Thursday 28 September 2017

From The Editor's Chair - Edition 45


Welcome to the seat that is known as the Editor's Chair where I decide to give you my humble opinions which I can't waffle on too much on the Soapbox nor the Podcast.

I'm going to talk again this week, like I have done before, on this nice little subjects:
  • D.O.P.S
  • Refereeing

D.O.P.S or should that be Dopes based on some of their decisions made since they first arrived on the scene here. Unlike the NHL, people know who is behind it but for some strange phenomenon: we don't in the UK. Talk about a lack of transparency. One minute we're told it's decisions made by people overseas, next minute Todd Kelman telling Cardiff fans that it's just one person over here. Make your god damn freaking minds up and tell us the right description and who is behind it. All I want, and I am sure other fans too, is a bit of common sense and that word again: transparency! It's not hard is it?

As for the decision making, some of it has been absolutely laughable shall we say it? Let me look at one particular incident just last weekend, in Milton Keynes. Yes, you've seen the clip on some social media outlet involving Paul Crowder. How the heck did that, on the night, get called for a minor two minute for slashing. More like two minutes for attempted decapitation on ice. Sorry Cardiff fans, there's intent and there's malice. But then again, have you seen who the man with the armbands was? A certain person who missed two incidents in Cardiff last season when we went there and the Devils scored both times. The subsequent review, and if MK hadn't put it in I would have been clearly astonished, saw Crowder suspended for three games. Yes, just three games. It deserves more, and once more we are wondering how the fudge D.O.P.S are making such ludicrous decisions. It just has me baffled.

Now on part two of my mini-rant, referees. Yes I appreciate that the officials can't call everything and without them we wouldn't have a sport to watch but so when so many things are being missed on a nightly basis then you have to start questioning are some of the people officiating up to the job in hand. Granted I wouldn't like doing the job, I never liked refereeing a football match particularly when one of the sides is a bunch of your mates, but when decision making goes wrong then it goes wrong in a big way.

We're told the sport is investing in the referee programme but we're still stuck with the three stripey team and not four. People might say that we don't have the numbers to cover it with four, we would do if we could get young aspiring stripes to be fast-tracked like they do in football. If a referee is decent enough in football, he goes on this fast-track programme and is nurtured to be a top level official. I've seen this happen. So why can't hockey do something similar?

So is the funding actually there? Makes you wonder. The sooner we have a four person officiating team week in, week out the lesser chances things will be missed and coaches won't be going mental when things go wrong like they did on Sunday at the Arena. Also, there should be a referee's assessor in the crowd monitoring the official's performance and if they are below par then he/she should be made accountable for it. If we had enough officials, drop those underperformers down to NIHL for a game or two before giving them another EIHL match.

But then that's me being me. Some of you will think yeah, Mark's bang on the money here and some will think: erm nah! And with this that's me signing out for another week, hopefully I will be a bit more happier next time but don't count those chickens too much. OK?



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Last gasp Armstrong strikes against Lightning


Time for the match report against the Milton Keynes Lightning.

On Wednesday night, Steelers looked to arrest their recent dip in form with a home game at Ice Sheffield against the second of the Elite League newcomers, Milton Keynes Lightning. Lightning came into Sheffield on the back of an excellent four point weekend, and with wins already this season against Belfast and Cardiff. Steelers welcomed back both Zack Fitzgerald and Liam Kirk who missed the second of the two games against the Giants whilst Kieran Brown was also dressed for action. Defenceman Scott Aarssen who exited the home game against the Giants in the first period, did not ice. Lightning were at full strength and included former Steelers forward Ashley Tait in their team as well as former Panthers goalie Miika Wiikman who started the game in nets.

Needing a quick start, Steelers were ahead at 5:07. Defencemen Joonas Ronnberg and Mark Matheson combined and it was Colton Fretter who was on hand to tip in his sixth goal of the season in all competitions past Wiikman. However, Lightning weren't behind for long when they levelled just two and half minutes later. Quin Pompi found Ludwig Karlsson and his excellent feed set up French-Canadian Francois Verreault-Paul to light the lamp beyond Mustukovs. It was no more than the hard working visitors deserved, and less than a minute they took the lead thanks to former Manchester Storm defenceman Paul Phillips whose shot from the point found its way home.

