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British revenge in Bolzano
Photograph of the Sheffield Steelers in action against Italian Serie A outfit, the Bolzano Foxes, courtsey of iihf.com/Max Pattis.
The Sheffield Steelers won Group D in Bolzano, Italy, with the closest possible results, beating all opponents by one goal and topping the Bolzano Foxes in a shootout in the deciding game.
The Steelers opened with a 4-3 victory against the Dutch qualifier HYS The Hague, which tied the game three times, but couldn’t overcome the game-winner with 10 minutes left in regulations from Jeff Legue.
The second game was also a narrow win despite 40-20 shots advantage. Maribor took the 3-2 lead halfway through the game but in the end the Steelers won, 5-4, thanks to a hat trick from Canadian forward Matt Hubbauer.
In their last game the Steelers met the host Bolzano, which beat Maribor (6-2) and The Hague (3-0), with a roster that had just 14 skaters.
Sheffield took a 2-0 lead after Randy Dowd scored on the power play at 7:03 and Joey Talbot followed up 10 minutes later. But, but Bolzano came back when Ryan Jardines’ scored 34 seconds later. In the second period, Fraser Clair tied things up and at 31:49 the 4,300 spectators gave a hearty cheer when Kenny Corupe gave the Italians their first lead of the game.
Talbot scored his second goal at 33:47 to equalize at three. After a scoreless third period and overtime, the Super Final berth was decided in a shootout when Hubbauer put in the eventual game-winner for Sheffield.
“This is an incredible night for the club. The supporters over here were as fantastic as the players were, they cheered us on every shift of all three games,” said Sheffield coach David Matsos. “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 goalkeeper) Verner really well and then when pucks got through he was simply outstanding as well.”
Last year, it was Bolzano who won the deciding game against a British club, the Coventry Blaze, in a narrow 1-0 win. Now the roles have changed.
For Sheffield it was the perfect time for a big win. They have won just five of their 17 games in the British Elite Ice Hockey League and are in seventh place in the eight-team league. “Let’s hope this will now be the start of better times back home for us,” Matsos said.
It’s the first time since 2003 a team from the United Kingdom will play in the Continental Cup Super Final, when the Belfast Giants finished in sixth out of eight teams.
0-3 |
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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 |
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- The Brits are back in Sheffield
