Ice Hockey World Championship: GB clinch dramatic win vs Croatia

Mark Richardson, pictured scoring against Croatia, plays for Cardiff Devils in the Elite Ice Hockey League

Two goals from Mark Richardson gave Great Britain a dramatic 3-2 overtime win against Croatia in their opening game in Division 1 Group B of the World Championships in Eindhoven.

The Cardiff Devils player made it 2-2 with five seconds left and then scored the winner 11 seconds into overtime.

GB had trailed 2-0 with seven minutes left when Ben O'Connor got their first.

The game was the first of five in seven days for GB's inexperienced side in the third tier of the World Championships.

Their opponents include hosts the Netherlands, and South Korea, who as hosts of the 2018 Winter Olympics are investing heavily in ice hockey.

Britain have not competed in ice hockey at an Olympics since 1948.

Croatia went ahead through Michael Glumac in the first period, with Nathan Perkovich doubling the lead in the third, but GB got their reward after sustained pressure in the closing stages.

Croatia beat Britain 4-0 a year ago, but it was a different story this time as GB's players celebrated a dramatic victory

"They pulled it out of the bag, I thought we we were first class and deserved it," said coach Pete Russell.

"It's one game at a time, but it's a nice way to win. There are two kinds of hockey players, the honest ones and the rest, and they're honest hockey players."

GB's next outing is against Estonia at 12:30 BST on Tuesday, 14 April.