The View From On High - Vs Panthers (26/12/13)

The views of Liam McCausland, from his perch at the top of block 204 at the Motorpoint Arena.

The first time I've really been able to do a proper analysis on a game, and it was a cracker to start with.

Personally, a great evening for me. Leading the block in chanting, being given a bottle of champagne for being gobby (thank you Steelers Org), and getting to meet Max Lacroix as part of my sponsorship afterwards. Oh aye, we won 2-0 as well.


Dominant Doyle
I read earlier today that it is the first time we've shut out the Panthers since Jody Lehman did it in the 2009 Play Off Final, so that in itself was a huge achievement that the D can be proud of. But yet again, Mr Nettie stood firm and delivered the victory for the Steelers. Frank was solid away, coming into his own in the third period, as we had two penalty kills in quick succession. In all honesty, this was the hardest work that Doyle had to do, but he was alert and on call whenever needed. I dread to think where we would be this season without him in goal.

All Systems Go...well almost
Last night, it seemed to me that every player knew their purpose on the ice. The checking line was checking, the flair line was playing with a swagger - minus Doyle's heroics, Robert Dowd would have been man of the match - and the D looked solid. There were a few erratic moments - Phil Hill had a poor game for me (if I'm being picky) - and the powerplay...well my tweet from last night sums that up.

Pretty decent going forward, may as well wave off powerplays though

But it was clear we had a game plan last night. Win every battle. Make life hard for them. Tire them out. Make them work for the puck. Make them pay for mistakes. Dowd is given the freedom of Sheffield, and Sirianni is left out in front. Boom.

Max Power
Even though he didn't play, the appearance of Max Lacroix in the warmup seemed to give everybody a boost. Fans were excited at the prospect of him playing, and seemed to accept it was probably too soon for him when he didn't arrive in orange at faceoff. I said yesterday that a win could have been the start of the rest of the season. I think the return of our star sniper could have a bigger impact.

Will the real Gord Baldwin please stand up...oh, you did.
I believe that last night we saw the reason that DC signed Gord Baldwin and gave him an 'A'. He was large, dominant, commanding, controlling on the powerplay (he even had a shot!) and solid throughout. The hit he gave out at the end of the third was a beauty. It was nice of him to finally make an appearance. More of this please.

Golden Wonder
The last time I watched the Steelers in the flesh was the tepid 2-1 win at the Most Versatile Venue, where we lacked any real creation or spark. Last night, we had a certain gentleman from Teesside who seemed to ignite everything that was good about the Steelers offence. Great performance.

Other Thoughts

• Anyone know where Mark Thomas was?
• Impressive again from Jonathan Phillips, and Hewitt has had worse performances. Who's kidnapped and is impersonating Phil Hill though?
• Thank you to Simmsey for allowing chants to go naturally, and not interrupting with music all the time. Well played.
• Can we keep it up tomorrow night in the NIC?

Opinions? Get in touch

Liam

@IAmMcCausland

@FrozenSteelBlog

@TomWalkeden

@AwkwardGinge
@JoshBritton94