Live GB Hockey coverage on BBC Radio this February

Britain may be in the grip of some extremely wintry weather conditions, but the BBC and Ice Hockey UK are coming together in February to bring live radio coverage of Team GB’s final qualifying hurdle in their quest to reach the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Commentary of all three games, on the 7th, 8th and 10th February, live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, will be provided by Seth Bennett, alongside reporter Nick Hope, to bring all the news, features and interviews from Latvia for listeners back in the UK.

Great Britain, gold medalists in 1936, came through a pre-qualifying tournament in Japan to reach this stage, and Tony Hand’s side only need to come out on top of this group stage to reach the Games for the first time since 1948.

GB begin the Group E tournament with a match against the hosts Latvia on Thursday 7th February 2013 (5:30pm UK time). They will then face France on Friday 8th February (1:30pm) and Kazakhstan on Sunday 10th February (11am).

IHUK general secretary, Andy French, said: “This is a fantastic showcase for the national team and we are proud to be linking up with such a prestigious organisation.

“Interest in GB is at an all-time high and we are so pleased the BBC will be with theteam in Latvia.”

Jonathan Wall, Acting Controller BBC Radio 5 live and sports extra, says “We’re excited to be covering the Ice Hockey for these important qualifying games for Team GB, as the UK’s attention turns to the forthcoming Winter Olympics.

“We aim to bring audiences as wide a range of sports as possible on the radio and these matches should provide fast paced action, thrills and spills to make for great commentary.”

• You can listen to all the action, along with plenty of other commentaries of sports we feature on UKAmericanSportsFans.com, by visiting bbc.co.uk/5livesportsextra