Steelers weren't at their best but equalised at 10:38. Matt Nickerson was sitting a high sticking minor, and it was Fretter and Matheson who got the helpers on Matt Marquardt's first Steelers goal. The big number 37 getting the decisive touch out front. Lightning took the lead in the opening 53 seconds of the second period, captain Kevin King with a shot from the left wing that beat Mustukovs short side and probably one that the Steelers goaltender will want back. However the Latvian was in great form after that, and turned out away 15 more shots on as the visitors dominated the second period play and took a deserved lead going into the final twenty.

The home team knew they had to pull their collective socks up in the final period to avoid a third successive loss, and they did so although to some people's opinions: hardly convincingly. With Mustukovs denying Milton Keynes at one end, Steelers pressed on at the other end and 47:30 were back on parity. Ben O'Connor created the chance, and Armstrong poked it home past Wiikman. Referee Tom Pering had called very few penalties as the game entered it's final five minutes but then called three in the space of as many minutes. With Steelers having killed off Levi Nelson's interference minor, they were left on a 5 on 3 advantage and the powerplay clicked once more to deny Lightning a point and overtime: Armstrong picking up the pieces to score his seventh of the season and secure two much needed points.


Time for the statistics:

Goals: Steelers 4 Lightning 3 

Steelers Scoring: Armstrong 2+0, Marquardt 1+1, Fretter 1+1, Matheson 0+2, Valdix 0+1, Ronnberg 0+1, O'Connor 0+1.

Lightning Scoring: Phillips 1+1, Hudson 0+2, King 1+0, Verreault-Paul 0+1, Foster 0+1, Pompi 0+1, Karlsson 0+1.

Shots On Goal: Steelers 27, Lightning 32

Powerplay: Steelers 2 from 5 (40% conversion), Lightning 0 from 2 (0% conversion)

Penalty Minutes called: Steelers 6, Lightning 10

Steelers Goaltender Stats: Mustukovs 29 Saves (163 overall), GAA: 3.00 (2.41), Save Percentage 89.70% (92.10%)

Man of the Match: John Armstrong (Steelers), Paul Phillips (Lightning)


Now for some of your thoughts:

Adrian Lee: "Just one comment. Why does it take the Steelers 45 minutes to wake up every match?"

Andy Roberts: "Great road game by MKL. They deserved a point minimum from that game, Steelers very lucky to get 2 points."

Nathan: "We looked lost for large parts of the game. No leadership or direction coming from the bench, or so it would seem. On a positive note, it was good to see Fitzgerald back and playing well."

Bryan Ibbotson: "Think the Lightning will think they deserved something out of that game; and I'll be inclined to agree with them. Great game though they played."



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Wednesday 27 September 2017

Big Match Preview - Coventry (Home/Away)


Welcome to the weekend's Big Match Preview. This is also a landmark post here in FSB world as it is, get ready for it, the 1000th post on the blog. We started life in November 2013, been through a few changes here and there, but here are now: 1000 posts not out. Some achievement ain't it?

With the all things, let's preview the weekend ahead.

Like last weekend, we face one club both home and away. It's a team we've met already this season so we will be pretty used to what to expect from them. Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you this bunch of fellows:


Yes it's the Blaze. We had them in pre-season, in fact the last two games of, and now face them in domestic action. Both sides had a decent-ish, if you can call it this, start but have fallen off the wagon a bit and are now in a bit of a mini slump. Blaze have lost their last two, whilst Steelers have lost two of their last three. Both sides are looking for a reaction of sorts, and put the smiles back on their respective fans faces because the heat is starting to warm up literally speaking.

Looking at the rosters, both have the ability but are at the moment - inconsistent. For Blaze there's the influential Jordan Pietrus and Ryan Dingle who will score goals for fun given the chances to do so. Steelers of course will look to the top line of Fretter-Armstrong-Roy, the latter not having scored as many as he would like. Steelers' Matt Marquardt will also be looking to put one over on his former employers too. Both sides possess good quality netminding in Mustukovs and Nastiuk respectively so it could be a battle of the goaltenders who wins the hockey games this weekend. Special teams will also be important.

My predictions? Steelers to squeak the game in the Arena 4-2 and maybe with an empty net goal to seal the deal. Going into Sunday, it's always tough to get something out of Coventry (but we know we're more than capable of it) and I reckon the Blaze will edge that one there - Steelers to get a point as Coventry win 3-2 in overtime. What about you?



