SHEFFIELD, U.K. – The Sheffield Steelers completed their regular season last night after two home games at the weekend. The Steelers beat the Edinburgh Capitals emphatically by a score of 13-2 on Saturday, but were soon brought back down to earth with a bang after a disappointing 5-4 loss to Braehead last night (March 25th).
Steelers now focusing on their playoff double header agsinst the Stingrays this weekend
Sheffield started off strong and put the game to bed in the first period as they chalked up for goals in the first seventeen minutes.
Steelers Captain Jonathan Phillips led his team by example by opening the scoring at 4:44 with a neat finish, after a pass from Steelers top points scorer Jeff Legue, who was to record an 8 point game.
Luke Fulghum would then double the Steelers lead at 8:04 after a great pass once again from Jeff Legue, the goal being Fulghum’s 3oth of the season.
Line mates’ Mike Ramsay and Jeff Legue would complete the first period rout with neat goals of their own, to ensure the host’s went into the second period with a 4-0 lead.
The second period was just 48 seconds old when fan favourite Jeff Legue netted his second goal of the night and his 35th of the season to make it 5-0.
Colt King hit Steelers sixth of the night on the powerplay with a highlight reel goal, he took the puck from the Steelers defensive zone and walked around the Caps’ defenceman before making a nice move on the goaltender Craze and top-shelfing it at 31:02.
Further goals in the period would once again come from the formidable duo of Ramsay and Legue, with the latter sealing his hattrick, in a truly remarkable display.
After out shooting the visiting Caps’ 17-9 in the second period, Sheffield went into the period break the happier of the two sides with an 8-0 comfort barrier.
The visitors were to pull one back early in the third period from the in-form Bari McKenzie at 40:14, but after that it was business as usual for the Steelers who then hit five straight goals courtesy of Sarich, Squires, Fulghum, Ramsay and Finnerty before Sean Menton grabbed the Caps’ another late consolation goal at 58:41.
Jeff Legue rounds off a great season with a ten point weekend (Picture courtesy of Sheffield Steelers)
Sheffield responded with a 13-2 win after a disastrous previous weekend loosing all three games in three nights to Belfast (x2) and Hull. The huge win was merely papering over the cracks that was last weekends abysmal season ender.
The Steelers swapped Ice Sheffield for their more familiar home of the Motorpoint Arena to face the Braehead Clan, who have been somewhat of a bogie team for the South Yorkshire side.
Jeff Legue got the host’s off to the perfect start with a rather fortunate goal. A routine wristshot from the left wing was spilled by Clan back up netminder Mike Will, with the puck trickling past him over the line after just 25 seconds making it 1-0.
The Clan pressed and outshot the Steelers by 9-7 before EIHL top point scorer Jade Galbraith tipped home a shot from Matt Haywood on the powerplay to tie the game up at 15:46.
Sheffield regained their lead at 28:57 with Jonathan Phillips firing top shelf past a sprawling Mike Will to make it 2-1 to the hosts.
The Steelers soon doubled their lead after a shot from the blueline from Matt Stephenson managed to evade everyone and beat Will once again at 29:44 making it 3-1.
A mistake on the powerplay gifted the Clans’ Adam Walker who was departing the penalty box a breakaway chance, who then fired a slapshot on the right wing low past DeCaro in the Sheffield goal, to bring the game to within a goal.
No further scoring followed, ensuring that the hosts went into the period break the happier of the two teams, but surely worried about the visitors gathering momentum.
The visiting Clan came out strong in the third period out shooting the Steelers 13-7. But it would be the latter of the two teams who would grab the next goal at 44:21 courtesy of Jeff Legue with his tenth point of the weekend, to make it 4-2 to the hosts.
The Clan would then stage a dramatic comeback by hitting three unanswered goals, stunning the 4416 fans at the Motorpoint Arena.
Firstly Mike Bayrack was on hand to fire home at 50:04 after a goalmouth scramble in front of John DeCaro’s goal to reduce the Steelers lead to one once again.
The visitors then tied the game up at 54:18 on the powerplay when a Jim Jorgensen shot from the point rebounded fortuitously off the back boards to Ryan Campbell in front of the net who quickly reacted and fired the puck home making it 4-4.
Both teams pressed and it looked as though the game was going to overtime, when Steelers defenceman Mark Thomas fell over in the neutral zone and gifted the Clan a 2 on 0 chance, which they duly dispatched with Mike Wirll getting the all important last touch with just three seconds of the game remaining.
The agonising goal fifth goal kind of epitomised the Steelers’ season coming so close but yet so far, and falling at the last hurdle.
Sheffield will now look ahead to the Playoff quarterfinal this weekend where they face the Hull Stingrays, in a game that they will be considered as strong favourites.
Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com
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