Sheffield Steelers continued their impressive home record with a solid win over Belfast Giants on Saturday night, setting themselves up with a chance to go top of the table on Sunday.
Belfast opened the scoring 5:48 into the game when Patrick Grasso slotted home on a rebound from a Nicholas Guay shot. The visitors were good value for their early lead, but Sheffield levelled in unfortunate circumstances for the Giants – Robert Dowd’s pass from behind the net bounced off Guay and through Jackson Whistle’s five-hole to make it 1-1.
The second period belonged to the Steelers. An odd-man rush saw Dowd feed Kevin Tansey, who joined the play and finished calmly to put the hosts ahead 8:15 into the period. Just ten seconds into a Ciaran Long slashing minor, Dominic Cormier’s shot from the point went through traffic and beat Whistle to give the Steelers a two-goal cushion.
The Giants came out strong to start the third period but were denied repeatedly by Matt Greenfield, and the hosts struck again to seal the game. Ryan Tait lifted the puck home after excellent work from Derek Gentile with 11 and a half minutes to play to make it 4-1.
Belfast pushed late but couldn’t find another way past Greenfield, while Samuel Tremblay came close to adding a fifth for the Steelers when his deflection came back off the crossbar. The win extends Sheffield’s unbeaten home run against Belfast and keeps them firmly among the league’s frontrunners.
With EIHL match reportÂ
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