GB ICE HOCKEY: Great Britain head coach Tony Hand has paid tribute to the contribution made throughout this year’s World Championship (Division 1A) by assistant coach Doug Christiansen.

GB kept their place in the second tier of world ice hockey with a final-day 5-4 victory over Hungary and also beat Ukraine 4-3 in overtime earlier in the tournament.

Hand said: “I could not have done this without Doug. He was fantastic from start to finish and I really enjoyed working with him.

“He is such an asset to the GB national team and his hard work and commitment were fantastic throughout the tournament.

“We are on the verge of something special with the national team and I know that Doug has the same ambitions as me for Great Britain.

“We have an exciting time coming up now with Olympic qualifiers and the announcement of next year’s World Championship groups and venues.”