EIHL Game Report: Sheffield Steelers 4 Hull Stingrays 3

Sheffield Steelers Head Coach Doug Christiansen got his first experience of what the club calls its ‘en suite bathroom’, Ice Sheffield on Wednesday night, as his side hosted the Hull Stingrays in a Challenge Cup game. With its more compact structure, bringing fans closer to the ice, the Steelers often take in some of their loudest and most vibrant atmospheres at their alternate arena, with Wednesday proving no different. Despite going behind early, the Steelers fought back well and both sides would hold the lead at least once, with the score being tied three separate times, before the claxon sounded after sixty minutes and the Steelers ran out as 4-3 winners.

Despite a strong start from the home team, riding a wave of support from the Sheffield faithful, it was the Stingrays who drew first blood after just two and a half minutes.  With the Steelers caught in possession around the half ice, Hull stole the puck and on the break unleashed a difficult shot which rebounded into the path of the ever present Jereme Tendler, who lifted it into the open net. Post game Christiansen highlighted the threat of Tendler, saying ‘One of the things we talked about before the game was Tendler and how dangerous he is. He has been a 40-50 goal scorer every year I can remember. He just finds the right spots’. Tendler would prove his usual elusive self all game, finding dangerous space in front of the net several times before the end of the of the night.

The Steelers though didn’t let off despite going a goal down and came out swinging from the restart, unleashing a string of long range shots. Aaron Nell, Jonathan Phillips, Stefan Meyer, Jason Hewitt and the returning captain Steven Goertzen all tested Ben Bowns in the Hull net, before Phillips finally managed to get one past him. Picking up the puck from the far right flank, Phillips shimmied inside, beating one man before slotting the puck home past Bowns. Phillips, who has been as impressive as any Steeler in the early season, is absolutely living up to his reputation as one of the best home grown players in the EIHL.

In the second period the Steelers scored again, this time with slightly less style, the second goal coming as the players seemed to play pinball with the puck in front of the Stingrays’ net before Maxime Lacroix poked it home. Lacroix linked up with fellow new face Dustin Kohn, no stranger to causing this kind of havoc, to give his side the lead.

This game refused to be put to bed though, despite the Steelers almost sealing things late on in the second before the puck was ruled to have been kicked into the goal, and Jeff Legue and Dustin Khon also going close. The Stingrays however showed their resilience, with Tendler again doing what he does best to find space in front of the net, turning in another rebounded shot to tie the game at 2-2 late in the second period, before Stefan Meyer almost instantly restored the home side’s lead going into the third.

Again things wouldn’t stay the same for long, as the Stingrays tied things up once again. Derek Campbell received the puck wide to the left and fired in a powerful shot which was deflected past Frank Doyle in the Steelers net. The Steelers weren’t done yet though, as their British one-two punch of Robert Dowd and Aaron Nell combined to provide the game winner. Dowd unleashed a vicious effort that Bowns could only parry into the path of Nell, who notched his first goal for the club, giving the Steelers the win.

Post game Christiansen admitted short comings that are persistent in his new roster, but after only three weeks together, this was to be expected. More importantly the Steelers are slowly finding ways to win, most encouragingly ways to win close games against quality opposition such as the one  Hull gave them on Wednesday night. Christiansen may still not be getting all the production he expected from his new signings, but slowly and surely, the Steelers are starting to look as dangerous as we expected they would be coming into the season.