SHEFFIELD, U.K. – The Sheffield Steelers moved to top spot in the Elite League standings after a gruelling schedule of four games in five nights, surprisingly claiming honours in all four games, in somewhat of an emphatic fashion.
Sheffield now top the Elite League table after ten straight wins
Sheffield first took on Yorkshire rivals the Hull Stingrays at Ice Sheffield on Wednesday (2nd February) in a game, which the Steelers won 3-0, whilst hardly breaking a sweat. Steeler’s goaltender Ervins Mustukovs, claimed his tenth shutout of the season. Jason Hewitt carried on his fine form with a well taken double, and then Sheffield-born Tom Squires sealed the win with an empty net goal.
Sheffield then began their chaotic weekend schedule with a home game against archrivals the Nottingham Panthers. Sky Sports were filming the game live, placing extra emphasis on the players.
Sheffield once again strolled to victory by a comfortable margin beating Corey Neilson’s men 6-1.
Rob Dowd opened Sheffield account only 27 seconds into the game after good work from linemate Derek Campbell to pave the way for the goal.
Sheffield’s celebrations were short lived, when speedy Nottingham forward Rob Bellamy restored parity with a shorthanded effort at 12:41.
Sheffield dominated the second period outshooting the visitors by 16-6.
Sheffield Steelers Player/coach Ben Simon netted a brace of goals in the second period to give his team some breathing room with a 3-1 lead.
The third period started much like the second for Sheffield, and when former Panther Ashley Tait netted his nineteenth of the season at 48:42 it was purely damage limitation for the visitors.
Joey Talbot added a brace of his own in the final period to put the game to bed and made it 6-1 to the South Yorkshire side.
The game wouldn’t be a traditional Steelers-Panthers clash without anyone dropping the gloves, and Derek Campbell and Guy Lepine of Sheffield and Nottingham respectively, did just that after Campbell took exception to a malicious hit from Lepine on Rob Globke, the same player whom he concussed earlier on in the season with a similar hit.
The final hooter sounded and Sheffield claimed another valuable two points in their quest for Elite League glory.
The Steelers then faced the Coventry Blaze in back to back home and away fixtures.
Sheffield firstly played host to the Midlands team on Saturday (5th February) in a thriller of a game witnessed by nearly 5,000 fans.
Joey Talbot and Jeff Legue both played a pivotal role in the weekends fixtures (Picture courtesy of Sheffield Steelers)
Both teams had their chances to score in the first period, but neither could convert. This was mainly due to stellar netminding displays from Ervins Mustukovs and Brett Jaeger of Sheffield and Coventry respectively.
Ben Simon opened the scoring at 21:54 after good work from teammate Jeff Legue to find Simon driving to the net to make it 1-0.
Luke Fulghum replied for the visitors at 31:19 with a short-handed marker to put the teams back on level terms. No further scoring ensued in the second period despite a combined shot count of 29.
The third period started much like the previous two periods, with both teams barraging the opposition’s netminders.
Coventry looked as though they were going to secure the two points when their Captain Dan Carlson netted at 58:41 to make it 2-1.
Sheffield looked dead and buried when an unlikely source in former Blaze tough guy Derek Campbell kept the Steelers hopes of a win alive with a superbly taken wristshot that not even an on-form Brett Jaeger could stop at 59:06.
Campbell’s equaliser meant that overtime loomed for the two teams. Coventry outshot the hosts 8-1, but couldn’t find away past Steelers Latvian international goaltender Ervins Mustukovs.
The dramatic game was brought to a close by one of the most exhilarating contests in sport, a penalty shootout. Only a Joey Talbot goal separated the two teams, with the Blazes’ three chosen marksmen failing to score, ensuring Sheffield claimed two points and their ninth successive win.
Both teams’ netminders were awarded the Man Of The Match plaudits for their fine displays, which at times were nothing short of breathtaking.
Steelers Player/ Coach Ben Simon leads his troops to impressive victories (Picture courtesy of Sheffield Steelers)
Sheffield then travelled to the Skydome Arena in Coventry 24 hours later, with Paul Thompson’s men looking to avenge the previous nights defeat.
Sheffield were once again too much for Coventry as they extinguished the Blaze, claiming honours with a 4-1 victory.
Ashley Tait got the scoring underway for the visitors at 11:40 on the powerplay, in a rink he was regarded as a hero in for five successful years as a Captain of the Blaze.
Neil Clark netted the only goal of the second period at 30:58 after good work from linemate Jeff Legue who find Clark in space to give the Steelers a 2-0 lead.
Rob Dowd then netted his 23rd goal of the season on the 44th minute mark to give the Steelers a comfortable 3-0 lead.
Ashley Tait then scored again to seal his brace just 18 seconds after Dowd’s goal to give the Steelers an emphatic 4-0 lead.
Coventry eventually got on the scoreboard through Captain Dan Carlson on the powerplay at 48:50. Carlson’s effort turned out to be little more than a consolation effort as Sheffield were the ones taking home the two points and topping the Elite League table.
Sheffield take on Hull once again on Wednesday February 9th, before another clash with old foes the Nottingham Panthers on the 12th of February.
Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com
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