SHEFFIELD,U.K- The Elite league Sheffield Steelers faced one of the toughest tests of the season away to potential league winners, the Belfast Giants on.The Steelers form at the Odyssey Arena has been rather indifferent, playing three games previously, losing two and winning one. But It was the Steelers who came back to South Yorkshire with the two points, despite being out shot 42-27. Both teams failed to hit the back of the net in the first period. It was the home side who broke the deadlock on the power play through power forward Bobby Robins. This was the only goal of the second session, despite the Giants out shooting the visitors. Brad Cruikshank then found the back of the net six minutes into the third period, to tie the game up. Both teams had plenty of chances after but a break through didnât come until a minute from time with a goal from Steelers agitator Ryan Finnerty who gave them the lead and ensured that the visitors would leave Northern Ireland with two points. Steelers Head Coach Dave Matsos was delighted with the result. âI donât think I can put into words what a big win that was, taking five points out of Belfast in three games in the past few weeks is huge for us.” Matsos said Steelers then travelled to Edinburgh for the weekend of Jan 24, to play a resurgent Capitals team who are often regarded as the Steelers âbogeyâ team. It was Sheffield who picked up the wins over the weekend, starting with a 4-0 shutout on Saturday night. Steelers goaltender Jody Lehman stopped 44 shots on the way to his seventh shutout of the season. Steelers made it a 2-0 first period thanks to goals from defenseman Randy Dagenais and top goal scorer Joey Talbot. Both players added to their tally once again in the second period, first Talbot bagged a brace four minutes into the session, and Dagenais scored a powerplay marker with three minutes remaining in the second period. The third period remained scoreless, with Lehman receiving the plaudits for an incredible performance. Steelers then faced the Capitals once again 24 hours later on Burns Night. It was the South Yorkshire side that claimed a 5-2 victory on their way to a second successive four point weekend. The visitors opened the scoring once again, this time through defensman Steve Munn eight minutes in. Capitals who couldnât find the back of the net in the previous night didnât want to make the same mistake again, as Martin Cingel levelled the game to ensure a 1-1 first period. Steelers then reclaimed the lead halfway through the second session thanks to a Scott Basiuk strike. Great Britain international Robert Dowd increased the visitors lead six minutes later to make it 3-1. Martin Cingel once again netted for the home side four minutes before the end of the second period to keep the Capitals in the running. Ashley Tait added to the Steelers lead just before the end of the second session to give the Steelers a 4-2 lead. The âBritish Bulldogâ Jason Hewitt then scored an empty net goal for the Steelers fifth to put the game beyond reach with two minutes remaining in regulation. Head Coach Dave Matsos was complimentary about his goaltender Jody Lehman after the game, âWhat can you say about Jody Lehman, he comes up here and concedes just two goals in two games. Again Jody made some good saves tonight, he was solid all the way through the weekend,” Matsos said Matsos also spoke of his defensive unit, âOverall the D core were solid we didnât give too many chances, we played two great road games picked four points up and scratched two more games off our schedule.â Matsos said Edinburgh Capitals made the trip down to South Yorkshire six days later looking to avenge the Steelers after their demolition of the Capitals the previous weekend. Steelers got off to the perfect start with Ashley Tait netting with less than a minute on the clock. The home side added a second through former Bison captain Brad Cruikshank with four minutes remaining in the first period. The visitors were determined to mount a fight back and grabbed a goal with a minute to go in the first session through their top scorer Mark Hurtubise. Two goals in as many minutes from the Steelers consolidated their lead, the first coming from Ryan Finnerty and the second from defenceman Randy Dagenais to make it 4-1 at the end of the second session. Capitals scored a powerplay marker a minute into the third period through Martin Cingel, to give the Capsâ a glimmer of hope. Just over a minute later Jason Hewitt added a goal for the hosts, to restore the three-goal lead. Top scorer Joey Talbot scored the Steelers sixth with a short-handed marker with eight minutes left in regulation. Steelers were on the road once again, this time against league rivals the Coventry Blaze. It was Steelers who left the Midlands with two points after beating Coventry 2-1. The South Yorkshire side stunned Paul Thompsonâs men with two early goals. The first a powerplay marker from sharpshooter Joey Talbot, and then Ryan Finnerty slammed the puck home a minute later to make it 2-0 to the visitors. The only goal in the second session came from Blaze Great Britain International Jonathan weaver to restore some hope for the Midlands side. Blaze out shot Steelers in the third period but couldnât convert their chances. Steelers netminder Jody Lehman foiled his former club, ensuring the Steelers came away with both points. Sheffield recorded their seventh successive win, and now sit ten points clear at the top of the table. Sheffield Head Coach Dave Matsos spoke after the crucial win, âI donât think my words can describe just how big a win this was, I thought the win in Belfast was huge but this was just so very important, we wonât get ahead of ourselves, we will still go one game at a time but we all realise just how big this was.â Matsos said Sheffield Steelers now face Basingstoke away on Feb 7, followed by a tough home game against the Belfast Giants 24 hours later. Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.