This week brought disappointing news for British fans of ice hockey. Great Britain’s dreams of reaching the Winter Olympics were crushed after defeat at the hands of both Poland and Japan in their pre-qualifying group for the event scheduled for 2010.

The team managed to show its potential by thrashing Romania 11-1 in the final game but disappointment and frustration are the feelings which will be taken away from Poland when the British team heads home.

This was acknowledged by the Great Britain coach, Paul Thompson. Thompson believes that it was 'good to finish' the tournament with a convincing win regardless of the quality of the opposition and was happy with the attitude of his team, with the players showing their skills despite feeling angry about the prospect of staying at home in 2010. Ultimately though, there is a frustrating feeling throughout the Great Britain ice hockey camp of “what if?”

Great Britain finished third in their group, with Romania finishing in a disappointing fourth place. The team was unlucky to finish in this position as the two defeats were by extremely narrow margins. However, Great Britain simply needed to win the group in order to progress to the final qualifying round early next year.

Unfortunately, they lost on penalties against Poland last week before losing 2-1 against Japan. The Romania match was not all plain sailing during the opening stages but impressive performances from Jonathan Phillips and Mark Richardson allowed the British team to assert its supremacy as the match progressed. Indeed, the result was the team’s biggest win since they scored 12 two years ago during a match against Israel.

The match against Poland, who have not been defeated by Great Britain for eight years, will be remembered by British ice hockey fans for being particularly frustrating. David Clarke, who was earning his fiftieth cap, scored a powerplay goal during the early stages of the match but the Poles came back with a strong performance.

Maciej Urbanowicz hit a shot past the British goalkeeper and this gave the host team renewed confidence. The half hour mark saw Poland take the lead and Great Britain really started to feel the pressure, conceding needless penalties and giving away numerous chances.

In the final period, Jonathan Phillips almost scored but Rafal Radziszewski was in fine form to deny the Brit. Danny Meyers, who finished clinically with a high shot into the net, managed to force overtime but the penalty shootout brought no joy for the Brits as Greg Chambers sent his effort frustratingly wide.

Paul Thompson described the match as 'one hell of a game of hockey' and believed that the two nations are now very “close” in terms of talent and potential. Thompson described how difficult the defeat was to accept, since penalties are always a cruel way of deciding such an important match. The manner of the defeat was particularly frustrating given that the Great Britain team was beginning to assert its supremacy and Poland were starting to fade.

Barry Melrose has been fired by the Tampa Bay Lightning after only five months in charge of the NHL club. Melrose had joined the club after working as a commentator for the popular American television channel, ESPN, for thirteen years.

The coach did, however, have previous experience in the world of ice hockey, having coached Los Angeles for three years in the early 1990s. Furthermore, his time at Los Angeles had brought some success: in 1992, he had managed to lead the team to the finals of the Stanley Cup although they were eventually unlucky to lose to Montreal.

The announcement of Melrose’s departure from Tampa Bay Lightning has come after a poor run of form in the NHL. With sixteen games already played this season, the officials at the Lightning decided to take swift action and bring an end to Melrose’s reign at the club.

The Lightning have suffered three straight defeats and are now in fourth position in the Southeast Division. Furthermore, they have scored the least goals in the entire NHL.

The general manager of the club, Brian Lawton, has revealed that the decision to fire Melrose was “tough” to make, particular since the respected figure in the world of ice hockey is a “good man”.

Despite the positive personality traits possessed by Barry Melrose, the club’s poor form remains undeniable and Lawton echoed this sentiment by stating that “the results were unacceptable”. The blame for the recent slump was not placed solely on the coach, with Lawton expressing his desire for the players to “understand that we need to be better”.

The previous assistant to Melrose, Rick Tocchet, will take charge of the club temporarily, whilst officials conduct a search for a permanent head coach.