Sheffield Steelers 5 - 1 Cardiff Devils

The Steelers’ 2009/10 season ended with a whimper, losing both legs of the playoff quarter final to Cardiff and looking inferior in the process. A summer of turmoil later and the performance and attitude of the fans couldn’t be more different. A hard hitting, hard working and skilful showing earned a standing ovation at the end of every period.

 

Player/Coach Ben Simon set the tone for the night on his very first shift by landing two big hits before Ashley Tait split the defence with the sort of speed many didn’t realise he still had and beat Lyle at 3.40. Even though he was hooked back on the play Tait’s showed that his composure and sure finishing is still there.

 

The remained of the first period saw both teams taking a succession of penalties but Sheffield continued to keep pressing and looking to score even when shorthanded. One overcommitted attack led to a 4 on 1 break in Cardiff’s favour but Tyler Michel went himself rather than look for support and Ervins Mustukovs made the stop. That warning was ignored by the Steelers, they continued to try and force turnovers and use the penalty kill as a chance to create scoring opportunities. Jeff Legue was denied a breakaway goal by Lyle’s quick glove and then he linked well with Talbot on another shorthanded chance. Scott Matzka had the Devils best powerplay chance but whiffed on a shot from close range.

 

Captain Jonathan Phillips started the 2^nd period by doing his ‘keep away’ routine, twisting and turning to deny the Devils defencemen and frustrated Kenton Smith into giving away a hooking penalty. It took just 12 seconds for the man advantage to pay off when Simon’s shot was blocked by a skate in front only for the rebound to fall to Talbot to net at 20.52.

 

Mustukovs made his best stop of the 2^nd period on a redirect from Brad Voth and then the referee’s whistle took centre stage. A succession of minor penalties on both sides led to 3 on 3 hockey and the open spaces allowed the Steelers to make the most of their speed advantage. They couldn’t find the 3^rd goal of the game and when Rod Sarich dallied on the puck and lost it to Voth it should’ve been the Devils who scored next but the big man fired straight into Mustukov’s chest.

 

The most controversial of the game, and possibly for some time to come, arrived at the midpoint of the 2^nd period. Legue raced clear yet again this time fired under Lyle to make it 3-0, or so everyone thought. After consultation with his linesmen ref Andy Carson wiped off the goal and called a 5 + game penalty on Jason Hewitt for a slash that had occurred behind the play a minute before Legue’s shot. Jon Pelle was given 2 minutes for slashing as well but with import forwards Derek Campbell and Rob Globke still in North America the Steelers would be short on numbers for the final half an hour.

 

The Steelers yet again showed speed off a turnover and Domish carried the puck the length of the ice to score unassisted at 32.40. It was a 4 on 4 goal that sent a message to Cardiff and the officials – this Steelers team can cope with adversity. The siege mentality was back and the game pretty much out of reach with Mustukovs gaining the confidence of the crowd with every save. Sarich took a 2 + 10 for checking from behind but despite a Cardiff timeout they still couldn’t break through the hosts’ penalty killing units and Sheffield looked more likely to score going the other way.

 

The Steelers started the 3^rd period as they had the other two with a quick goal. Legue again through all alone and this time his rifled finish into the top corner at 41.00 was allowed to stand. After all of Cardiff’s shortcomings on the powerplay their only goal of the night came when they were a man down. Matzka’s shot took a slight deflection off Steve Munn’s stick and that lifted the puck just over Mustukov’s glove.

 

As the 3^rd period continued the penalty calls kept coming but the intensity dropped and the game meandered towards the finish. What followed next was out of character with the slowing of the tempo. Voth piled into Neil Clark in the corner and the latter took exception to it and dropped the gloves. The fight lasted just two punches, both of them from Voth landing on Clark and cutting him. A brief break ensued while some blood was cleared from the ice but the Steelers were spurred on when the game resumed. They weren’t content to have the game end with the final goal and fight going in the visitor’s favour so continued to push forward shorthanded. Inside the final two minutes Robert Dowd charged down the ice to pressure Lyle who was out between the faceoff circles handling the puck and pinched it from him before scrambling it over the line to add the exclamation mark to an excellent opening day for the Steelers.

• EL
• PL
• NL1N
• NL1S
• NL2N
• NL2S

• Giants dent Steelers title hopes
• Steelers title challenge charges on
• Trudel released by Steelers
• Steelers sign defenceman Nick Duff
• Steelers back in 3rd in New Years Day

British Ice Hockey

• About Us
• Advertising
• Contact
• Write for BIH

Elite League

• Belfast Giants
• Braehead Clan
• Cardiff Devils
• Coventry Blaze
• Dundee Stars
• Edinburgh Capitals
• Fife Flyers
• Hull Stingrays
• Nottingham Panthers
• Sheffield Steelers

Premier League

• Basingstoke Bison
• Bracknell Bees
• Guildford Flames
• Manchester Phoenix
• Milton Keynes Lightning
• Peterborough Phantoms
• Sheffield Steelers
• Slough Jets
• Swindon Wildcats
• Telford Tigers

Partner Information

If you are looking for the best online bingo rooms online, look no further! Here at www.123bingoonline.com you can enjoy of the best bingo games for free!

Only at the best online casino you'll be able to enjoy over 100 casino games for free!

Learn how to place risk free bets on any ice hockey match and convert online bookmakers free bet offers into guaranteed cash using the risk free matched betting technique.

All the online bookies best Free Betting offers and free bets.