SHEFFIELD, U.K.- Andre Payette will be thrilled at his side’s series of results this week. The Steeldogs first recorded a midweek home victory on Feb. 8 over the Milton Keynes Lightning in the first leg of the EPL cup.
Saturday Feb. 11, saw Payette and his men then travel to Slough. The Steeldogs secured an emphatic away win; destroying the Jets 9-2. A home 2-1 OT win on Feb. 12 against the Manchester Phoenix rounded off the perfect weekend for the Steeldogs, who currently lie third in the league table.
The home fans saw a tense cup game against Milton Keynes midweek. The score-line remained at deadlock until the final minutes of the third period. With four minutes left of the third period, Chris Sykes secured victory for the Steeldogs. The game ended 1-0.
Although the Steeldogs would have preferred a greater goal difference to take to Milton Keynes, the Sheffield side will still be pleased to have the advantage in the second leg.
The first weekend match saw the Steeldogs travel to the home of the Slough Jets. The Steeldogs were quickly off the mark with a goal from Greg Wood, only 26 seconds into the game.
The Steeldogs increased their lead 10 minutes into the first period with a quick fire double from Ashley Calvert at 10:07 and Janis Ozolins at 10:13. Aaron Connolly managed to pull one back for the Jets however at 10:48. The first period finished 3-1 to the travelling Steeldogs.
The second period further showed the Steeldogs’ dominance over the Jets, with the Sheffield side scoring 3 more goals in 3 minutes. Ozolins scored the Steeldogs fourth goal of the game at 24:33. Edgars Bebris secured the fifth goal at 25:43, followed by another goal by Ozolins at 26:46 to complete his hat-trick.
The Steeldogs secured another two goals in what was an outstanding second period performance. Bebris secured his second of the game a 36:16, with Ozolins firing the puck into the back of the net yet again, at 37:14, recording his fourth goal of the game. The second period finished with an emphatic 8-1 score-line to the Steeldogs.
The Jets managed to muster the strength in the third period to close the gap with a goal from Ryan Watt at 41:05. However, the game still remained one-sided, with Bebris completing his hat-trick at 56:24 to further increase the Sheffield side’s lead. The game ended 9-2.
After an all-round spectacular performance, Payette will be ecstatic. With four goals, one assist and a tremendous performance, Ozolins deservedly picked up the MOTM award.
Ozolins on top form yet again (Picture Courtesy of the Sheffield Steeldogs)
The following day, the Steeldogs faced tough opposition in the form of second place Manchester Phoenix. The game promised to be a close, feisty game with both determined to take all three points.
Both teams were raring to go and it was the Steeldogs who struck the first blow. At 18:47, Lloyd Gibson scrambled the puck past the Phoenix netminder. The goal was disallowed however and the score remained goalless.
With almost 10 minutes gone in the first period, a clumsy defensive mistake by Steve Duncombe gave the Phoenix a penalty shot. Manchester’s Ben Wood fired the puck into the top shelf of the net at 8:34 to give his team a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.
After a slightly disappointing performance by the Steeldogs in the first period, Payette and his men looked determined to find an equaliser to bring the Sheffield side back into contention. At 36:33, Janis Ozolins scored on the rebound to make it 1-1.
The crowd saw an end-to-end third period with Steeldogs netminder, Ben Bowns, and Phoenix netminder, Steve Fone, shutting out all attempts on net. The third period finished 1-1.
Ben Morgan clinched victory for the Steeldogs, 1:56 into OT, after a superb passing play between Ozolins and Greg Wood. The game ended 2-1 to the Steeldogs after OT.
Ukrainian defenseman, Pavel Gomeniuk, received the MOTM award after a solid defensive display.
The Sheffield Steeldogs will hope that they can keep this run of form going as they look to extend their consecutive winning streak. The Steeldogs will play at the home of the Milton Keynes Lightning on Feb. 16 in the second leg of the EPL cup semi-final. The Steeldogs will then travel to Bracknell on Feb. 19 where they will face the Bees.
Contact the writer at ryan.laycock@prohockeynews.com
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