Ice Hockey: Wallace hat-trick helps gain promotion for Great Britain

Stephen Wallace crowned a remarkable World Championship Second Division Group B campaign by leading Great Britain Under-20s to the gold medal in Lithuania on Sunday night. The side will now be promoted to the First Division for next year's tournament.

The Newcastle Vipers forward scored his second hat-trick of the tournament in the 8-1 win over Croatia as coach Roger Hunt's side recorded a 100 percent record. Wallace finished top scorer in the group with 12 goals in five games but was pipped by a point by Korea's Seung-Jun Lee in the overall point-scoring charts.

The side, featuring several players from the Elite League, went through the week-long competition unbeaten and Andy French, the League's director of hockey, said: "It is noticeable that this year's team had a number of players playing senior hockey and hopefully this will inspire the next generation of juniors to come through. The team managed to improve its discipline compared to similar competitions in the past and this reflects the maturity and promise of the side."

In the Elite League, Sheffield Steelers remained on top despite losing 3-2 at Cardiff Devils, for whom Jonathon Phillips, Dennis Maxwell and Jeff Burgoyne - with an assist from net minder Jason Cugnet - were on the scoresheet.

Second-placed Nottingham Panthers were beaten by the same score at Basingstoke Bison, while London Racers remain firmly on the bottom, losing 7-3 at Coventry Blaze.