SHEFFIELD UK – The Sheffield Steelers were at home this past Saturday as they entertained the Nottingham Panthers in Elite League action. The Steelers were missing Dustin Kohn once again and Panthers gave a debut to new signing and former Hull Stingray Guillaume Doucet.
The game faced-off with a healthy crowd in attendance as the Steelers were looking to exact revenge on the Panthers after two defeats to their arch rivals over the Christmas period.
The Steelers started the brightest and it was evident from the start that the game would have a physical edge, Steelers Cullen Eddy and Panthers Greg Jacina, after only 16 seconds became involved in altercation and it was the Panthers player that had a seat in the Penalty Box on a two-minute roughing penalty.
After a poor first power play by the Steelers, the Panthers dominated the early stages but it was the Steelers who had the puck in the net first, only to be ruled out by the referee, a Steelers player judged to be in the crease as the puck went over the line.
The Panthers further dominated which was to be the tone of the game and Frank Doyle kept the game scoreless as Evan Mosey was denied on the breakaway.
The Steelers net-minder couldn’t prevent the Panthers taking the lead though in the 13th minute though, as Guillaume Doucet registered his first goal for the Panthers on a deflection from a Robert Farmer point shot.
Nottingham were clearly the better team and the Steelers were struggling to contain the visitors, defensively and before the period break the Panthers doubled their advantage, Cody Wild breaking into the slot and firing home past Frank Doyle, a great pass by Bruce Graham to set-up the goal.
The Steelers came out for the second period and played with plenty of effort but it was clear that confidence is low as they over played the puck at times and tried to do too much individually.
The defence was at fault as the Panthers extended their lead by another two goals, much to the disappointment of the home crowd. This time, as both teams had a player in the box and were down to four skaters, Panthers Bruce Graham was given too much space to skate in to the Steelers zone and he rounded Frank Doyle to slot home.
The Panthers fourth goal came as Brendan Benedict finished off another move that caught the Steelers defenceman out of position. Benedict received a pass from Greg Jacina and Frank Doyle couldn’t do anything in the Steelers goal to stop the Panthers captain.
The third period was better from the Steelers and although they couldn’t prevent defeat, they did win the period and build momentum going into the game the following day in Coventry. Mathieu Roy was again the Steelers scorer, as on many occasions this season, the Steelers assistant captain led by example and scored on the power play on a pass from Ben O’Connor.
After their fifth straight defeat the Steelers headed down to Coventry on Sunday to take on the Blaze, trying to get over their 4-1 defeat to the Panthers and not lose further ground on the Elite League leaders the Braehead Clan.
Going into the game, many were predicting a Blaze victory due to their slight up-turn in form and the poor run the Steelers had encountered. The game though turned out to be very different, many wouldn’t disagree that the Steelers dominated from start to finish and was a much improved performance as they ran out 3-2 winners.
Although the Steelers started better and tested Brian Stewart in the Blaze goal, it was the Blaze that managed to take the lead, coming in the 13th minute on the power play. As Tyler Mosienko was called on a two minute hooking penalty, Ben Arnt scored his 12th goal of the season with assists going to Steve Goertzen and Mike Egener.
As the first period entered its final five minutes the Steelers finally got the breakthrough they deserved as the ever-impressive Mathieu Roy (playing against Doctors advice) evened up the scoreboard as the first line for the Steelers clicked, Michael Forney and Colten Fretter both grabbing an assist on the goal.
Only two minutes later and the Steelers managed to take the lead before the interval break, this time Robert Dowd beating the Coventry net-minder. The second unit of Dowd, Tyler Mosienko and Jonathan Phillips re-united and impressing the Steelers travelling support.
The Steelers came out for the second period, in a clear determined mood and registered another 12 shots on the Blaze net-minder. The only goal of the period went to the Steelers and it was Jeff Legue this time, scoring his second goal on his return to the club as assist went to Ben O’Connor and Danny Bois.
After 40 minutes the Steelers had a 3-1 lead, all three lines troubling the score sheet. The major talking point of the third period was a fight, Steelers Colten Fretter going up against former Steelers Captain Steve Goertzen, both players not known for their fighting but showing spirit and fight for their team.
The only goal of the final period went to the Blaze which came in the 59th minute. Steve Goertzen involved in the action again, as he slotted home on a pass from former Fife Flyers defenceman Justin DaCosta.
An improved performance from the Steelers, which resulted in them halting their five game winless, run and will give them momentum going into their next game, tomorrow at home against the Dundee Stars in the Quarter-Final, second leg of the Challenge Cup.
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