After the Cup reverse on Wednesday evening in the en-suite bathroom against Fife, Steelers head back into league action with games home and on the road. Saturday night is indeed hockey night in Sheffield, as we entertain the current league leaders and team to chase: Andrew Lord's Cardiff Devils. 24 hours later, the team head to Tayside to face a Dundee Stars team who have been much improved this season.
So what can we expect?
Saturday night's game is another must win game, especially now there are just 9 weeks of the regular season to play. It really is the business end of the season and Cardiff are the team that everyone is hunting down in the race for the Monteith Bowl. The Devils currently have a six point lead over us although we have a couple of games in hand. But games in hand have to be won, so it's imperative that we pick up a maximum haul this evening against our visitors.
Devils have the capability to hurt you from any position, whether it be the solid goaltending provided by GB internationalist Ben Bowns, the well organised defence that features the ever-improving Josh Batch and forward lines that have plenty of goals in them. That's the task we have in opposition but we know full well that if we are up for it from the get go. We have to be actually. Cardiff are beatable that's for sure, and we have proven that here in the House Of Steel. Who can forget the 8-1 pasting we handed out to them in the second week of the season. That shows what we are capable of.
A win at home, and regulation too, is the requirement.
24 hours further on, and the boys are on the road again. The destination this time is the Dundee Ice Arena in the City Of Discovery to face a Stars team completely rejuvenated this season under former Steelers player and one-time assistant coach Marc LeFebvre. Stars are pushing close for the Gardiner Conference title and despite being in sixth place in the actual overall league standings: are only four points behind our good selves.
"Furby" has recruited a good roster after succeeding Jeff Hutchins in the summer, and it is one that we can ill afford to take lightly. Czech netminder Vlastimil Lakosil has returned home for personal reasons but his replacement in the Stars' cage is no stranger to the EIHL or to Steelers head coach Paul Thompson for that matter. For it is experienced goaltender Trevor Koenig, formerly of the now defunct Newcastle Vipers. Koenig also backstopped Thompson's Blaze to two of their four league titles, and despite being 41 years of age now: has the pedigree to be an astute signing as the season draws to a close.
Aside of this, Bobby Chaumont leads the team by example and in scoring too, averaging a shade over a point a game since arriving on Tayside in the summer after spending the last two and half seasons in Fife where he recorded 60+ points in each campaign for Todd Dutiaume's men. They cannot be taken too lightly and are sure to give us a real test to our roster which has certain players playing through the injury barriers and are missing both GB internationalist Robbie Dowd and Canadian winger Guillaume Desbiens. It will be mega tough.
Prediction Time: Both games are going to be hard. I'm going for a 3-2 home win against the Devils in a feisty encounter and the team finding enough resolve to come back from Dundee with a 4-2 road triumph. Neither will be easy games but there's no reason why we can't have another 4 point weekend and keep the pressure on. What do you think?
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