2025 World Championship Division I Group A

SEPSI ARENA, 

WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL 2025

GREAT BRITAIN

5

4

JAPAN

ROBERT DOWD

17:52

LIAM KIRK

24:07

JOSH BATCH

48:41

BEN O'CONNOR

58:11

ROBERT DOWD

60:41

25:58

ISOGAI SOTA

29:01

OKUBO MASATO

34:16

HIRANO YUSHIROH

50:39

TAKAGI KENTA

17:52

GOOOOOOOOAL GB! Liam Kirk sets-up Robert Dowd for a one-timer in the left-circle on a delayed penalty. Great Britain 1-0 Japan.

24:07

GOOOOOOOOOAL TWO GB! Brett Perlini feeds Liam Kirk who fires through the five-hole for GB's second. Great Britain 2-0 Japan.

25:58

Goal for Japan. Isogai Sota forces the puck over the line from a goalmouth scramble. Great Britain 2-1 Japan.

29:01

Goal two for Japan. Okubo Masato cuts inside from the right and fires past Whistle. Great Britain 2-2 Japan.

34:16

Goal for Japan. Hirano Yushiroh with a bullet of a shot from right-circle. Great Britain 2-3 Japan.

48:41

GOOOOOOOAL GB. Cade Neilson and Robert Dowd combine to set-up JOSH BATCH to score the equaliser from the left-circle. Great Britain 3-3 Japan.

50:39

Goal for Japan. Takagi Kenta slams home the rebound after the initial save by Whistle. Great Britain 3-4 Japan.

58:11

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! GB win the puck on the wall and the puck comes to Ben O'Connor who pulls his man out of position and fires in a dramatic late equaliser. Great Britain 4-4 Japan.

60:41

GOOOOOOOOOOOAL GB! IT HAD TO BE! ROBERT DOWD - on his 100th cap - scores on a 2-on-0 breakaway! Great Britain 5-4 Japan.

April 30, 2025

GREAT BRITAIN 5-4 JAPAN

Great Britain beat Japan 5-4 in overtime in a pulsating game at the World Championship Division I Group A in Romania.
After leading 2-0 at one stage, GB were 4-3 down until Ben O’Connor fired in an equaliser with under two minutes remaining before captain Robert Dowd scored the overtime winner on the day he won his 100th cap.
Dowd becomes the seventh player in history to reach the century landmark and there was also a special milestone for forward Brett Perlini who won his 50th cap.

Liam Kirk came into the line-up after joining the team on Tuesday following his playoff success in the German DEL. Jackson Whistle started between the pipes with Ben Bowns as back-up.

Dowd scores on 100th appearance
Kirk had a chance inside the opening 30 seconds after being set-up by Brett Perlini and Dowd went close moments later.

Japan had the early momentum and Whistle stopped Nakajima Teruto’s shot from the slot, as well as Hanzawa Chikara’s close-range effort on the powerplay.

GB went ahead when Kirk set-up Dowd for a one-timer in the left-circle on a delayed penalty (17:52).

Kirk on target for GB but Japan lead
Whistle reacted well to stop Suzuki Fuji’s redirect as Japan had the first chance of the second period.

Perlini fed Kirk who fired through the five-hole for GB’s second (24:07), but Japan hit back within two minutes when Isogai Sota forced the puck over the line from a goalmouth scramble (25:58).

Okubo Masato cut inside from the right and fired past Whistle to equalise (29:01), before GB had an immediate chance to retake the lead but Ben Davies was denied on the breakaway.

Japan led for the first time through Hirano Yushiroh’s bullet of a shot from right-circle (34:16).

O’Connor fires in late equaliser
Davies shot just wide after a sustained spell of GB pressure at the start of the third period.

Cade Neilson and Dowd combined to set-up Josh Batch to score the equaliser from the left-circle (48:41), but Japan were back in-front within two minutes through Takagi Kenta on the rebound (50:39).

GB won the puck on the wall and the puck came to O’Connor who pulled his man out of position and fired in a dramatic late equaliser (58:11).

Dowd secures extra point in overtime
For the third successive game, GB won the game in dramatic fashion to secure the extra point.

Dowd broke 2-on-0 with Nathanael Halbert and fired in his second of the night to crown a memorable 100th cap.

GB are back in action on Thursday against Italy in the lunchtime game at 12:30 (10:30 BST).

Stats

36

Shots

34
30

Saves

31
4

PIM