Sheffield Steelers ran out comfortable 5-1 winners over Cardiff Devils on Sunday afternoon, ending a difficult week on a high.
“It was a pretty solid win. I think we played a good game, especially after the week we’ve had,” said Steelers netminder Eamon McAdam. “I thought we deserved more from those games, and mentally it’s hard to come back from that. I’m impressed with the guys.”
Mikko Juusola opened the scoring early for Steelers after a poor line change from the Devils left him alone in the slot. Mitchell Heard picked him out with a pass, and Juusola fired past Christian Stoever to give the hosts the lead.
The Steelers doubled their advantage on the powerplay as Mitchell Balmas sent a low shot toward goal that was tipped in by Juusola for his second of the night. Soon after, a slap pass from Jordon Southorn found Robert Dowd at the back post, where he tapped home to make it 3-0.
“We’re really disappointed with that result, we weren’t good enough in a lot of areas,” admitted Devils captain Joey Martin. “You can’t give a skilled team like that so many odd-man rushes and chances. They capitalised on their opportunities tonight.”
Balmas added a fourth with six minutes remaining in the second period, beating Stoever with a well-taken shot that struck the post on its way in.
Ben Bowns replaced Stoever in net for the final period, and Kohen Olischefski pulled one back for Devils with just over 11 minutes remaining, finishing from a Ryan Barrow pass. However, Southorn restored the four-goal margin at 50:38, converting a rebound to complete the scoring.
“It’s been an interesting season, Belfast obviously have a bit of a cushion,” added McAdam. “If we keep our heads down, I think we can put the pressure on and give them something to worry about.”
The Devils now head to Belfast for a double-header next weekend.
“There’s a lot we need to fix this week,” continued Martin. “A lot of it is accountability among us as players. We’re not playing well enough as a team and that has to be the main message. We’re not going to give up, that’s not the culture we have here, and we have a big weekend in Belfast coming up.”
With EIHL match report
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