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Hockey Soapbox - Season 3 Week 3 - Bullied and Beaten Up


Welcome once more to your Hockey Soapbox. On the panel this week offering their thoughts are your Editor Mark, Steel Talk co-owner Jay Smith, the wonderful Eric and the knowledgeable Sarah. Time to say what's on your minds everyone.

1. Five words on Saturday:
First ten minutes cost us
Slow, tired, preparation, Away, Grit
Never got off the plane
Game beyond reach in 10mins

2. Five words on Sunday:
Spineless, Tactics, Hogarth, Teamwork, Fitness
I'm not allowed to swear 
Crap! Ice, officiating and team
It's the Stefan Hogarth Show!

3. Did we “sit” the wrong player on Saturday at Belfast?

Sarah: I'm not too sure, Ramsay's played ok in the last few games but I'd struggle to pinpoint a player as not many players are stepping up to the mark for me and we couldn't sit half the bench. I'm sure it's a difficult decision for Thommo having to sit a player but there's fitness and injuries to think about, if a player receives a knock in a game then surely it's best to rest them. Hoping it will bring the best out in the players having to fight for a position. 
Eric: With his recruitment Thompson really does struggle, personally he's recruiting some players that would have been ok in the Elite league 2 or 3 years ago, the league is a lot better now.

In his defence, however,  he has been really unlucky with our early injury problems. But then he dropped lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at it, picking  up Juha Koivisto, the only downside showed up on Saturday. We now have the extra import and with Koivisto being, in my opinion better than Westerling and Ramsey it put the coach in a dilemma. The lines would be upset and not showing up for the first 10, really left us with an uphill climb. 

Did he sit the correct guy? The short answer is NO.. he should have left the team and lines and just brought Fitzgerald back.
Mark: I think so, I would have given Marquardt one more week's rest to be honest and just brought Zack back into the fold. It unbalanced the bottom two lines and it was like starting over again. 
Jay: Not really, although a case could have been made for sitting Westerling (neither have impressed at all)

4. Would you give Brad Day more ice time in the Challenge Cup games?

Eric: I like Brad, I really do, the kid has gone the extra mile for the Steelers on more than one occasion, but as I feel this is the only silverware we stand any chance of winning, with this team, this season, Moose has to be between the pipes.
Mark: Unless there's a league-wide rule saying the back-up must play a certain percentage of games all season, otherwise he's going to be opening doors all the time.
Jay: Not unless every team in the competition does the same...
Sarah: With our D at the moment? Moose is being hung out to dry and it would do nothing for Brad's confidence if the same happened to him. When we played Coventry in pre season away, you could clearly see the players weren't interested and left Brad wide open. He just isn't the same quality as Moose and we need to be playing our top players whether it be the league or challenge cup. He needs to be given ice time like when we played Dundee at Ice Sheffield, he played 13 minutes or so of the last period and didn't concede so it would have boosted his confidence. 


5. One big league or conferences as they are? Which is better?

Mark: One big league, and ditch that damn Challenge Cup. Granted it might upset some, and I am talking your Dundee's/Fife's/Edinburgh's here with their whines about it reducing their income streams (find other ways gents), but if the majority want to happen then run with it.
Sarah: Personally I'd like one big league, I don't like to see the same teams every week but with my business head on (I know, slightly different to Dentistry) then it would be conferences. Some Scottish teams said they would drop out of the league if it wasn't what they wanted/needed due to cost implications but aren't we playing more cross conference games more than before? I can't see one league working at the moment but maybe if/when more teams come into the league then they'll have no option. 
Jay: One big league by a country mile, I hate this conference crap! Playing the same teams 12 times a season devalues all the games..
Eric: Easy question for me to answer this one. I do understand that some of the teams may struggle financially, but it has to be one big league for me. It maybe that the conference system is better for all 12 clubs financially, and I for one will live with that. But to win the league, which is still the biggest challenge in the Elite league all teams must play a level playing (ice pad) field for me.


And finally...Should the league adopt four officials for every game if they had the numbers?

