Match Report: 27.12.2014 - Panthers v Steelers EC/EIHL

Saturday 27^th December 2014 – Nottingham Panthers (14-7-4) v Sheffield Steelers (19-6-1) @ National Ice Centre. Face-off: 7pm, Erhardt Conference/Elite League

Nottingham Panthers – 3
Chris Lawrence (2) – 2^nd, OT PP
Charles Landry – 3^rd

Sheffield Steelers – 2
Colton Fretter – 1^st
Robert Dowd – 1^st

5 Things - Humbug!

I told you. I told you it would be typical for the Panthers to break the script and ruin Christmas.

I hope you all had a safe and happy Christmas, and didn't let the defeats get you down too much.

I think we learnt a lot about this team this weekend. Not all negative, I hasten to add.

An Awkward Analysis - It's Time For Change

You know what folks, having to bring up this issue, as a result of an ice hockey game, pains me more than the 2 losses to Nottingham and I don't think I am the only one with that view either.

This shouldn't even have to be something that is discussed as a result of what was an incredibly fantastic game of hockey yesterday. Unfortunately, here we are.

The game last night was beyond incredible. A visiting side looking to bounce back after a horror show the night before, comes out flying with a point to prove, and rapidly takes a 2-0 lead in a building where they have struggled to perform against the home side in several recent contests there.

You then had the home side come out with a point to prove in the second period and do all they could to get back into the game, and to their credit is exactly what they did. They made the game more interesting after 2 periods by only being a single goal behind and then late on they tied it up to force overtime, before going on to win the game in the extra frame (even if the officials messed up with rule 115 part 5, as to how many players should have been on the ice) but that isn't the issue or the talking point here.

It's the comment made by Gary Moran that is what is rapidly becoming the talking point.

Now don't get me wrong, I can't say I fault him for wanting making a joke at the expense of the opposition and their fans etc. Heck, some of us Steelers fans do it all the time to Nottingham and to be completely honest we all do it to each others clubs over the course of a season. That is where the term "banter" comes in. The issue here is the manner in which it was done and what in particular it referred to, and that is where it removes any protection from the word "banter". The subject used? Mental health.

Now, personally speaking, I more than welcome healthy discussions and debates about mental health. It's something that I think needs to be looked at more seriously. Not just as someone that has many friends that it effects in various ways, but also as someone that has at times in the past, and occasionally in the present day, struggles with first hand.

I don't for one second believe Gary Moran will have meant to have caused any offense to anybody by referring to it. The fact is, he has done. It's one of those occasions where someone has said something without fully thinking about what they are saying. We've all done it. I know I'm guilty of it.

Whether you like it or not, Gary Moran has overstepped a line here. Some of you will think he hasn't, and that's fair enough, but to anyone that suffers directly from mental illness, or knows someone that is struggling with mental illness, they will very much think he has and if you look at social media, you can be damn sure he has left some people feeling very much insulted and belittled.

Another side issue to this whole situation, is yet again we have somebody high up, in a professional sports club, making a poorly judged comment. It's not the first time it has happened. It also probably won't be the last, and the hockey fan in me really does not like the prospect of this. To be honest with you, it's not the first time I've known someone high up in the EIHL refer to mental health in a derogatory way, but I'm not going to go into that incident. The point is remarks like this can and do make some people think less of themselves, more so than they already do and from a sports image perspective it can make a person think less of a club and even the sport itself. It's something I have brought up before in past articles I have written.

Now, he may not see or feel like he has done anything wrong, and that's his own opinion of the situation. However, I'd like to think that if Gary Moran had a much more direct effect in his personal life in some way with regards to mental illness, such as a close friend or family member suffering in some way, then he'd probably feel quite bad about what he said and may not have even made to remark in the first place.

Whether people like it or not, mental health is a serious issue. There are no ifs or buts about it. Quite frankly, I see it as an invisible killer. It's something that can hinder someone so severely that they end up taking their own lives.

After all, do I even need to remind you that such things have effected past professional ice hockey players in the EIHL alone? Just try and tell the family of Wade Belak that the remark was purely just "banter".

Mental health is something much more serious than I feel a lot of people realise, and I know I'm not the only one that has this opinion.

There are many people out there that suffer, some more than others. Some suffer occasionally. Some suffer daily. It has varying levels of effect on people and there are varying ways in which it can effect someone. It is something that needs addressing. It is something that needs positives being done with regards to it, not the contrary.

Remarks like those made by Gary Moran last night only add fuel to the fire and do harm to those that are suffering first hand. It shows that even people that are meant to be professionals in their line of work can still be oblivious to the harm that their comments and actions can do to a wider audience.

Something needs to change. Peoples views on mental health as a whole need to change. They need to understand that this is a much bigger issue than what is currently known. Like I've said before, it can be invisible in a lot of cases, but it will only be invisible if nothing is done to help expose it and then help those that it effects, on whatever level it effects them.

It IS an illness. It IS a killer. There is simply no other way to put it.

Do I think Gary Moran should release a quick statement apologising for what he said? Absolutely. Do I think we will get one? Heck no. Sadly, what's done is done. We can't change the past. What we CAN do though is change the future.

I know Gary Moran himself does plenty of charity work behind the scenes. Maybe as a way of making up for what he said, mental health is something he should do some public charity work towards.

Even better would be to see the EIHL do something to put a positive spin on this whole situation. I'd like to see them get behind the good causes that do their best to help people with mental health issues.

Let's turn this negative into something positive and use this situation into a platform for helping people it effects right now and into the future, not only within the hockey community, but beyond it also.

Let's be a difference maker to those that need our help especially those that need it right now.

IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE.

Aside from all of this, I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday period and I hope all have a very happy new year.

I'll see you next time folks.

