The Sheffield Steelers climbed to the top of the Elite League standings — and claimed two Team of the Week spaces in round eight.
Aaron Fox’s side scored wins over the Guildford Flames (5-1), Belfast Giants (4-1), and Fife Flyers (2-1, OT) to vault their way into pole position.
With that, let’s dive into our Elite League Team of the Week.
Elite League Team of the Week: Round 8
Matthew Greenfield, Sheffield Steelers:
Matthew Greenfield, Sheffield Steelers (Image: Dean Woolley)
Matthew Greenfield draws into our Team of the Week for the first time this season — and it’s about time.
The American backstopped Sheffield to wins over the Belfast Giants (4-1) and Guildford Flames (5-1), making 50 saves on 52 shots to take the pressure off his teammates.
Greenfield’s regular-season record is predictably impressive, with the 30-year-old upholding a 1.85 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage through the opening weeks of the campaign.
His first shutout of the season is surely on its way: he remains one of the best netminders in the Elite League.
Mike Lee, Belfast Giants:
The Belfast Giants have made an inconsistent start to the year, swinging from contenders to pretenders on what feels like a weekly basis.
But Mike Lee has stood firm through it all, playing a stabilising role on the backend as the Giants have grown into the season.
The American’s best round eight performance came on 29 October, recording two primary assists to help Belfast down the Cardiff Devils 3-2 on home ice.
He doubled down on his fine offensive performance the following night when he saw an eye-watering 29 minutes of ice time in the Giants’ 2-1 road win versus the Nottingham Panthers.
Brandon Estes, Cardiff Devils:
Brandon Estes was the decisive figure in Cardiff’s 3-2 win over the Manchester Storm on Saturday [1 November].
The American tallied two assists, including the primary helper on Kohen Olishchefski’s third period clincher.
Estes has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in his first 17 appearances for Cardiff — and he shows no signs of slowing down.
Chase Pearson, Nottingham Panthers:
Chase Pearson, Nottingham Panthers (Image: Panthers Images)
When the Nottingham Panthers announced that Chase Pearson would be sidelined for up to six weeks, he replied abruptly.
“It’ll make it faster than this.”
And he did.
Pearson returned after four weeks out — and immediately looked like his usual self, with three points (two goals, one assist) in two games on back-to-back nights.
The 28-year-old’s best work came in Nottingham’s 5-2 win over the Coventry Blaze, capping off a 17-minute performance with a goal and a primary assist.
Robert Dowd, Sheffield Steelers:
It would be inaccurate to say that Robert Dowd is rolling back the clock — he’s still excellent at age-37.
The Team Great Britain stalwart features in the Team of the Week for one simple reason: he had back-to-back multi-point games in round eight, including the opening goal in Sheffield’s 4-1 win over Belfast.
Brady Gilmour, Manchester Storm:
The Manchester Storm wouldn’t be competing at the sharp end of the standings without Brady Gilmour.
The Canadian has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 17 games to start his Elite League career — and he remains on course for one of the Elite League’s best rookie turns in recent memory.
Gilmour’s prolific run continued in round eight, best exemplified by his three-point performance in Manchester’s 5-1 win over the Fife Flyers on Friday [31 October].
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