Nottingham, UK – In the opening game of the Elite League Play Off weekend the league champions the Sheffield Steelers took on the surprise package of the post season the Hull Stingrays at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham.
The first period saw both sides picking up a number of minor penalties however neither side’s power play units were able to take advantage. Hull almost broke the deadlock with under a minute left in the opening stanza when Fredricks surged forward from the blue line however his shot was turned away by Steelers netminder Josh Unice.
The 2nd period saw Hull start the session on the front foot however it appeared Sheffield had opened the scoring with 23 minutes on the clock however the goal was washed out for a high sticking infringement after the referees had reviewed the goal using video evidence.
Just after the washed out goal Hull almost immediately picked up a penalty when Carl Lauzon was sent to the sin bin for hooking which saw Steelers go on a 5 on 3 power play. Stingrays defence was at the top of it’s game and they prevented Sheffield from finding the back of the net despite the fact that the Steelers had 2 extra skaters out on the ice.
After 31 minutes of play Hull grabbed the game’s opening goal with a superb strike from Eric Galbraith. Steelers were not behind for long though as Darrell Hay levelled the scores with 34 minutes on the clock before a strike from Colton Freeter saw Sheffield take the lead before the end of the 2nd period.
Sheffield went close to extending their lead early in the 3rd as both Colton Fretter and Ben O’Connor saw their shots smash into the post with Stingrays impressive goaltender David Brown beaten. It was Hull who grabbed the games next goal slightly against the run of play when Tanaka netted unassisted with 47 minutes on the clock to the delight of the Stingrays fans who had made their way to the East Midlands from their Humberside base.
Steelers had the better of the final 10 minutes of the game with Mosienko and Philips both coming close to lighting the lamp for the league champions. With only 31 seconds left in the game Stingrays d man Pacha was sent to the box on a holding penalty and Steelers were handed a late powerplay opportunity.
With only three seconds left in the contest, Mathieu Roy managed to find the back of the net with a disputed goal that the Stingrays believed should have been washed out due a high sticking infringement, however after reviewing the video evidence the officials were happy to give the goal which saw Sheffield progress to the final thanks to 3-2 scoreline. Sheffield will face either Coventry Blaze or the Belfast Giants in tomorrow afternoon’s Play Off Final.
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