Alan
@FrozenSteelMNL

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Match Report: 26.12.2014 - Steelers v Panthers EC/EIHL

Friday 26^th December 2014 – Sheffield Steelers (19-5-1) v Nottingham Panthers (13-7-4) @ Motorpoint Arena. Face-off: 4pm, Erhardt Conference/Elite League

Sheffield Steelers – 0

Nottingham Panthers – 4
Steven Lee – 1^st
Chris Higgins – 2^nd PP
Chris Lawrence – 3^rd ENG SHG
Greg Jacina – 3^rd

An almost sold out Motorpoint arena to host the boxing day fixture between the Steelers and the Panthers and the game got underway with Darnell an Hicks in the middle. It’s not hard to say Steelers wasn’t at their best tonight and the better team won and Nottingham came with a game plan and it worked for them all night. Panthers got the first power play of the night and got set up early and couldn’t get the puck past Doyle and not long after Sheffield was back to full strength the visitors took the lead on 9:27 when Benedict was in possession behind Doyle’s goal and he fed Lee at the top of the right hand face-off circle and the defenceman shot straight through the 5 hole of Doyle for a 1-0 lead. The fans were then treated to a fight after Berube was found roughing up Dowd it forced the Steelers forward to retaliate and was able to lay a few punches on the Nottingham man after putting him on his back something that the Nottingham man didn’t take lightly but Sheffield ended up on the penalty kill when it looked for sure it was going to be 4v4 but Berube got away with an instigator penalty. Sheffield worked hard but as they would soon find themselves on the man advantage and Kohn found his one timer blocked and Roy couldn’t get his shot away from in front, It was then time for Legue to try and make an impact but his slap shot from the left hand side went wide and then Hill had a great chance to level the game with the help of Roy and Legue his backhanded shot just went wide. With the clock ticking down Dowd finally came out the box and as he got back to the bench he received a cross check from Robert Farmer which caused everyone to jump in after the penalties were dished out Sheffield ended the first period on the man advantage but was still a goal down.

End of the 1st Period: Sheffield Steelers 0–1 Nottingham Panthers

Shots on Goal: Steelers 4-10 Panthers

Sheffield started the second period on the man advantage still looking to get back into the game and it was Colton Fretter who worked hard to get in front of goal but his shot deflected out to O’Connor who shot just wide of the goal. Both teams then exchanged penalties for a further few minutes and with Nottingham on the man advantage a decision by the officials changed the entire game and it was Forney who got through on goal on the breakaway and he was hooked back by Landry and Forney hit the deck but the delayed penalty was on the Steelers man which angered the entire arena and straight away Nottingham broke and Higgins made it 2-0 to the left of Doyle when the former Giants man shot over the shoulder of Doyle at 29:18 which brought Bois out of the box and the officials still through Forney in for slashing which no one could work out when it looked for sure the Steelers should have had a penalty shot or a power play. Into the last couple of minutes of the period Eddy shot high over the goal as the Steelers broke 3v2 and then O’Connor worked hard on the boards and he fed Forney across the face off goal but he missed the puck and fell over and the Panthers broke 3v1 but could only shoot high and wide themselves, was a great chance for Forney to get the Steelers back into the game but Sheffield were going into the break 2-0 down.
End of the 2nd Period: Sheffield Steelers 0–2 Nottingham Panthers

Shots on Goal: Steelers 12–10 Panthers

Third period got underway and Sheffield were struggling to create offence as they kept on running into brick walls as the Nottingham defence just stood up to them brilliantly and Modig had everything else under control, Nottingham were unlucky not to be 3-0 up when Chris Lawrence was denied from in front after beating two Steelers with two toe drags Doyle ate the shot in his body. Forney had some fantastic chances to score in this game and any other night he’d had finished them and it was Forney who tipped into the pads of Modig and the rebound was just too far for Kohn to reach and then Panthers broke 2v1 after a big hit by Baldwin on Mosey but O’Connor slid down low to deny Nottingham with the tip of his stick. Going into the final two minutes of the game Steelers found themselves on the man advantage and Doyle was pulled for the extra attacker and then Dowd fired two snap shots agonisingly wide of the goal but at 59:59 Lawrence made it 3-0 when he shot the puck from his own zone into the empty net but it got even worse for the league leaders at 59:47 when Jacina jumped out of the penalty box and went down the left hand side before firing a snap shot of the shoulder of Doyle from in front for 4-0. That was how it finished and Nottingham took two valuable points home with them and both teams having to do it all over again on Saturday night at the NIC with the Steelers looking for some revenge.
Shots on Goal: Steelers 7–9 Panthers

FINAL SCORE: Sheffield Steelers 0–4 Nottingham Panthers

Boxscore (1st-2nd-3rd-OT-[PIM]-{PP}-S)

Sheffield        - 0-0-0-0-[17]-{0/6}-23

Nottingham - 1-1-2-0-[19]-{1/5}-29

Sheffield Man of the Match: #81 Ben O’Connor
Nottingham Man of the Match: #25 Mattias Modig

Sheffield Points Round Up: - 0 Points

Nottingham Points Round Up: - 10 Points

Robert Lachowicz (0+1), Evan Mosey (0+1), Chris Lawrence (1+0), Robert Farmer (0+1), Brandon Benedict (0+1), Greg Jacina (1+0), Steven Lee (1+0), Cody Wild (0+1), Chris Higgins (1+0), Jonathan Boxill (0+1)

Referee: #9 Tom Darnell

Referee: #27 Mike Hicks

Linesman: #14 James Kavanagh

Linesman: #22 Paul Staniforth

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Merry Christmas Guys!

It that time of the year again guys where that guy in the big red suit has been to town.  Everyone at Frozen Steel would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and we hope you all get what you wanted and have a fantastic day.

Once again thank you for all the support over the last 13 months we really appreciate it! If you haven’t already got your tickets for Friday you need to get them bought, It’s going to be a massive game against them down the road and what better way to spend Boxing Day than with the hockey family watching the Steelers and after Tuesday’s announcement how can it be missed!

If you’re going to drink today guys remember to have a good time but please drink responsibility and stay safe.

So have an amazing day guys, eat plenty of food and enjoy all your presents

From all at Frozen Steel!

