Matchday 3 in the Champions Hockey League as the Steelers Host Jyvaskyla.
Sheffield Steelers – 2
Robert Dowd - 1st (PP)
Mathieu Roy - 2nd (PP)
JYP Jyvaskyla - 4
Joonas Nattinen - 2nd
Valtteri Hotakainen - 2nd
Joose Antonen - 3rd (PP)
Janne Tavi - 3rd (EN)
Steelers came into this home game against Jyvaskyla knowing that if they wanted to make the playoff round of the CHL they'd have to find a win in regulation against the Finnish side. What a performance it was by the home side and Jyvaskyla didn't know what hit them and the Sheffield Arena crowd was right behind there team. Steelers rightfully took the lead at 15:52 while on the man advantage when Robert Dowd snapped a one timer finish past Veini Vehvilainen after a nice backhanded past by Levi Nelson on the boards and Sheffield led 1-0 and the home crowd erupted. It could have very easily been 3-0 at the end of the 1st after Rod Sarich tried to find Hewitt on a 2 on 1 break but was denied by Vehvilainen. Then Fretter with the 1 on 1 and saw his backhanded effort hit the netminders then the post and bounce on the line before getting cleared, some very impressive play on show by the home side who led 1-0 at the end of the 1st.
The visitors seemed to have been given a few harsh words in the break as they come out and got into the Steelers face a bit more but both teams continued to created chances with great netminding being on show by Tyler Plante and Vehvilainen. Jyvaskyla levelled the game at 27:48 when a lapse in concentration allowed Joonas Nattinen to finish low of Plante and we had a 1-1 game. Didn't take long for Jyvaskyla to take the lead when at 31:48 Plante had been on top form keeping out the visitors magnificently but a lucky bounce off Plante left the netminders out of position as he dived to keep the puck out Valtteri Hotakainen was able to put it past the Steelers netminders to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Sheffield managed to level the game before the break at 37:26 on the power play again this time Cullen Eddy tried to shoot the puck from the right hand side and Mathieu Roy managed to get enough on it to tip it past Vehvilainen and it was a 2-2 game going into the third period.
Sheffield were giving everything they had in the third person and were looking for a way to win the game but it would be the visitors who took the lead again on the man advantage at 47:38 Steelers blocked shots in front of Plante know one knew where the puck was except Joose Antonen who fired the puck top shelf past Plante from the feet of Sarich to give Jyvaskyla a 3-2 lead. With 1:43 left in the game Paul Thompson pulled Plante in an attempt to find an equaliser but it was Jyvaskyla that manage to force a turnover an Janne Tavi had nobody in his way and he slotted into the empty net at 58:35 to give JYP Jyvaskyla a 4-2 win on the road.
FINAL SCORE: Sheffield Steelers 2-4 JYP Jyvaskyla
What a performance by the Steelers who really put British Ice Hockey on the map as did the Braehead Clan unfortunately the Steelers final game on the 5th September is a nothing game as Frolunda and Jyvaskyla have both qualified for the next round but hopefully Sheffield can put on another great show against probably the best team in Europe in Frolunda. That game faces of a 7pm and the home fans will be hoping for a win against Frolunda so we can go into the start of our domestic season 24 hours later with bundles of confidence. Braehead do still have opportunity to qualify mathematically but I'm not sure what it will take but good luck to them next weekend as well as us.
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