Jay: Yes without a doubt, it should be priority the whole officials crisis is an embarrassment to the EIHL and a solution must be found..
Eric: Should the league run four officials. YES! Every day and twice on Sunday, been saying it for seasons now. The three man/woman (Liv Andersson) system is just too much for the level of the officials and the quality of the league, it really is just to much for them. 

That extra pair of eyes, may! And i say it again, may! Make all the difference. Just looking at the fallout by the fans on the games this weekend. And I will highlight Hogarth's (dear oh dear) abysmal performance on Sunday and Toms effort Saturday that extra official is desperately needed in the Elite League. 
Sarah: 4 officials would be great, surely they can't miss as much as they do now but it's not going to happen anytime soon. Again it's down to money, 2 seasons ago it was up to the home club whether to have 3 or 4 officials as it was a cost to them. Only way to make it fair was for the ruling of only 3 officials and introduce goal line technology. Might as well have no officials with Sunday's farce though. 
Mark: Always, but can the funding be found for it. Train them properly, make officials who receive low performance marks accountable, and develop. Use the experienced ones as mentors. Until these things happen, we're going to struggle and there will be more cases of performances like Sunday occurring far too often. The whole programme needs revamping and invested in.


And that's the Soapbox for this week. Want to take part next week?


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Rink Round-Up: Week 3


Welcome to Frozen Steel Blog's weekly round-up of the rest of the action in the Elite League.

The week started on Tuesday night when Steelers overcame the visiting Dundee Stars at Ice Sheffield, 8-2. It was a sensational win for Paul Thompson's side as a splendid first period where they lit the lamp five times without reply, and scored one of the best goals of the season so far thanks to Brady Ramsay. So much for Omar Pacha's "plan" to win against the Steelers for the first time in 20 games.

Moving forwards, there were 4 games in the Elite League on Saturday and 2 in the Challenge Cup. Whilst the Steelers were losing in Northern Ireland, Braehead produced one of their best performances in recent times to overcome the Panthers 5-3 in the NIC. Inspired by an outstanding performance by netminder Ryan Nie; who saved 50 out of 53 shots; and a sensational second period where they scored three unanswered to overturn a 2-1 first period deficit. Elsewhere there was a goal fest in the Storm Shelter where Storm edged past league newcomers Guildford by the odd goal in eleven after overtime. Flames' pain was compounded by the loss of starting goalie Brian Stewart midway through the second period with an unknown injury.

Coventry's recent good form was halted by an Andy Iles inspired Fife Flyers in Kirkcaldy. Iles recorded a 43 save shutout to propel the Flyers to a 2-0 home win and deny Danny Stewart a win on his old stomping ground. Milton Keynes continued their decent start to life in the Elite League as they recorded 5-2 home win over last season's treble winners Cardiff in the Challenge Cup. Devils were undone by three former players: Carl Hudson, Guillaume Doucet and Denny Kearney who scored four of the five strikes past Ben Bowns. In the other game, Dundee defeated Edinburgh 4-3 after a four round shootout in the DIA: Marc-Olivier Mimar the only one to score.

Onto Sunday, Braehead completed a four point weekend as three goals in the first two periods did the job in Murrayfield. Capitals did pull one in the third period through Sergei Banashkov but John Tripp's team were the ones celebrating at the end. Cardiff's indifferent start to the season continued as they were comprehensively beaten 6-1 at Ice Arena Wales by Ryan Finnerty's Manchester Storm. Storm were 5-0 ahead by the time Devils opened their account, and Bowns had been replaced by Thomas Murdy before the game had reached halfway. Former Fife Flyer Chris Auger scored a well taken hat-trick to silence the majority of the 2672 crowd and send the Storm faithful back happy.

Panthers again were made to work hard for the points against Guildford, a 3-2 after penalty shots win secured by Josh Shalla's effort in the third round of the shootout. This was a game that Panthers had led 2-0 going into the final twenty, only for John Dunbar to secure a point for the Flames (missing Stewart after his injury the night before) with just 19 seconds left in regulation time. And finally, Milton Keynes completed a wonderful weekend for themselves with a 7-4 win in the SkyDome. Kearney had a four point individual night as Lightning scored five unanswered strikes after conceding an early goal to former Steeler Luke Ferrara.