Weekend Preview - Happy Holidays

Yeah yeah, it's early, I know. Damned if I'm working Christmas day.

As per the now-usual tradition, the Steelers face the Nottingham Panthers on Boxing Day at the Motorpoint, with the return game coming the day after in the NIC.  We have the promise of a couple of decent games I think.

The Walkeden Review - Legue Returns to the Steelers

We all thought it was the end of an Era during the summer when Jeff Legue decided to leave to join the Steeldogs well it turned out we was wrong when on the evening of Tuesday 23^rd December 2014 it was announced by the Elite League leaders that Top all time point scorer in the EIHL era Jeff Legue had re-signed for them till the end of the 2015/16 season.

I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say welcome home Jeff. Jeff will also not being wearing his usual #11 shirt as it is now back in the rafters after it was retired in honour of Tommy Plommer but Jeff has taken on the #12 shirt as his son was born in the 12^th month. Now for the question what line will Jeff play on? For me I can’t see Gerad breaking up our top two lines as they have major chemistry and are just outstanding so that leaves Legue joining the third line and what an improvement he makes to it and that’s not taking away how well they have done over the last few weeks but on a personal note a massive upgrade on Latulippe as the former Devils man just never turned out to be the player he was in Cardiff. I can see Jeff jumping on the power play unit though alongside Sarich maybe! As let’s be honest we all know what them two can do together especially on the man advantage. But we will find out on Friday as Legue makes his debut in the Boxing Day showdown with them down the road the Nottingham Panthers before the Steelers travel to Nottingham on Saturday.

Gerad had this to say about the re-signing of Jeff (From the Steelers website) “I Couldn’t be happier, Jeff Legue knows what it is to be Steeler. He knows how to win and what is expected from players here. The whole club just got a lot better today.”

Jeff had this to say himself (From the Steelers website) “This is a great opportunity for me to come back to the Steeler sand help contribute to a push for a championship. Chances like that don’t come around often, especially at this stage of my career.”

So far in a Steelers jersey since his debut in 2007 Jeff has played in 448 games scoring 551 points getting a massive 240 goals and a further 311 assists. So far this season while playing for the Steeldogs in the EPL Legue has played in a total of 20 games scoring 32 points (20+12) and he’ll look to continue his scoring form as well as add to his Steelers total this coming Friday. So get along to the Arena for the crunch game to which will be an almost near sell out and the first chance to welcome Jeff home.

So once again Jeff welcome home!

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5 Things - Top Of The Charts At Christmas

And so we hit the christmas period, a time for quiet reflection and to surround ourselves with the ones we love...apparently.

For me, Christmas means hockey, and plenty of it. This started with a trip to everyone's favourite versatile arena, and my usual descent upon the Hull Ice Arena to see the Steelers record a 4-3 win over the Stingrays, having beaten them 5-2 the previous night.

We know all this - but what did we learn at the weekend?

Sheffield Winter Classic This Coming Saturday!

Sheffield Winter Classic: Spartans v Senators

Next Saturday, 27^th December will see the inaugural Sheffield Winter Classic Game between Spartans & Senators take place at Ice Sheffield, facing off at 4.15pm. It promises to be a great occasion in this festive and family orientated time of year, where we can celebrate Sheffield’s vibrant amateur hockey scene with friends past and present, as well as making new friends too in the process.

The Sheffield Ice Hockey Academy has continued to grow and develop from its humble beginnings in 1991; we are now one of the premier set-ups in the country.  This game is all about celebrating the Sheffield Ice Hockey Academy by showcasing our finest senior talents alongside the next generation of Spartans and Senators. As part of this celebration our current U14’s teams, the Stormers & Sabres will take part in an exhibition game which will face off at 3.30pm.

The day of the Sheffield Winter Classic is a day the academy are proud to hold such a fixture and show its self off in the best possible way. This may be a history making day as the club holds it’s first Winter Classic but there is more history to be made by the juniors who are to follow the senior players of today as it will be those young players who will be taking to the ice in future Winter Classic games.

Ticket Prices

£5 – Adult

£2 – Concession

£10 – Family ticket (2 Adults & up to 3 children)

This represents terrific value for money for a family fun filled afternoon of ice hockey and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Saturday.

Sheffield Winter Classic - 2014

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SIHA Round-Up 20.12.2014

Just a quick note we apologise for missing a week of Academy action as it was beyond our control but happy to be back up and running normally this week.

It was a case of mixed fortunes this weekend for SIHA’s teams for which the starting point has to be Senators fine 8-6 win against promotion rivals Widnes Wild.

Widnes are tricky opponents on home ice and had taken the lead three times only to be pegged back by Senators with a Paul Lofthouse goal sandwiched with two from Callum Rawson. Wild hit back with two goals to lead 5-3 but Senators dug deep once more to finish with Callum Rawson getting his hat-trick and Josh Wheway to go into the final period at 5-5.Two goals from Nathan Britton in the first three minutes of the period swung the advantage Senators way for the first time in the game and showed even more character to go and claim what was an important victory. Widnes did pull one back to set up a tense finale but Sens played the game out and made it safe with a late powerplay goal through Sergevs Jegorovs with the final score Widnes 6 Senators 8.

NIHL counterparts Spartans had to settle for a draw against Sutton Sting in a game that was there for the taking but lack lustre first period saw Sutton 2-1 up in what was a scrappy period of hockey, not helped by some poor officiating. Sting opened the scoring in the first minute. Brandon Stones had mage a great save only for the puck to rebound off former Spartans Coach John Ross’s chest and into the net. Spartans gradually picked up the pace and were worth their equaliser through Will Barron. Spartans when under no real pressure allowed Reece Cairney-Witter time and space to get a shot in which was fumbled by Brandon Stones for a howler of a goal to concede. Spartans were a different team in the second and dominated the period, outclassing Sting at times who hung on to deny Spartans who did equalise with a great goal from Scott Morris. The final period was a little more even; Spartans had the better possession and played the better hockey whereas Sutton enjoyed more chances and arguably the better ones too but neither team could make the breakthrough to go on and win the game; one which Spartans should have won in all fairness.

