Steelers victorious in Bolzano

BOLZANO, ITALY – Joey Talbot was the star and inspiration for the Steelers as they beat hosts Bolzano on penalty shots to win through to the final stages of the Continental Cup. Bear in mind too that Talbot had spent most of Saturday in hospital with a virus and dragged himself to the rink in the afternoon to be a part of the Steelers win over Maribor on the Saturday night. An early goal from young Brit Robert Dowd set the Steelers off on the right track as they took on Bolzano in a winner take all showdown on Sunday night. Talbot then doubled the Steelers lead on 17:32, but the 2-0 lead lasted less than a minute as Bolzano hit back through Fraser Clair to end the first period 1-2. Clair then scored again to make it 2-2 before Kenny Corupe put the Italian side 3-2 up. But Talbot then fired home on 33:47 to make the game 3-3. No further scoring in regulation time or overtime ensured the game went to the dreaded penalty shots. As any sports fan in England knows, penalty shoot outs are not something to look forward to.

Consistent star over the course of the tournament Jeff Legue stepped up first and scored, before Bolzano missed their first chance and it was resting on Talbot’s shoulders to send the Steelers home, but he failed to convert the chance. Bolzano then scored and tied it at 1-1 going into the third round of shots. Matt Hubbauer slotted home for the Elite league champions before the Italians missed their chance and the Steelers were in dreamland as they celebrated a famous victory. After the game Steelers coach Dave Matsos was clearly proud of his team and told the Steelers website “The guys could hardly skate come over time, they had given everything in all 3 games, they had nothing left, all 14 of them, going up against a great squad of talent that Bolzano had. “We played tonight like I have always known we can play, this weekend we have played to our potential“The defence was outstanding, Bolzano had lots of puck possession but we kept so much to the outside, we protected our goalie Andrew Verner really well and then when pucks got through he was simply outstanding as well “Jeff Legue was brilliant on all three nights, an incredible player, Hubbauer last night, Talbot tonight, the whole team just gave their all.” The Steelers now advance to the Finals round in Grenoble, France in mid-January where they will face hosts Grenoble Brûleurs de Loups, Belarusian side Yunost Minsk and Group E winners Red Bull Salzburg. The Steelers return to Elite League action on Wednesday night when they face Cardiff Devils. Stay tuned to Prohockeynews to see “Big Dave’s” full and frank account of the weekend’s events in Bolzano. Contact the author Pete.Lewis@prohockeynews.com