ICE ONE MY SON
O’Connor follows his dad to first Worlds since 1994
TWENTY-FIVE years ago Mike O’Connor was a defensive rock in the Great Britain side who shocked ice hockey by reaching the World Championship and taking on the superstars of Canada and Russia. Now they are back, with a familiar name in their ranks.
Ben O’Connor (right) will follow in his father’s footsteps in Kosice, Slovakia, on Saturday for Britain’s return to the elite of ice hockey for the first time since Italy in 1994.
And it will be O’Connor Jnr, an outstanding defenceman, who must repel some of the biggest names in the game, just as Mike did all those years ago.
‘It’s a dream come true,’ said Ben as he spoke to Sportsmail alongside his father. ‘Most of us in the GB team won’t make the NHL so our only chance of competing with the best comes in the Olympics or World Championship. We’ll have our work cut out, but we’re going to embrace it and try to show the world GB deserve to be there.’
Promotion came unexpectedly in April last year when a goal 15 seconds from time gave GB the draw they needed against hosts Hungary in their final match.
They face Germany in their opening match on Saturday before taking on the NHL-laden squads of Canada and the US.
In Italy 25 years ago, Mike, a Canadian by birth who qualified for GB as a dual national, played against his countrymen in a tournament where his adopted nation lost every game, but were far from humiliated.
‘When we played Canada we went in for our pre-game skate and lined up in the hallway getting their autographs,’ said O’Connor Snr. ‘I think they felt the public had been let in rather than the team they were playing that night! It was an experience I’ll never forget. ‘But the Canadians were using the first round to have a bit of fun because I spotted a few of them in the beer tent. They didn’t get serious until the next round! ‘Now I watch this GB team and it is packed with outstanding homegrown talent. Nobody’s suggesting these guys are going to push Canada, Finland or the States, but there are a couple of teams GB could surprise.’
Ben is one of GB’s stand- out players and admits his dad was his inspiration.
‘Growing up watching my dad play I wanted to follow in his footsteps,’ he said. ‘My dad didn’t push me into hockey, I just wanted to be like my old man. I knew I’d do whatever it took to get there.’