Following that game at Ice Sheffield, Scorpions U18’s D2 put in a good solid performance to beat Blackburn 9-1 with four goals for Ethan Hardy, a couple for Jack Brain with Josh Pigott, Tom Frith & Ross Gallagher.

Stormers U14’s D1 tasted defeat for the first time this season in what was always going to be a tricky game away at Bradford whilst Steelhawks U18’s were left frustrated after out shooting opponents Hull over in Humberside by 51 to 15 but Hull’s netminder stood on his head to ensure his team grabbed a share of the points in their 2-2 draw. Steelhawks scorers were Cole Shudra & Joe Colton whilst Tom Brooke-Smith was a deserved winner of the Spirit of the Game Award.

Next weekend sees the inaugural Sheffield Winter Classic Game between Spartans & Senators facing off at 4.15pm on Saturday which will follow on from an exhibition game featuring U14’s Stormers & Sabres.

Stormers U14’s D1 are also in league action at 1.35pm when they take on Solihull Barons.

On Sunday, Rapiers U16’s D1 face a tricky game in Bradford but one they will go into full of confidence and belief in getting the job done.

Sheffield Spartans were left kicking themselves after drawing 2-2 with Sutton Sting in a game that had it’s high and low points.

A definite low point was the lack lustre first period in which both teams looked out of sorts in a scrappy contest which was not helped by some poor officiating. Sutton took the lead on just 47 seconds through John Ross. Brandon Stones had made a fine save from Shaun Ashton but the puck rebounded on to Ross’s chest and into the net for a goal. Sting  were having the better of things in the opening minutes of the game but Spartans pulled level on 8.26 after some great build up play from Scott Morris & Nick Manning found Will Barron to score. The goal lifted Spartans who came more and more into the game but with some strange calls both called & missed by the officials, the game became more laboured than it had been previously. With neither team stamping their authority on the game Spartans gifted Sting the lead on 17.20. Reece Carney-Witter did well to exploit Spartans failure to clear the zone and created space to fire in an unchallenged shot that was fumbled over the line by Brandon Stones to concede what was a defensive howler. Sutton almost scored again but Brandon was back on his game again to make the save after which there was no further incident with the period thankfully ending but unfortunate for Spartans in that they were losing 2-1.

Whatever Coach Martin White said in the dressing room during the period break clearly had the desired effect along with moving Shaun Wild from D to forward to cover the loss of Ollie Barron to injury; the result of a nasty challenge in the first period (that wasn’t called); both seemingly inspiring Spartans to put in a terrific performance. Apart from a two minute spell mid period, Spartans completely dominated the period but some solid netminding from Dmitri Zimozdra coupled with a stubborn defence kept Sting in the game. However, despite their dominance, Spartans could only convert one of the many chances they created but what a great goal it was from Scott Morris timed at 35.30, assisted Nick Manning & Dougie Jordan. Spartans were on top but it was 2-2 against a team, who on the day, were there for the taking.

Credit must go to Sutton for the way they dug in to have their best spell of the game in what now was an end to end game with both teams all out for the win. There was very little between the teams this period; Spartans enjoyed more of the possession and were passing the puck with confidence but it was Sting who created more chances and arguably the better ones too with Brandon Stones more than redeeming himself for his earlier mishap. Spartans defence were outstanding this period, not just in defending but in the build play for Spartans attacks but they couldn’t put their chances away which saw Sting counter with some nice break out plays. It was a close call as to who might win going into the final few minutes and with a draw being the likely outcome Sutton were gifted an opportunity with a powerplay after a ridiculous call on Dougie Jordan for roughing. However, despite being at a numerical disadvantage in the final minute Spartans won possession to see the game out and having to settle for a point.

Scott Morris won a deserved Man of the Match Award for Spartans whilst James Goodman got the nod for Sutton.

Final Score: Sutton Sting 2 Sheffield Spartans 2

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Match Report: 21.12.2014 - Stingrays v Steelers EIHL

Sunday 21^st December 2014 – Hull Stingrays (9-11-3) v Sheffield Steelers (18-5-1) @ Hull Arena. Face-off: 6pm, Elite League

Hull Stingrays – 3
Omar Pacha – 2^nd PP
Eric Galbraith – 2^nd
Carl Lauzon – 3^rd

Sheffield Steelers – 4
Colton Fretter – 1^st
Mathieu Roy (2) – 1^st PP, 2^nd
Robert Dowd – 2^nd

Part two of the Yorkshire derby got underway and it was very dominate first session by the visitors as they outshot their hosts 3/1 and David Brown was outstanding as he was the night before as he would save shot after shot but he couldn’t save them all when Sheffield opened the scoring at 7:01 when Sheffield won an offensive zone face-off Baldwin fired one off the draw that was saved by Brown and Fretter picked up the rebound and shot past Brown on the backhand for a 1-0 lead. Sheffield would then gift Hull with a powerplay of their own but they was kept to the edges and long distant shots and couldn’t find a way to level the game but soon after Sheffield had their own powerplay which started off in the right fashion as the Visitors had three great opportunities to extend their lead and when Osman took a hooking call Sheffield went 5v3 for 1:20 but it didn’t take Sheffield that long to score again and it was top point scorer Mathieu Roy who fired a forehanded shot past Brown after Dowd’s shot from the blue line was rebounded out of the pads of the Hull netminder at 13:18 for a 2-0 lead for the visitors. Thomas was called for holding with four minutes left in the period and that was after a coming together on the boards in which Bois received a few punches for his trouble but Hull got to work but was kept to the edges and was struggling to find any shooting lanes but would go into the first break 2-0 down.

