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Sheffield's best kept secret
by Craig Simpson
Last weekend I made the trip to Sheffield to take in my first EPL hockey game. The home town Sheffield Steeldogs were playing Guildford Flames in a double header at Ice Sheffield, and there was a sizeable contingent of Newcastle fans making the trip to see a similar-sized contingent of ex-Newcastle players in the two teams.
The Steeldogs are in the second season of this current identity, following Shane Smith's takeover of the old Scimitars club. The biggest surprise perhaps was the recruitment of Andre Payette as Player-Coach/GM, however the old Wild Thing seems to be settling into the role very well.
Off the ice the Steeldogs have an impressive list of sponsors and corporate partners, on their jersey and in their great value match programme.
On the ice during the Saturday game vs the Flames, the Steeldogs showed me that they are a team very much in the image of their coach. They are (on the whole) not the most talented hockey players but they work their backsides off from first puck drop to final hooter. There is an obvious chemistry in the squad, shown by the reactions when the winning penalty shot was scored in Saturday's game.
Steeldogs' much publicised "Made in Sheffield" tag is something the whole club are rightly proud of, and that can only be an aid to the aforementioned team spirit and chemistry. In addition to the home grown players, Sheffield have added imports in Payette, Edgars Bebris and the stand-out Janis Ozolins.
As close to being a natural goalscorer as the EPL will see, Ozolins was one of the star turns who caught my eye on Saturday. He has great pace, exceptional puck control and that all-important eye for goal. Sadly I missed the Sunday game where Ozolins scored a phenomenal short-handed goal, but I saw enough on Saturday to know what he's capable of.
At the other end of the ice, Steeldogs have Ben Bowns between the pipes. The 20-year-old from Rotherham is one of the hottest prospects in terms of British goalies, and has represented GB at Under 18, Under 20 and in April was part of the Senior mens squad who won silver at the World Championships.
Bowns will give the 'Dogs the chance to win every night, and as they've shown this season with players like Ozolins finding the net on a regular basis, they will take that chance more often than not.
The only cloud in the Steeldogs silver lining was the attendance. I appreciate that Sheffield's other senior ice hockey team were at home on Saturday a couple of hundred yards away, but Saturday's crowd was around 300. Which included around 50 fans from Guildford and a similar number from Newcastle.
Sunday's turnout was just under 500.
The Steeldogs players and management are working extremely hard to make the club work. As I said with an impressive catalogue of sponsors, a link up with a local watering hole where all players attend after games to mingle and speak with fans, very good match night presentation using limited resources at Ice Sheffield, the Made In Sheffield tag which should be something that Sheffield people should embrace.
EPL hockey is a good standard of hockey, with a mix of imports and Brits, youth and experience. As results have shown this season, there is no such thing as a foregone conclusion before the puck is dropped.
In the game I saw there were great goals, excellent netminding, a few hits, some appalling refereeing (some things don't change!), dramatic late goals and a penalty shoot out. All for £9. Kids tickets are £6.50 while a family can watch for just £20.
The ice hockey public of Sheffield deserve to know about the Kalcrest Sheffield Steeldogs, and the 'Dogs deserve to have great support. Currently they might just be Sheffield's best kept secret, but let's spread the word and not keep the secret to ourselves.
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-3 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-5 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
1-4 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-4 |
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| 11th March 2006 19:00 | ||
2-4 |
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| 11th March 2006 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
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5-8 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-2 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
3-7 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
1-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|
- Adam Walker
- Alex Birch
- Andy Pierce
- Chris Gent
- Christopher Beal
- Craig Simpson
- Dave Simms
- Elliott Stanley
- Gareth Chalmers
- James Broughton
- James Gordon
- Katy Madgwick
- Luke Catterson
- Mark Briggs
- Mark Duell
- Mat Young
- Patrick Smyth
- Promotion
- Russ Morrell
- Seanna Murdock
- Stephen Dowson
- Stewart Roberts
- Tom Forster
- Vicki Smart
- William Lyon
