Manchester Storm logged their first ever Elite League shutout against Sheffield with a 3-0 win over the Steelers on New Year’s Day, completing a double over their trans-Pennine rivals over New Year.
“I thought the last two games we had a good start. The boys came out flying, were sticking to the systems and really battling hard,” assessed Dante Hannoun. “Because of that, we carried the momentum throughout the rest of the game. We have to continue doing that, keying in on little details, but if we stick to our game plan we can keep this going.”
In front of a sold-out crowd in Altrincham, the Storm and Steelers faced off for their first matchup of 2026 in Part II of their Winter Classic Series. Coming off a loss at home against this side, the Steelers started 2026 with a strong first ten minutes and had the majority of chances, but the most dangerous opportunity went the way of the Storm – a shot off the iron of Greenfield’s net that, despite not going in, gave Manchester momentum for the rest of the period.
“These weren’t the results we wanted transitioning into the new year, and I think it’s been trending that way a little bit,” admitted Brien Diffley. “We have to sort this out pretty quickly. It comes down to how much we want it. Every team is going to give their best, it’s about out-competing them which we haven’t done.”
Storm carried their momentum into the second period as the home side dominated in all areas, taking the lead through a one-timer from Nick Welsh just past the halfway mark. That was followed by an odd-man rush where Kaleb Ergang’s nice pass found Gary Haden to put Storm up 2-0. The Steelers responded with some chances, but the visitors couldn’t pull anything back before the period ended.
“My linemates have helped me out a lot here. Everyone’s welcomed me in really well and it’s been super easy to settle in,” added Hannoun.
Haden made it 3-0 at 2:44 of the third to give Storm breathing room in front of a raucous 2,350 crowd.
Greenfield left the net with four minutes to go as Aaron Fox risked everything to try and find three goals, but there was nothing doing for the Steelers as they were blanked by a 44-save Drew DeRidder shutout.
“It’s a five-man game so it’s nobody’s fault here,” explained Diffley. “As defensemen we have to give the forwards better pucks so they can put it behind the other team’s defense on the attack. That’s not happening right now, and it feels like we’re one and done on the offensive end. It’s coming back pretty hard on us, so we need to look at that and play as a five-man unit.”
Photo: Mark Ferris
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