Ice Hockey World Championship: Great Britain lost to Austria in the opening game

Great Britain’s opening game of the 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship ended in defeat as they were beaten 5-2 by Austria in Group A.

All seven goals came in the first half for Switzerland, including a double from Austria’s Peter Sneijder.

Pete Russell’s side gave themselves a mountain to climb early on as they quickly fell 3-0 behind in what was a high-scoring opening period.

Austria extended their lead again before half-time with goals from David Clements and Liam Kirk bringing the score back to 3-2 after just one quarter.

Matt Robson scored two late penalty-kills as the first of seven group games ended in defeat to Great Britain.

Elsewhere in the group, hosts Switzerland won their first game against the United States 3-1 on Friday and Finland defeated Germany by the same scoreline.

In Group B, the Czech Republic topped Denmark after beating Denmark 4-1 in their first game, while Canada finished second after a 5-3 win over Sweden.