Welcome to our match report from Sunday's game at Guildford.
After produced an explosive final 10 minutes in the first leg of the play-off quarter final; Steelers headed into the second one with a 5-2 advantage. The team news was the same as it was the night before which meant that Matt Marquardt and Tim Wallace were absentees. For Guildford, they made two changes from the first leg. Chris Carrozzi replaced Brian Stewart in between the pipes, whilst Brett Ferguson was suspended for his check from behind on Steelers' Eric Neiley. Ian Watters was out injured and Richard Krogh was away on GB Under-18 duty alongside Steelers' very own Liam Kirk and Kieran Brown.
Steelers made a stellar star in the Spectrum with two goals in the first 3:22 of the contest to virtually put the contest beyond doubt. At 1:51 John Armstrong scored his third of the play-offs when Colton Fretter and Scott Aarssen combined to set up the big centreman. Then the lead went to 2-0 on 3:22; Robert Dowd and Joonas Ronnberg with the assists and Mark Matheson scored his second goal of the play-offs. It was an even contest, so it was no surprise that Guildford got a marker of their own. With Zack Fitzgerald, again playing winger, sitting an additional minor for interference - Flames well executed powerplay came off to make it 1-2 on the night: Jesse Craige lighting the lamp.
The score was still 1-2 in the Steelers favour as we began the second period, and we then had a quick rush of goals in that middle section. At 21:08 Guildford made it level on the evening when Rhett Rachinski scored but just 35 seconds later, Steelers were back in front when veteran winger Fretter netted from Eric Neiley and Matheson. The on-night lead was extended back to two at 33:44 when Neiley scored with Ronnberg and Fretter getting the helpers. Realising they had nothing to lose, Guildford looked to push and finish the season on a high with a home win and they entered the final period on an extended powerplay given against Fitzgerald for a high sticking double minor.
This extended powerplay proved very fruitful as it helped them back onto parity on the night with Ben Davies and Kruise Reddick scoring. By the time Reddick there was still 17 minutes left in the game, could the Flames do the unthinkable and pull it back further which might leaving the play-off trophy holders on the brink? As much as they did try, it proved to be a mountain they just couldn't scale and that margin in the final stages of the first leg proved to be ultimately pivotal for the Steelers. However, the Flames finished a hugely successful opening season in the EIHL on a winning note. With Carrozzi sacrificed for an extra skater, Flames pushed and Davies scored his second of the night for a 5-4 scoreline. Despite Ronnberg leaving blooded, Steelers saw the remaining 38 seconds out and a place in the final four where they will face old foes Nottingham in the second semi-final.
Time for the statistics:
Goals: Flames 5 Steelers 4 (7-9 on aggregate)
Steelers Scoring: Fretter 1+2, Matheson 1+1, Neiley 1+1, Ronnberg 0+2, Armstrong 1+0, Aarssen 0+1, Dowd 0+1.
Flames Scoring: Ackered 0+3, Davies 2+0, Reddick 1+1, Lidhammar 0+2, Walker 0+2, Craige 1+0, Reddick 1+0, Campbell 0+1, Dunbar 0+1.
Shots On Goal: Steelers 27 Flames 43
Powerplay: Steelers 0 from 2 (0% conversion), Flames 3 from 8 (38% conversion)
Penalty Minutes called: Steelers 20 Flames 8
Steelers Goaltender Stats: Mustukovs 38 Saves (68), GAA: 5.00 (3.50), Save Percentage: 88.40% (90.70%).
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