SHEFFIELD, U.K. – Despite an injury plagued season, the Sheffield Steelers retained the EIHL title for a second consecutive season. The team didn’t fare as well in the Challenge Cup losing heavily in the semi-final 10-0 on aggregate to fierce rivals Nottingham Panthers who went on to raise the trophy a week later after a 1-0 overtime victory over the Cardiff Devils.
Steelers Head Coach Paul Thompson led his team to a EIHL regular season title (Image courtesy of Dean Woolley)
During the summer of 2015 the Steelers brought in eight new faces after a re-shuffle of the pack. These included; Mike Duco, Levi Nelson, Russ Moyer, Jace Coyle, Fredrik Vestberg, Zack Fitzgerald and the netminding duo of Brad Day and Tyler Plante.
There was an exciting vibe in Sheffield amidst the impending Champions Hockey League games against Swedish champs Frölunda HC and Finish side JYP Jyväskylä.
Despite suffering heavy losses to both teams and not progressing out of the group stages, the Steelers walked away with their heads held high after gutsy performances, showing they could compete against some of Europe’s elite for the vast majority of the game.
Despite losing their opening game of the season against the Devils in the ‘Big Blue Tent’, the Steelers would record eight consecutive victories which included back-to-back wins against the Giants and an 8-1 hammering of the Cardiff Devils at the Sheffield Arena.
The month of November would see the Steelers losing five out of their ten games including losses to title rivals Braehead twice, Nottingham, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
The Steelers hit some form in December by winning 6 of 9 games, with two losses coming against the Blaze, a team which have proved to be Sheffield’s Achilles heel this season.
The South Yorkshire side started the New Year well with 6 wins out of 7 but their Jekyll and Hyde form reared its head once again as the Steelers would end the month by losing five out of their final six games including back to back losses against Coventry, with Blaze netminder Brian Stewart drawing the ire of the Steelers fans with outstanding netminding performances.
A better February saw the Steelers win five out of their eight league games with key victories coming against title rivals the Giants and a hard fought come from behind 5-4 win over the Devils.
Steelers retain the EIHL title once again on the last day of the season in Fife (Image courtesy of Dean Woolley)
A good start to March saw the return of Robert Dowd and Gui Desbiens from injury which helped the Steelers to record impressive victories over Fife, Nottingham and Coventry.
The Steelers clinched the title on the final weekend of the season once again after victories over Nottingham and Fife with Paul Thompson’s men lifting the trophy at the Fife Ice Arena in front of a jubilant Steelers travelling support.
The celebrations were short lived, when the following weekend the Coventry Blaze proved to be the Steelers nemesis yet again by defeating them 8-6 on aggregate to advance to the final four weekend.
Overall, a good year for the South Yorkshire side and Paul Thompson in his first season with the club. With the Champions Hockey League to look forward to once again, it will be a busy summer in Sheffield.
Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com
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