Great Britain were denied promotion to World Championship Division 1A for the second successive year after a heartbreaking late 2-1 defeat to Ukraine.
Following four straight wins this week, Britain needed only a point to secure a first gold medal in 23 years.
Having outshot Ukraine 15-3 in the first period, captain Jonathan Phillips got the go-ahead goal for the third game running when he tipped in a shot from Josh Batch at 21.54.
But Dmytro Chernyshenko tied it up at 44.25 before Olexander Pobyedonostsev grabbed the game-winning goal at 56.04.
GB pulled netminder Ben Bowns in a last-ditch attempt to claim the point required but they missed out on gold once again following their previous last-day disappointment in the Netherlands a year ago.
They must now wait on the outcome of Lithuania's game against Croatia to see whether they will claim silver or bronze.
Coach Pete Russell said: "I am just stunned - it is like last year all over again. We gave it everything we had and I really am proud of everyone.
"We were fantastic all week but we just couldn't get over the line. This is a horrible feeling."