End of the 1st Period: Hull Stingrays 0–2 Sheffield Steelers

Shots on Goal: Stingrays 8–25 Steelers

Into the second period Hull made more of a game with it and didn’t lie down and let Sheffield just come at them like they did in the first period. Tanaka and Knox had early chances before Towner shot was saved by the blocker of Doyle, and the biggest chance so far for the home side fell to Knox after Davies from the left wing threw one on goal and Knox couldn’t redirect it past Doyle after the visitors killed another powerplay for the home side they extended their lead as Dowd jumped out of the box he played Mosienko to his left who’s slap shot was saved by Brown and Dowd scored the rebound from the face-off circle for a 3-0 lead at 26:31. Hull missed a golden chance when they broke 2v1 and missed a great chance into the open goal but with the home side on the man advantage Pacha was played the puck to the right of Doyle’s goal and fired his wrist shot straight through the legs of Doyle to put Hull on the board at 30:12, Hull dug in deep and brought the game within one goal at 36:33 after some lazing defending by the Steelers Eric Galbraith brought the puck down and slotted it nicely past Doyle down low and cut the Steelers lead to 3-2. It didn’t take Sheffield long to prevent the comeback when Mathieu Roy scored his second of the night at 38:27 after Roy was in front of goal and he swung at the puck which hit the pads of Brown and trickled into the back of the net for a 4-2 lead and it’s how the period ended leaving Hull with a lot of work to do in the third period.
End of the 2nd Period: Hull Stingrays 2–4 Sheffield Steelers

Shots on Goal: Stingrays 13–14 Steelers

Sheffield dominated the early stages of the third period but couldn’t get another goal on the board after they wasted several decent scoring chances. Sheffield got another power play and almost scored another but Brown saved from Fretter but Eddy soon evened it up. Both teams were really having a go at each other with hit after hit being thrown in and both netminder having a great period but with the clock ticking down Hull pulled another goal back at 46:61 when Tanaka broke down the left hand side before he squared the puck to Carl Lauzon who redirected past Doyle from in front of goal and Sheffield led 4-3 going into the final three minutes of the game but Hull shot themselves in the foot and stopped any chance of getting level when Tanaka took an interference penalty and Sheffield kept their hosts camped in their zone  and didn’t give them the chance to pull Brown for an extra attacker and Sheffield saw out the game with a 4-3 victory which saw the Steelers stay top of the league at Christmas.
Shots on Goal: Stingrays 9–11 Steelers

FINAL SCORE: Hull Stingrays 3–4 Sheffield Steelers

Boxscore (1st-2nd-3rd-OT-[PIM]-{PP}-S)

Hull           - 2-2-0-0-[8]-{1/7}-30

Sheffield  - 0-2-1-0-[14]-{1/4}-50

Hull Man of the Match: #30 David Brown
Sheffield Man of the Match: #81 Ben O’Connor

Hull Points Round Up: - 8 Points
Omar Pacha (1+0), Cory Tanaka (1+1), Carl Lauzon (1+0), Brendan Jamison (0+1), Matthew Davies (0+1), Zach Hervato (0+1), Eric Galbraith (1+0)

Sheffield Points Round Up: - 12 Points

Gord Baldwin (0+2), Cullen Eddy (0+1), Michael Forney (0+2), Mathieu Roy (2+0), Danny Bois (0+1), Colton Fretter (1+0), Darrell Hay (0+1), Robert Dowd (1+1)

Referee: #26 Dean Smith

Referee:

Linesman: #30 Luke Palmer

Linesman: #36 Phil Sewell

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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Match Report: 20.12.2014 - Steelers v Stingrays EIHL

Saturday 20^th December 2014 – Sheffield Steelers (17-5-1) v Hull Stingrays (9-10-3) @ Motorpoint Arena. Face-off: 7pm, Elite League

Sheffield Steelers – 5
Michael Forney – 1^st
Danny Bois (2) – 1^st, 3^rd ENG
Jonathan Phillips – 2^nd
Phil Hill – 3^rd

Hull Stingrays – 2
Cory Tanaka (2) – 2^nd PP, 2^nd SHG

The first game of the Yorkshire derby weekend got underway and it was Matthew Davies who had the first chance of the night as Doyle saved from him from just in front of goal but Sheffield skated it out and Mosienko replied with a shot that bounced in front of goal and Brown had to adjust to get the save on it. Sheffield took control and was very dominate and Brown was outstanding in the early stages of the game keeping out Dowd twice but the best chance was when Fretter went down the left squared one to Roy on his right but the Steelers top point scorer could only put on against the post. Sheffield let Hull into the game a little bit more as the visitors had a bit of dominance  after some good build up play the puck fell to Jordan Mayer who had already scored a few goals past the Steelers this season but his shot went high and wide just after Doyle made a glove save off him. Jordan Knox was next to try his luck but his first shot was deflected just wide and his second shot only went as far as the leg pads of Doyle. There was some end to end action and after some hard work by the Steelers second unit the puck fell to Eddy on the blue line but his shot goes just over but then the deadlock was broken at 11:26 when O’Connor’s shot was saved by Brown from the right of goal and the puck dropped nicely as Forney finished it off into the empty net for a 1-0 lead for the league leaders. Hull soon went on the penalty kill and killed it successfully not giving much up for the home side but Sheffield would eventually score a second at 16:15 when Phil Hill who was having a great shift had already seen one shot saved before he picked up the puck and saw another shot saved but the puck bounced off the pads of Brown and Bois fired it past the beaten Brown to make it 2-0 and score his first goal for the Steelers. Hull finished the first period on the penalty killing and was unlucky not to be back in the game but Osman, Tanaka and Hervato all saw shots saved from close range and Sheffield went into the break with a 2-0 lead.

