SHEFFIELD, U.K. – The weekend was a mixed bag for the Sheffield Steeldogs, after recording an emphatic home win against the Bracknell Bees, only to be on the wrong end of a convincing score-line on the road to the Peterborough Phantoms.
Saturday 14th January saw the Steeldogs record their 5th consecutive home win with a resounding 6-1 victory over the Bracknell Bees. The Steeldogs were quickly out of the starting blocks in the first period and it wasn’t long until they recorded their first goal of the evening. At 1:13, Ukrainian Steeldogs defender, Pavel Gomeniuk, took the lead for the home side with a thunderous shot from the point.
Shortly after, a second Steeldogs goal was disallowed after the net was pushed off. The Steeldogs continued the apply pressure throughout the first period but could not find a way past Bees netminder, Carl Ambler, to increase their lead. Early in the second period, the Steeldogs managed to extend their lead with a tight angle goal from Steeldogs’ leading point scorer, Janis Ozolins, at 23:10. The third came at 30:17 when Andre Payette’s shot was spilled by the Bees netminder, making it three unanswered goals for the Steeldogs.
Bracknell increased their pressure during the last few minutes of the second period. The Bees managed to pull one back through British forward, Alex Barker, who converted at 38:02 whilst on the powerplay, making it 3-1 at the end of the second period. Two minutes into the third period, Ozolins recorded his second of the night, skating past the Bees’ defence with ease, before placing the puck in the top shelf. The Steeldogs’ fifth goal came six minutes later at 48:37 when Ashley Calvert slotted it past Ambler. Both teams then changed their netminders. At 55:42, Greg Wood put the game beyond all doubt, slotting the puck past Tom Annetts. The game ended 6-1 to the Steeldogs. Janis Ozolins picked up the MOTM award for his superb performance and two goals.
The Steeldogs were on a roll after continuing their 2012 winning streak and went to Peterborough for their first away game of the year with high hopes. The Phantoms came out with all guns blazing in what was a very physical and hard-hitting match. The first period saw the Phantoms take the lead through Maris Zeidins at 14:31, just before the game’s first fight broke out between Steeldogs, Craig Elliot, and Phantoms, Joe Graham. The Steeldogs were outplayed and out-shot in the first period, with the Sheffield side failing to cope with the Phantoms’ all out physical play. The Steeldogs, however, came back strong in the second period. The second period saw the continuation of the feisty, hard-hitting mentality with another fight between Steeldogs Lee Haywood and Phantoms Richard Bentham.
Ben Bowns nets a MoM (Photo Sheffield Steeldogs)
The Steeldogs quickly found their form once again during the second period, with Andre Payette equalising, at 27:22, for the Sheffield side. Latvian forward, Edgars Bebris, then managed to capitalise on the powerplay for the Steeldogs at 36:01. The Steeldogs went into the dressing room at the end of the second with a 2-1 advantage over the home side. The Phantoms returned in the third period fired up and expecting nothing less than a home win. At 43:34, Robbie Brown powered his way through the Steeldogs defence to claim his first of the night and bring his team back into contention. Phantoms forward, Luke Ferrara, then claimed two consecutive goals, first with a powerful one-timer at 48:33, and another classy finish four minutes later. The fifth goal came ninety seconds from the end of the game after an empty net scramble with Peterborough’s Slovakian forward Ondrej Lauko providing the finish.
The game ended 5-2 to the Peterborough Phantoms. Despite conceding four goals, Steeldogs netminder, Ben Bowns, put in an impressive shift after saving a total of 37 shots. Bowns was awarded the MOTM award for his efforts.
The Sheffield Steeldogs will be looking to quickly bounce back from this result and will hope to continue their impressive series of results in 2012. The Steeldogs, who currently lie 5th in the league table, now face four consecutive games on the road. Next weekend will see the Steeldogs travelling to the home of 2nd place Milton Keynes Lightning on the 21st January and then bottom of the league, Telford Tigers the next day.
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