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Steeldogs Bite Back in National League Play-off Finals

The Sheffield Steeldogs against the odds claimed the title of 2021/22 Play-off Champions after a 4-1 win.

Sheffield Steeldogs, British Ice Hockey

The Sheffield Steeldogs against the odds claimed the title of 2021/22 Play-off Champions after a 4-1 win.

They downed Milton Keynes in the final on Sunday proving that lightning does not strike twice.

Dogs vs Lightning

Going into the Final Four weekend most would’ve said Peterborough Phantoms and Telford Tigers were favourites.

Both sides had strong group stages and looked to have the best of their opponents going into their semi-finals.

It was not to be for either side as Milton Keynes beat the Phantoms 6-5 to book their spot in Sunday’s final.

A bigger shock was Sheffield’s 3-1 win over Telford, the league champs were downed by a strong performance.

It wasn’t the first time the Dogs recorded a win over Telford this season after an 8-5 win in the National Cup Final.

Hewitt E1633975472906, British Ice Hockey

Jason Hewitt has been scoring points for fun with the Sheffield Steeldogs (PHOTO: Sheffield Steelers)

This set up a Lightning versus Steeldogs final, both sides having overcome the odds to make it to that stage.

It was the Steeldogs who came out triumphant scoring twice in just over four minutes of the first frame.

The Lightning scored their only goal of the day not long after to make it 2-1.

From here Sheffield capitalised scoring their third of the day in the 15th minute for the first period.

It was their second goal scored on the powerplay and all but sealed the game out for the side.

They scored once more on the 30-minute mark and that was that.

It rounds off a good season for the side who finished third in the league in the regular season.

Sharks Score Four in Championship Win

The Solway Sharks faced Streatham earlier on in the day on Sunday for the National Championship and proved to be the better side.

A strong Streatham outfit went to Coventry off the back of a four-trophy season and in good form.

Martin Grubb’s Solway Sharks had also secured two trophies already so both sides looked strong

However, it was the Sharks who prevailed after being two to the good by the end of the first period.

They increased this lead in the second period adding two more late on.

Streatham answered back with their second in the 51st minute, but by then it was too late and the Scottish outfit were already settled.

Solway-Sharks

Solway celebrate their Play-off win from last weekend (PHOTO: Helen Hobbins)

It rounds out a good season for sides and adds a third trophy to Solway’s cabinet this season.

Head Coach Martin told us how he felt following this win: “We knew we were playing a very good Streatham team and we were fully prepared with our game plan.

“I thought once we got ahead we were the better team and dominated for long spells and managed the game well when they came back at us,” he said.

“The players were tremendous and deserve all the credit for finding a way to win and we are delighted!”

Streatham’s player/coach Michael Farn now hangs up his boots after a sparkling career with the Redhawks.

The 33-year-old represented many teams in his time that spanned from the early 2000s until now.

It won’t be quite the send-off he wanted, but four trophies in one season is a very nice way to say goodbye.

Congratulations from us here at British Ice Hockey to Farn, Grubb and all the sides who’ve been fantastic across this season.

We’ll see you next season!

Don’t forget there’s still the Men’s World Championships starting on the 13th of May and the Spengler Cup that starts on Boxing Day.

If you would like to see the Spengler Cup live in the Swiss Alps click here to book or click here to learn a little more about it.

If you want more on this or anything else check our Twitter @BritIceHockey.

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