Sheffield Steelers came back from two goals down to eventually beat the Cardiff Devils and claim a vital two points on Saturday night in Cardiff.
There was a return for defenceman James Bettauer and Josef Hrabal but forward Anthony DeLuca would be sidelined after not recovering from the injury sustained in midweek.
In a game between the league’s top two sides, Cardiff began the better and comfortably controlled the early stages of the encounter.
Steelers’ goalie, Tomas Duba was required from the get-go as the Czech was on hand to deny the Cardiff barrage of opportunities.
A face-off to the right of Duba was won by the home side and Charles Linglet skated on to the puck to fire an unstoppable shot through a screen and into the top corner (10:34).
Cardiff didn’t stop here and came in search of more goals, firstly Dixon firing narrowly wide then captain Jonathan Phillips put his body on the line to block a Joey Haddad shot.
The tempo of the match increased as period one went on but neither side was able to add to the scoreline and the Steelers were thankful that Tomas Duba was playing an elite game.
A sold-out Viola Arena was rocking and the travelling Steelers support were in fine voice too as they looked to spur Aaron Fox’s men on to find an equaliser.
Nikolai Lemtyugov came close as he saw a shot brush the outside of the post but the buzzer would sound with the score at 1-0.
Period two began in a similar fashion to period one but this time the Steelers were able to weather the storm before mounting their own assault.
John Armstrong and Aaron Brocklehurst both forced Bowns into smart saves before against the run of play the Devils drew a penalty from Aaron Brocklehurst was sent to the box for holding.
With the league’s deadliest power-play conversion rate, Sheffield had to dig deep to deny the hosts extending their lead, but at 28:11 it was 2-0.
Slick passing and patience left Matt Pope open at the backdoor to onetime his shot past Duba and sent the home fans into life again.
Moments later and the Steelers replied in the perfect fashion. In previous trips to the Viola the Steelers have struggled to get back into games after going behind, but not tonight.
At 30:35, Marek Troncinsky skated over the Devils’ blue line, flipped the puck on to the stick of John Armstrong who in turn backhanded a shot low past Bowns to cut the deficit in half.
Less than two minutes later and the game was tied. All the Steelers offensive pressure was rewarded, this time on a power-play of their own.
Shaone Morrison was in the box for hooking and it would be Marek Troncinsky who fired a cannon past Bowns, levelling things up midway through the game (32:31).
Ben O’Connor’s ‘play of week’ pass through his leg fell perfectly into the wheelhouse of Troncinsky whose heavy shot was too powerful to stop.
Momentum was now fully in the Steelers favour and the boys in orange and white took the lead for the first time on a delayed penalty, Michael Davies the scorer.
Sheffield refused to give up the puck when Duba headed to the bench for the extra attacker and with the Devils’ defence on their heels, a slick pass to the back post allowed Davies to fire under the blocker of Bowns (37:52).
For the time being the ice would again tilt in the Devils’ favour and having had multiple chances to draw level, a power-play chance fell their way in the final stages of the period.
The home side began the final twenty minutes with the extra man and with fresh ice, made the Steelers pay, Blair Riley the scorer (40:59).
Fifty seconds later and another hammer blow was dealt when Joey Haddad fired through traffic and left Duba helpless in stopping the shot. Cardiff led 4-3.
In perhaps the most competitive game of the EIHL season to date, neither side backed down from the challenge and whilst Sheffield had it all to do, the rallying call was made from the bench.
Everyone was on their feet, shift after shift, the bench believed there was a way back into the game.
As the final five minutes dawned, a telling moment in the game. As the Steelers circled the puck nicely in the Cardiff zone, Michael Davies took a shot from the point and Lucas Sandstrom got the perfect touch.
His re-direct was too precise to stop and nestled in the top corner. 4-4 at 54:03, it was game on for two vital points.
Cardiff came close, Duba denied Bentivoligo and Myers in quick succession, Bowns stopped Jono and Lemty in a similar style.
Then came the game-winning goal…
Who better to score it than Mr Clutch himself. Four minutes remained on the clock and as Brendan Connolly and Tanner Eberle forced a turnover behind the Devils goal, Vallerand steeped in.
After picking up the puck, Vally circled the net and at the third time of trying lifted the puck over the pad of Bowns to score the winner.
Cardiff pushed hard as the time came to an end and despite pulling Ben Bowns for the extra attacker, they couldn’t find a late equaliser.
Two huge EIHL points were secured by the Sheffield Steelers in Cardiff on Saturday night.
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