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Tuesday 26 September 2017

Big Match Preview - Milton Keynes (Home)



Welcome to another big match preview. Yes we know this is being uploaded less than 24 hours before the games but circumstances beyond control have dictated it. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Well after a double loss at the weekend, Steelers look to bounce back on Wednesday in another league game across the car park in Ice Sheffield. Our opposition are these fellows:


Yes it is the second of the Elite League's newcomers, Milton Keynes Lightning. Lightning arrive in Sheffield, brimming with confidence. They have had wins over Belfast, Cardiff and Braehead and to have last season's top two as scalps already is something to be proud of. Hats off to Lightning for that.

They are coached by GB Head Coach Pete Russell, so we can assume they will be very organised and prepared meticulously. Looking at their roster, they have Polish international netminder Przemyslaw Odrobny who was very well deputised by none other than former Panther Miika Wiikman when the former was injured. They also have Matt Nickerson and Jonathan Boxill who were at Belfast last year, and had spells at Fife and Nottingham respectively. There's a trio of ex-Cardiff Devils in Carl Hudson, Guillaume Doucet and Denny Kearney plus former Manchester Storm defenceman Paul Phillips; not to forget the evergreen Ashley Tait who had two successive spells here in Sheffield.

Another to seriously watch out for is the hugely talented Brit Lewis Hook.

So plenty of things to think about. We could seriously be in for a shock like the aforementioned sides above if we underestimate them, and three losses in a row will start some alarm bells ringing here in Sheffield. We don't want that, do we? Play as well as we know we can play, and the winning feeling can return and so can the smiles. It's in our own hands this destiny, carpe diem Steelers...make us smile once more!

My prediction? I'm still going to go for the same prediction I made on the podcast last week, Steelers to win 6-2 but it will be a hard fought 6-2 at that. How do you see it?


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Outmuscled Steelers slip again to Giants


Time for the match report from Sunday's return match at the Arena against the Giants.

After losing 3-1 in Northern Ireland on Saturday, Steelers returned to home ice to take on their conquerors and get back to winning ways. However they had to do this without both defenceman Zack Fitzgerald and hot prospect Liam Kirk who were missing for unspecified reasons. Fitzgerald's absence meant that Brady Ramsay made a return to the team, and Matt Marquardt made his House of Steel debut as a Steeler at last. Giants iced the same team that won on Saturday; the only change being that Stephen Murphy started in between the pipes - replacing Saturday's starter Jackson Whistle.

What was apparent from the start, and continued throughout the game, was that Giants played a very physical game which had all the hallmarks of their Head Coach: Adam Keefe. This was proven at 11:04 in the opening period when Cole Jarrett was banished on 2+10 checking to the head penalty on Colton Fretter on the boards just inside the Giants blue line. Andreas Valdix went close a few minutes later when he was all alone in the slot but his effort on goal was pushed aside by a pad save from Murphy. The crowd cheered with delight when referee Stefan Hogarth fell over at 17:56, anyone would have thought there was a hidden sniper in the Arena. It really was comical.

The second period was just as intense, and Steelers had another golden chance at 22:27 on the powerplay as Brendan Connolly sat a hooking minor but Fretter was denied by a Murphy flashing glove. Moments later it was Mustukovs' turn to excel as he denied the speedy Steve Saviano on a shorthanded break. Then it really did start to get feisty following an altercation which saw Connolly back in the box just 21 seconds after leaving it. Hogarth then produced a comical decision to award coincidental minors against Levi Nelson and Giants Ryan Martinelli when it was clear that the Giant had pushed the Steelers #76 into Murphy and held him down in the process. The game's opening goal came at 27:43 and even that had a bit of controversy about as former Steeler Colin Shields batted the puck in from out front which a distinct suspicion of high sticks about it.

Jarrett was lucky to stay on the ice when he boarded Jonas Westerling midway through the second; a decision Hogarth saw as a minor discretion but not one that the majority of the fans inside the Arena agreed with. Steelers were however appalling to put it politely on the man advantage, failing to capitalise on eight opportunities offered to them by Hogarth whilst killing off the Giants ones. It heated up again in the final ten minutes when Goulakos received a 2+10 checking from behind penalty with Fretter again the man targeted. The defenceman got an extra 10 minute misconduct for his troubles too and an early shower as well. Then it really exploded at 53:32 when Fretter was shown a remarkable 5 plus game for slashing when he had every right to go for a loose puck that Murphy hadn't covered properly. The decision, which wasn't made on the play itself, sent Paul Thompson incandescent with rage and obtain a misconduct penalty for the Steelers coach as well as infuriating the crowd.

