Great Britain were beaten 3-0 by Italy at the Skydome in their final game ahead of the World Championship which gets under way in Finland this weekend.
Italy took the lead on the powerplay after 56 seconds as Alex Petan found space in the right circle to fire past Ben Bowns.
GB grew into the game as the period went on with Sam Duggan and Brett Perlini going close, while superb skill from Evan Mosey saw him beat the Italian defence before his shot was well saved by Andreas Bernard.
Jackson Whistle replaced Bowns for the start of the second session and he had to be at his best to deny Diego Kostner on a breakaway.
Matthew Myers’ top-shelf shot was saved by Bernard, before Simon Berger popped home a rebound after Whistle saved shots from Gregorio Gios and Tommaso Traversa (34:03).
Josh Waller and Ben O’Connor had good chances in the third period, but Daniel Mantenuto made the game safe for the Italians, converting on a short-handed breakaway (52:44).
GB will now depart for their base in Tampere tomorrow morning ahead of their first game of the World Championship on Saturday against Czech Republic.
