Momentum Sheffield but advantage Nottingham

With just 3 minutes left of the first leg of this Challenge Cup Semi Final the tie seemed all over. Nottingham had a comfortable 4-0 with the home leg to come but allowed Sheffield to sneak back into contention.

Joey Talbot at 57:00 and a Jonathan Zion penalty shot at 57.40 gave the home fans something to shout about. The Panthers might well be ruing sitting back and trying to protect what they had built in considerable style in the 1st period.

 

At 9.37 Jay Henderson opened the scoring on the powerplay thanks to a great pass from Cameron Mann and then at 10.22 they produced the same trick again, this time it was Mann with the finish and Jade Galbraith the key assist. These goals came against the run of play as Sheffield had started well and were operating with pace and purpose. Stephen Lee played smart defence to break up a 2-on-1 breakaway and the Steelers did actually have the red light on inside the opening minute but only because the goal judge was a little over eager on shot from Jeff Legue that slipped wide.

 

Steelers’ coach Dave Matsos called a time out immediately after going two behind but this didn’t stop the Panthers from taking complete control. Sheffield didn’t get close to the Nottingham net for the rest of the period, brought on by a combination of disciplined play from the visitors and a lack of ideas from the hosts. Marty Gascon rounded off things off nicely in the first for the Panthers at 18.14, cutting in from the right wing to beat Andrew Verner over his glove.

 

From the 10th minute to the 57th minute Sheffield’s passing game simply deserted them. Pucks were sent behind players, into their skates or into areas where they should have been but weren’t. They found it hard to maintain momentum on their attacks and Nottingham were sharp and picked up any loose pucks and cleared the zone well all night.

 

The Panthers best chance of the 2nd period came when Henderson missed out on a 2-on-0 breakaway after he lost control of the puck in trying to deke Verner. Early in the 3rd period they got their fourth goal, David Clarke scoring from close range after Galbraith was given as long as he wanted to pick his pass from behind the net. The hesitancy and indecisiveness of the Steelers play was epitomised by this goal. Giving two of the Elite League’s top forwards time to set up the one timer from right in front was just asking for trouble but it wasn’t just in defence where the Steelers needed to be more proactive. Too many shooting opportunities were blocked or passed over completely because they took too long to get them fired in. Credit the Panthers for protecting Kevin St Pierre but the lack of a killer instinct of their own might cause them to sweat a little in the 2nd leg.

 

After hitting the bar in the 48th minute Nottingham went into their shell and didn’t really try and extend their lead. All of their focus transferred into protecting what they had but they should have conceded when Randy Dagenais fired wide with half of the goal gaping. Talbot’s unassisted wrister three minutes from the end got the Sheffield fans out of their seats for the first time and Zion’s smartly taken penalty shot has made the meeting of these teams in a week’s time not the foregone conclusion it might have been.

 

If Nottingham had been a bit more adventurous and gone for the 5th goal, which was certainly there for the taking the place in the final would be theirs. Sitting back and trying to absorb Sheffield pressure didn’t work out for them and a similar tactic in a week’s time could be potentially disastrous.

 

Nottingham are still huge favourites to progress and rightly so since they have a 2 goal lead to take into a home game and look several classes above the Steelers when they are in the mood. That said, the memory of the 2007/8 Challenge Cup final when the Panthers led 6-3 after the meeting at the Sheffield Arena will serve as a warning against complacency. Sheffield fought back and second leg and Nottingham only secured victory late in the 3rd period with an empty net goal. The trophy isn’t on the line this time but if the Steelers can take the lead again the home fans in the NIC could get very nervous and we might well be in for a cracker.

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