Steelers lose out in Giant task to worthy champions

SHEFFIELD, U.K. – The Sheffield Steelers knew they were fighting an uphill battle before they went to Belfast on Friday for back to back games, which were to decide the fate of the EIHL league title.
Belfast who were on the back of a 15 game winning streak were simply too powerful and outclassed Sheffield from the drop of the puck, taking the game 5-1, and the EIHL title with two games left.

A bumper crowd at the Odyssey Arena saw a fast paced start to the game with both teams striving to open the scoring.  
The fans didn’t have to wait long for the opener, with former Steeler and arguably the best player of the season, Robert Dowd, firing home a rebound at 5:18.
Belfast were soon 2-0 up thanks to top marksman Jon Pelle, who fired home high slot after a pass from Mike Hoffman behind the net at 5:42.
Sheffield pressed, and soon brought the game to within one, when Jeff Legue fired home a beautiful one timer at the top of the right circle past Stephen Murphy’s shoulder at 18:33.
The visitors then ran into a spell of penalty trouble in the second period, and the Giants took advantage of this on the ensuing powerplay with Aaron Clarke netting his 16^th of the season at 33:19, with the goal being the only one in the second period.
More indiscipline in the third period, proved costly for the Steelers. With Chad Huttel sitting out a slashing minor, Paul Deniset tapping home a Mike Hoffman rebound at 45:02.
Belfast completed the rout at 58:15 with their Captain and veteran defenceman Jeremy Rebek firing home the fifth and final goal of the night, to secure the EIHL title.
With the title already being decided, Saturdays fixture was a nothing game for both teams, and Belfast who needless to say would be sporting a few hangovers on St. Patrick’s Day after last nights achievement ran out clear winners once again 5-2.
An evenly contested first period, saw chances coming at both ends, but it was Sheffield who were to strike first thanks to Colt King with his neat finish on the powerplay at 15:11 making it 1-0.
Belfast came out strong in the second period and turned the game around with a four goal blitz, which left Sheffield shell shocked, and prompting Steelers Payer/Coach Ryan Finnerty to use his timeout.
The period was just 37 seconds old when Craig Peacock restored parity for the hosts after a good feed from Paul Deniset.
The Giants took the lead for the first time in the game at 24:38 with Jeremy Rebek firing home his 16^th of the season, with Jon Pelle providing the ammunition with a good pass.
A rare goal from Belfast-born Gareth Roberts saw the Giants take a two-goal lead at 25:14, piling further misery onto the already down and out Steelers.
Sheffield were well and truly up against it at 26:21 when New York native Jon Pelle fired home a neat goal for his 25^th goal of the season, making it 4-1 to the Ulster men.
The visitors were given a glimmer of hope at 34:25 when Mike Ramsay netted on the powerplay for the South Yorkshire side, bringing the game to within two goals.
No further scoring followed in the second period, in one which both teams shared 25 shots.
Sheffield’s indiscipline which has been a problem this season, cost them once again in the third period with Colt King being given his marching order for an early shower with an Abuse of Official penalty on referee Tom Darnell with just under ten minutes remaining.
Craig Peacock hammered the final nail in the coffin for the Steelers, when he scored the fifth and final goal of the night on the powerplay at 54:03, drawing to an end a disappointing weekend for the Sheffield Steelers.
No one can take it away from Belfast, they certainly deserved to be crowned EIHL champions. They have an incredibly talented roster with a trio of top end British players headed by former Steeler Robert Dowd.
Add to that solid defence from Jeremy Rebek, Nick Kuiper and Jeff Mason, and pure offensive talent in Pelle, Hoffman, and Deniset. It was really there title to lose from September.
Sheffield Steelers Player/Coach Ryan Finnerty couldn’t hide his disappointment after the game, “It disappoints and frustrates me right now. I stood behind the bench tonight and didn’t like what I saw. For us to compete with a Nottingham or a Belfast we have to out work and compete with them first of all,” Finnerty said. “In the first period we did that and deserved the 1-0 lead, in fact we deserved to be 2 or 3 ahead. I felt embarrassed looking up and the hundreds of fans in the middle period, we switched off and Belfast were turned on and from 1 up we were 4-1 down,” Finnerty added.
Sheffield now face the Hull Stingrays in Hull on Sunday (18^th March), before returning back to the Motorpoint Arena for a double header against Scottish outfits the Edinburgh Capitals and Braehead Clan in their final home league games of the season.
Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com