It looks like the B Pool has a copyright on drama. In yet another close match, Bermuda, playing their first match at the tournament, faced France, who beat Great Britain literally in the last minute and was looking to set up a winning streak to open their 2017 WC.

Bermuda came out gun blazing in its opening match!

With only 66 seconds into the game, it was Christopher Hands Jackson of Bermuda who punished a mistake of the French goalkeeper, Stephane Lion. France bounced back, had more possession and countered with the goals of Domain and Bacul in the 4^th and 12^th minute respectively. However, the response did not take long to come, as Christopher Hands Jackson scored his second goal of the match after a perfect pass from Robert Bailey in a 2 on 1 breakaway.

In the second period, the teams concentrated more on defending and the game became a bit more physical, with multiple power plays awarded to both sides. In the 13^th minute of the 2^nd period, it was another Christopher – Christopher Merrit, who put Bermuda ahead 3-2.

France showed no signs of letting up after a hard fought game against Great Britain the day before

The third period followed the same trend. The French equalised early on in the 2^nd minute and the players kept the tempo going, showing no fatique whatsoever. Both goalkeepers denied any other changes to the score. Lion on the French and Leclerc on the Bermuda side made tremendous saves to keep the score 3-3 after 60 minutes.

The game had to be decided in a penalty shootout, and it was Jacob Amlong who was the hero for Bermuda, celebrating his birthday with a winning goal! After the match, he gave his views: “We had 8 new rookies who have never played at a World Championship, so there was a bit of nervousness, but after the first shift you feel comfortable – the veterans helped us, told us to enjoy it and that it’s going to be an exciting game. It actually was, quick, back and forth both ways.”

Jacob Amlomg, featured here for Bermuda, went on to score the shootout winner!

Bermuda is playing Lebanon tomorrow, on the 3^rd of June at 6.00 p.m., and Amlong is already looking forward to it: “Luckily, Lebanon played before us, so we got here early and watched them play. They played tough, it’s going to be a bit more work on the boards, but we have some big guys and want to use our speed as well.”

Bermuda, watching Lebanon play earlier in the day, in their traditional attire. Representing!

What an exciting day two of action! Let’s hope for many other of these dramatic matches here in Pardubice, Czech Republic, in the biggest ball hockey event of the year!