End of the 1st Period: Sheffield Steelers 2–0 Hull Stingrays

Shots on Goal: Steelers 11-9 Stingrays

Hull came into the second period looking to get back into the game and both teams were getting physical with Yorkshire bragging rights at stakes no one was giving up and 10 year Thomas laid down two big hits one after another on Towner and there was soon a coming together after Doyle made a blocker save Hay was sent into Doyle to the dislike of the Steelers player Thomas was thrown in the box for charging and Hull got to work and it didn’t take them long to put it back to 2-1 when it was Tanaka who skated his way into the Sheffield zone before firing one through the legs of Doyle at 23:38 After a boarding call on Turcotte after a hit on Fretter, Sheffield went on the man advantage with just under 12 minutes left in the period but it had the worst possible outcome when Hull levelled shorthanded at 29:00 after a poor turnover in the Hull end Tanaka broke 2v1 with Lauzon and as they exchanged passes it had Doyle beaten and Tanaka had an empty goal to score into and it was game on in the Yorkshire derby. Hull went close to taking the lead not long after when O’Connor turned the puck over and Hervato saw his shot saved which was a let off for the home side that had to up their game again. At 33:33 Sheffield took the lead again when Mosienko was in possession of the puck to the right of goal and saw his shot tipped by Jonathan Phillips past Brown to give the Steelers a 3-2 lead and that seemed to bring the home side back to life when Roy was next to be fed but his snapshot went agonisingly wide, it was Fretter who was up next as he skated round two men stick handled past another but Brown was able to make a magnificent save of the back hand of Fretter but Steelers took a 3-2 lead into the break after Hull fought back magnificently in the second.
End of the 2nd Period: Sheffield Steelers 3–2 Hull Stingrays

Shots on Goal: Steelers 13–12 Stingrays

Was a very quiet start to the third period and it took till nearly three minutes for a chance to be created and it was Doyle who made the shoulder save off Mayer then Sheffield would go on the man advantage and despite not being able to extend their lead but had control off the game and were causing plenty of problems but for the Stingrays they had Cory Tanaka who was such a bright spark all night had already scored two goals and was brilliant all game and he carried on to work hard, was very end to end stuff with Brown and Doyle keeping both teams out. Both teams missed a chance on the man advantage after some good built play by both side but couldn’t find that killer instinct with the clock ticking down Sheffield did extend their lead to 4-2 at 58:07 when Forney passed the puck to Hill in front of goal and the former Cardiff man scored his second goal in two weeks on the forehand. Into the final minute Hull pulled Brown for the extra attacker and Sheffield made them count with Danny Bois scoring his second of the night when he shot from the neutral zone into the empty net for a 5-2 lead at 58:58 which won Sheffield the match and awarded them with two valuable points to stay at the top of the table.
Shots on Goal: Steelers 10–12 Stingrays

FINAL SCORE: Sheffield Steelers 5–2 Hull Stingrays

Boxscore (1st-2nd-3rd-OT-[PIM]-{PP}-S)

Sheffield - 2-1-2-0-[6]-{0/3}-34

Hull         - 0-2-0-0-[6]-{1/3}-33

Sheffield Man of the Match: #51 Danny Bois
Hull Man of the Match: #7 Cory Tanaka

Sheffield Points Round Up: - 14 Points
Cullen Eddy (0+1), Michael Forney (1+1), Jonathan Phillips (1+0), Tyler Mosienko (0+1), Dustin Kohn (0+1), Phil Hill (1+1), Mark Thomas (0+1), Danny Bois (2+0), Darrell Hay (0+1), Robert Dowd (0+1), Ben O’Connor (0+1)

Hull Points Round Up: - 5 Points

Cory Tanaka (2+0), Carl Lauzon (0+2), Matthew Davies (0+1)

Referee: #28 Jonny Liptrott

Referee:

Linesman: #38 Danny Beresford

Linesman: #45 Chris Wells

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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Alternative Weekend Preview 20/21 December 2014

It's kind of a wind-down weekend for the Academy teams this weekend, but there's still plenty of action to be seen.

Find below all of the non-Steelers fixtures this weekend.

It's Been A While, Frozen Steel!

As the title suggests; it’s been a while, in factit has been over 2 months! I suppose I should explain myself to the FSB readers whilst I can. My absence has been long and needed in regards to my degree. By no means am I doing the hardest degree in the world but all my efforts needed to go into that. Working on a short film, a film script and even working on highlights for the Sheffield Steelers Ball Hockey Club! I am now on Christmas break, so I am hoping to jump back on the FSB horse!

As I write this, we currently sit 1 point above Braehead with 2 games in hand on them too! Not too shabby I think! Saturday against Hull should be 2 points but as we have seen a lot this season, ANYTHING can happen in the EIHL. So I look forward to seeing you guys there!

One thing I did want to address in this blog post is how well the team have been performing recently. For me, we are the best team in the league right now. Our 2^nd line could easily play against the top lines of at least 7 of the other 9 teams! 

A few players I feel are very “unsung” if you will; Phil Hill and Rod Sarich. Now, Rod is like Marmite for a lot of people, you either love him or you hate him. Personally, I’d have Rod in Orange until he can’t go any longer. His reading of the play is exceptional and his strength is brilliant. Yes, he isn’t going to light up the league and become top points scorer or best D-Man, but he will always be a great asset to the Orange Army. Phil Hill, again is like Marmite. A lot of people dislike him, and sometimes I see why. On the other hand though (especially whilst Hewy has been out) Hill has stepped up his game and has been hitting (and sometimes slashing) anything that moves. He has been an absolute animal for us on the 3^rd unit and does his job very well; I for one say, keep it up Phil!

I know this was short, but let’s keep it sweet until the weekend; when I will be back writing the View from Block 105!

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Christmas time, hockey and whine?

Welcome all to the festive edition of my column here on FSB. With less than 7 sleeps to the big fellow comes a visiting folks worldwide, TDR has decided to play Santa to the hockey world and issued some presents of its own to certain figures in the hockey universe. Please do not take them seriously however, it's all a bit of fun and shoukl be viewed as such. Chuck in a quick look ahead to this weekend's games, here we go:

5 Things Midseason Report

Midseason Report

Can't really grumble can we?

While this year hasn't been the explosive, "destroy everyone" campaign that we thought it might be, as of writing we are top of the league with games in hand over the team directly below us. You really cannot complain at that.

