Click here for a PDF of the gamesheet
Great Britain shared a 10-goal thriller with Italy at Planet Ice Milton Keynes but were on the wrong end of a 6-4 scoreline.
Brad Jenion and Travis Brown made their first Great Britain appearances, while Ben Bowns started between the pipes with Lucas Brine as back-up.
Logan Neilson scores twice in first period
GB went ahead when Cade Neilson from behind the net fed Logan Neilson to score from close-range (04:53).
Bowns makes good saves to deny Mikael Frycklund, Dylan di Perna and Nicholas Porco before GB made it two late in the period.
Liam Steele combined with Cade Neilson to set-up Logan Neilson to bury the puck from the left-circle for his second of the night (19:41).
Five goals in dramatic second session
Italy scored early in the second period when Matt Bradley broke clear of the GB defence to beat Bowns (21:05).
Bowns made a big save to deny Olmo Pietro Albis, but Alessandro Segafredo scored with a bullet of a finish from the left-circle (30:56) and Peter Spornberger’s blast from just inside the blueline put Italy ahead (33:09).
But GB turned the game on its head with two goals in just over three minutes with both Johnny Curran and Brett Perlini on target.
Perlini set-up Curran at the backdoor to equalise (34:54) and soon after, Steele fed Curran and his flick off the right boards found Perlini to cut inside off the right-wing to restore GB’s lead (37:55).
Visitors hit back to secure the win
Italy made a fast start to the third period as Mikael Frycklund walked in unchallenged to beat Bowns (41:54).
Bowns made an excellent pad save to deny Tommy Purdeller from close-range, but Italy went ahead when Luca Frigo scored from the top of the crease (52:28).
With Bowns lifted for the extra skater, Tommaso de Luca scored into the empty net to secure Italy the victory (59:34).
Click here for a PDF of the gamesheet.
Limited tickets remain for Nottingham on Saturday
The two sides meet again at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Saturday (2nd May) with a 19:00 face-off.
This game is approaching a sell-out and limited tickets remain, so you’re urged to secure your seats asap by clicking here.
Four-Game Series
Thursday 30th April: Great Britain 4-6 Italy
Saturday 2nd May: Great Britain vs Italy
Sunday 10th May 15:30: Italy vs Great Britain in Varese
Tuesday 12th May 18:50: Italy vs Great Britain in Varese