Derek Gentile scored two on his debut for Sheffield Steelers, while new faces Jordon Southorn and Cliff Pu also hit debut goals., as the home side secured a 5-2 win over Guildford Flames in the Challenge Cup
In front of a bumper crowd of 8,009 at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, the Steelers dominated the first period, having the lion’s share of possession, but the side had shot after shot and just couldn’t hit the net. Five minutes from time the Yorkshire side were rewarded, Brien Diffley picking up the Steelers’ first goal of the season in competitive action. The puck sat at the top of the crease after a scramble, poked home by Diffley and over the line off a Flame as they tried to clear.
Guildford opened their account only three minutes into the second: a defensive breakdown for the Steelers as Jake Coughler nipped in front of a Steelers player, feeding the puck to Cole Ully who fired home. The goal and a poorly timed powerplay cut short for a faceoff violation put the momentum firmly on the side of Guildford despite another Steelers man advantage. The Flames picked up another powerplay late in the second frame, which they could not convert in the final minute.
Two goals in under four minutes swung the game in the Steelers’ favour. Derek Gentile finished on a 2-on-1 rush off a Mikko Juusola pass to make it 2-1, just moments after the Flames had enjoyed chances of their own, and then struck again at 44:21 to put the hosts two ahead.
Coughler’s well-taken shorthanded goal looked to have got the Flames back into things with just under nine minutes to go, but a beautiful drag-and-shoot from Jordan Southorn put the hosts back two up 53 seconds later. Cliff Pu rounded off the scoring 40 seconds after that to make the closing stages comfortable for the home side.
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