What are the five main talking points we can draw from the season so far?

Weekend Preview - All Hail The M18!

In what is a true test of what I said last week about there being no drab weekends in the Elite League this season, along comes a home/away tilt against the team from the People's Republic of Humberside.

Having said that, our games against the Stingrays this year have been heated affairs, settled by odd goals and full of incident. I think we can expect more of the same this weekend, as they will want to put a spanner into the Steelers' works as the boys in orange look to keep their noses in front at the top of the Elite League.

Match Report: 14.12.2014 - Blaze v Steelers EC/EIHL

Sunday 14^th December 2014 – Coventry Blaze (9-13-1) v Sheffield Steelers (16-5-1) @ SkyDome Arena. Face-off: 5:15pm, Erhardt Conference/Elite League

Coventry Blaze – 2
Steven Goertzen – 2^nd PP
Ryan O’Marra – 2^nd

Sheffield Steelers – 4
Tyler Mosienko – 1^st PP
Robert Dowd – 2^nd
Rodney Sarich – 2^nd
Michael Forney – 2^nd PP

The game got underway and it was the home side who attacked first after O’Connor was hit by Venus behind Doyle’s goal it was the Blaze forward who forced an early glove save out of Doyle and it was a Blaze mistake that almost let in Mosienko for the opening goal but the Steelers man struggled to get his shot away in front of goal. Some inconsistency at the back for the visitors almost became a problem for them as Goertzen tipped just wide from in front of Doyle, but an exchange of passes between Mosienko and Phillips ended with the Blaze netminder making a fantastic save to keep the score level. Sheffield got the first power play of the night when Ross Venus was called for illegal equipment it took 9 seconds for the Steelers to get too work when Mosienko found himself in possession behind the Blaze goal he worked his way to slot in at Stewarts left hand near post at 6:54 to give the Steelers a 1-0 lead. Sheffield was having a very dominant session as Blaze just couldn’t get the puck off them. With 10 minutes left in the 1^st Tendler almost found a way back into the game when he caught out Eddy in possession with the puck but Eddy had help in the shape of his captain and Tendler couldn’t win the puck back. Both teams would have an effort on the man advantage but good goaltending ended the period as 1-0 lead for Sheffield.

End of the 1st Period: Coventry Blaze 0–1 Sheffield Steelers

Shots on Goal: Blaze 8-20 Steelers

Sheffield started the second period on the powerplay and before you know it the Blaze had a 5 on 3 powerplay chance and made it count at 22:20 when Doyle couldn’t get a shot covered up and smart play by Goertzen when the Coventry forward jumped on the loose puck and scored on the backhand to level the score at 1-1. There was some physical play by both teams and it was turning into a tasty encounter with plenty of shots on goals and both netminders making some great save but Blaze took the lead at 31:46 when Ross Venus has the puck behind the Steelers goal and he picks out Ryan O’Marra who fires a sweet wrist shot past the stick of Doyle to give the Blaze a 2-1 lead. It didn’t last for long when Sheffield would soon level the game at 2-2 on 33:49 when Forney received the puck from Phillips and skated down the left around a Blaze defender but he saw his shot saved by Stewart from in front and Dowd jumped on the rebound and lifted it over Stewart, then Fretter had the chance to take the lead but saw his shot impressively saved but it was very soon 3-2 to the Steelers on 35:04 after O’Connor fired a snapshot from the blue line and Sarich managed to get the tip on it to send it past Stewart, It was overshadowed by a bad hit by Cescon on Dowd against the boards but the Sheffield man made it back to the bench and was able to continue but Cescon received 2+10 for his troubles. Sheffield went on the powerplay with 4 minutes left in the second and on 36:40 it was 4-2 to the visitors when some hard work by Roy and Fretter they had Stewart beaten on the Ice and Forney slotted the puck in at the back door. Coventry were looking for a way back into the game but Tanaka couldn’t get his shot through the legs of Doyle and the home side were going into the break 4-2 down.
End of the 2nd Period: Coventry Blaze 2–4 Sheffield Steelers

Shots on Goal: Blaze 17–16 Steelers

Third period started and with an exchange in power plays neither team could get any more goals on the boards and there was a lot of neutral zone hockey with both netminders making good saves when called upon. Steelers pressed up high to try and find another goal but had to stop when Coventry started to come looking for a way back into the game and went close several times as Doyle made a leg save when a shot came back of the backboards before Venus was denied from close range. Phillips caught Stewart in the mask from the point and the Blaze netminder had to take a minute to make a repair. With the clock ticking down Coventry pulled Stewart with over two minutes left in an attempt to get back in the game and Sheffield had a glorious chance to finish of the game as Hill went down the right and decided to be a playmaker instead of going for glory and Hay fired a powerful snapshot wide and around the boards. Blaze came again though and got Sheffield camped in their zone but Doyle stood tall and Sheffield held on for the win and the four point weekend to stand at the top of the league by a point.
Shots on Goal: Blaze 10–7 Steelers

FINAL SCORE: Coventry Blaze 2–4 Sheffield Steelers

Boxscore (1st-2nd-3rd-OT-[PIM]-{PP}-S)

Coventry - 0-2-0-0-[22]-{1/5}-35

Sheffield - 1-3-0-0-[12]-{2/5}-43

Coventry Man of the Match: #22 Ryan O’Marra
Sheffield Man of the Match: #14 Michael Forney

Coventry Points Round Up: - 5 Points
Rory Rawlyk (0+1), Steven Goertzen (1+0), Ryan O’Marra (1+0), Jereme Tendler (0+1), Ross Venus (0+1)

Sheffield Points Round Up: - 12 Points

Cullen Eddy (0+1), Michael Forney (1+2), Mathieu Roy (0+1), Rodney Sarich (1+0), Jonathan Phillips (0+2), Tyler Mosienko (1+0), Dustin Kohn (0+1), Robert Dowd (1+0), Ben O’Connor (0+1)

Referee: #26 Dean Smith

Referee:

Linesman: #25 Andy Dalton

Linesman: #11 Matt Rose

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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5 Things We Learnt This Weekend - Pretty Good

Well after weeks of pretending that being second on regulation wins is actually top of the league, this weekend we hit the summit on our own, as we finally have a smidgen of daylight at the top of the Elite League.

