arena.
Jackson Whistle will win his 50th cap and become only the fourth GB netminder in history to reach the half-century milestone after Ben Bowns, Stevie Lyle and Stephen Murphy.
Recent Meetings
Today’s meeting brings back memories of the 2018 Division IA tournament in Hungary where the two sides also went head-to-head on gameday four.
Brett Perlini scored twice and there was a goal each for Robert Dowd and Ben O’Connor as GB won 4-3 in Budapest.
In a dramatic tournament, a goal by Robert Farmer with 15 seconds remaining the final game against Hungary ensured both GB and Italy went up to the top-level World Championship.
GB beat Italy on the final day of the 2023 World Championship Division I Group A on home ice in Nottingham to win the gold medal and promotion.
Perlini scored twice, as did Cade Neilson, and Mike Hammond was also on target in a 5-3 victory.
Watch live on Premier Sports
The game is being shown live on Premier Sports with commentary from Olympic broadcaster Aaron Murphy.
To find out more about Premier Sports and how to subscribe, please click here.
GB World Championship Schedule and Results
Sunday 27th April: Ukraine 3-4 Great Britain (penalty-shots)
Monday 28th April: Great Britain 2-1 Romania (overtime)
Wednesday 30th April: Great Britain 5-4 Japan (overtime)
Thursday 1st May: Italy v Great Britain 12:30 (10:30 BST)
Saturday 3rd May: Great Britain v Poland 19:30 (17:30 BST)
Click here to visit the tournament website.