And yes, while it's early days, compare to this time twelve months ago, when I was fielding questions in the early days of the blog about Doug's position and how bleak things were.

So, what did we take away from that 4 point weekend?

Match Report: 12.12.2014 - Steelers v Devils EC/EIHL

Friday 12^th December 2014 – Sheffield Steelers (15-5-1) v Cardiff Devils (13-7-1) @ Motorpoint Arena. Face-off: 7:30pm, Erhardt Conference/Elite League

Sheffield Steelers – 4
Mathieu Roy – 1^st
Robert Dowd – 2^nd
Phil Hill – 2^nd
Colton Fretter – 3^rd ENG

Cardiff Devils – 1
Carl Hudson – 2^nd

Friday night in Hockey got underway and it was the Visitors who had the first shot of the night when Brent Walton found himself at the top of the face-off circle but Doyle makes the glove save then it would be Joey Haddad who showed some great stick handling to make himself in front of Doyle but couldn’t beat the Steelers netminder and Sheffield would break and Forney’s shot would go straight into the body of Bowns. Hesitant defending by the league leaders almost let in Mychan but Doyle was able to get the puck covered. Sheffield broke the deadlock at 5:57 when Kohn was on the blue and he played to O’Connor to the right of Bowns who threw one in front of goal for Mathieu Roy to tip past Ben Bowns for a 1-0 lead. There would be some end to end stuff as Mosienko would skate coast to coast but wouldn’t be able to get his shot away as Myers and Morissette tried to test Doyle but could only shoot wide. Sheffield got the first power play of the night but it was an aggressive kill by the Devils. With the visitors back to full strength they broke 2v1 and Darrell Hay defended well to deny them and it was Doyle who cleared up the rest with the glove save of Myers. There was an incident at the end of the first period with 1:54 left on the clock Andrew Hotham took a puck to the face from Baldwin and Hotham left the Ice straight away and I don’t believe he returned for any more of the game, On his way of the Ice he unfortunately dripped blood on the Ice so the officials decided to end the period. Cut the Ice and play the remaining 1:54 at the start of the second, swap ends and then begin the second. The first period did end 1-0 to the Steelers.

End of the 1st Period: Sheffield Steelers 1–0 Cardiff Devils

Shots on Goal: Steelers 10-9 Devils

Second period got underway, and Sheffield got an early powerplay and both teams were getting physical as Hendrikx hit Eddy hard on the boards as Dowd fired a shot of the post and then O’Connor was next to fire one off the post as some of the fans thought it went in and then under the pads of Bowns but the Referee said no goal and we still had a 1-0 game. Morissette found himself 1 on 1 with goal by Doyle made a great backhanded save and Devils then went on the powerplay themselves but they was kept to the outside and had to deal with long range shots. Cardiff was having a lot of possession Doyle was on top form denying Morissette again and Clarkson. One again some real end to end stuff and Sheffield extended their lead on 34:35 when some great work by Dowd to win the puck in the Cardiff zone ended with him playing Mosienko who’s shot on goal was saved by no covered up and Dowd poked it home at close range past Bowns for 2-0 and it was very quickly 3-0 when Phil Hill at 35:01 assisted by Danny Bois fired a wrist shot past Bowns from in front of goal and very quickly Devils pulled a goal back themselves when assisted by Morissette it was Hudson who broke Doyle’s shut out from close range at 36:13 but Cardiff couldn’t pull another back and Sheffield took a 3-1 lead into the second break.
End of the 2nd Period: Sheffield Steelers 3–1 Cardiff Devils

Shots on Goal: Steelers 6–14 Devils

Third period got underway and Cardiff were trying hard to get back into the game as Hudson who had already scored tonight skated coast to coast but his shot went high and wide, physicality was playing a big part in the early stages of the third period as Sarich hit Haddad into the boards and Haddad laid a big hit on O’Connor on the boards. Sheffield went on the man advantage and British D-man O’Connor showed some fantastic skills with the puck but couldn’t get his shot on goal and then Eddy saw his one timer saved by Bowns to his frustration. Walton was having a great game and he managed to turn Baldwin inside out but his pass went wide of his target and then the Devils went on the man advantage themselves and was unlucky not to pull another goal back when Morissette saw his shot saved and then Haddad found himself at the top of the faceoff circle and Doyle managed to get the slightest touch on his shot to push it wide with the clock ticking down Devils pulled Ben Bowns for the extra attacker and after Phillips put wide of the empty net and Mosienko saw his shot blocked on the line it was Colton Fretter with a second left in the game who fired one from the neutral zone into the back of the net to give the Steelers the 4-1 win and take them to the top of the league by two points.
Shots on Goal: Steelers 5–8 Devils

FINAL SCORE: Sheffield Steelers 4–1 Cardiff Devils

Boxscore (1st-2nd-3rd-OT-[PIM]-{PP}-S)

Sheffield - 1-2-1-0-[4]-{0/4}-21

Cardiff    - 0-1-0-0-[8]-{0/2}-31

Sheffield Man of the Match: #24 Phil Hill
Cardiff Man of the Match: #2 Carl Hudson

Sheffield Points Round Up: - 9 Points
Mathieu Roy (1+1), Tyler Mosienko (0+1), Dustin Kohn (0+1), Phil Hill (1+0), Danny Bois (0+1), Colton Fretter (1+0), Robert Dowd (1+0), Ben O’Connor (0+1)

Cardiff Points Round Up: - 3 Points

Carl Hudson (1+0), Jake Morissette (0+1), Andrew Lord (0+1)

Referee: #27 Mike Hicks

Referee: #28 Jonny Liptrott

Linesman: #22 Paul Staniforth

Linesman: #30 Luke Palmer

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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