Murphy was unable to continue, clearly nursing a hand injury of some kind (later confirmed as a dislocated shoulder) and Whistle came in as relief for the final 6 and a bit minutes. Yet Steelers had their best period of pressure whilst defending this major penalty. Whistle knocking the nets off twice in the space of a minute amid uncertainty but Steelers simply couldn't light the lamp and get something out of an ill-tempered game. With Mustukovs pulled in the final seconds for an extra skater, Steelers lost possession inside the neutral zone and Darcy Murphy found the unguarded cage to secure a four point weekend for his side and leave Steelers that empty feeling.


Time for the statistics:

Goals: Steelers 0 Giants 2 

Giants Scoring: Shields 1+0, D Murphy 1+0, Goulakos 0+1, Riley 0+1, Kurtz 0+1.

Shots On Goal: Steelers 29, Giants 25

Powerplay:  Steelers 0 from 8 (0% conversion), Giants 0 from 4 (0% conversion)

Penalty Minutes called: Steelers 53, Giants 58

Steelers Goaltender Stats: Mustukovs 24 + 1 ENG Saves (134), GAA: 1.02 (2.28), Save Percentage 95.80% (92.40%)

Man of the Match: Mark Matheson (Steelers), Colin Shields (Belfast)


Now for some of your thoughts:

Tricky: "Well the passion was there. Atrocious officiating and numerous uncalled dirty Giants play. Sums it up really."

Robin Hindle: "Missed Fitzy to police the game. Bullied and dominated. Referee shocking. Looked tired (understandably). Will bounce back. Not our night."

Nathan: "Garbage."

Simon Rudkin: "Shocking referring shouldn't disguise the fact we were bullied and outplayed for the second night. Worrying lack of toughness with no Fitzy."

Tony Dolby: "Any team who can go 0 for 8 on the PP deserves to lose. We had five good minutes and that was on Frets' major. And as for the ice, 2 points say things are changing at the Arena: 1. That should be top priority, and 2. Briggsy can't take many games like that."


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Sunday 24 September 2017

Giants stand tall over Steelers


Time once more for our match report, this time it's Saturday night's trip to Belfast Giants.


Steelers arrived in the Northern Irish capital with a clean bill of health. That meant that both defenceman Zack Fitzgerald and power forward Matt Marquardt were available for selection again after their respective spells on the sidelines. Both players iced which meant a decision had to be made in the ranks whom would be the spare import. Centre Brady Ramsay was the one who was sacrificed, this meant a reshuffle in the bottom two lines. Belfast were at full strength, and coach Adam Keefe chose to start Jackson Whistle in between the pipes with the veteran Stephen Murphy being his back up.

The game couldn't have started so well or so bad depending which team you were supporting. An opening goal came with just 32 seconds on the clock played, Dustin Johner the man lighting the lamp. The Giants doubled their lead at 8:22, three seconds after Steelers had successfully killed a Mark Matheson tripping minor. Scorer this time was veteran offensive defenceman Cole Jarrett. And it got worse for the Steelers 52 seconds later when Sylvestre netted the Giants third of the night, prompting head coach Paul Thompson to call a time out.

Needing a goal to give themselves hope, Steelers managed to do that at 10:56. The irrepressible Levi Nelson scoring his first league goal of the season, with helpers from Matheson and Andreas Valdix. After that it became a goaltending contest with both netminders playing well for their team as well as bit physical too. Giants were comfortably out-shooting the Steelers, the only time they didn't was in the third period and even then that was only 11-10 in favour of Thompson's men. Both teams had a bad night on special teams too, failing to net on each of their four powerplay opportunities. So Steelers fall their regulation loss of the season and now move to 2-1-1 in regular season games, Giants go to 2-0-1 in their respective tally.

The two teams clash again today, Sunday, this time in the House Of Steel and we will see who will come out on top then. 


Time for the statistics:

Goals: Giants 3 Steelers 1 

Steelers Scoring: Nelson 1+0, Valdix 0+1, Matheson 0+1.

Giants Scoring: Connolly 0+2, Johner 1+0, Jarrett 1+0, Sylvestre 1+0, Goulakos 0+1, Vandermeer 0+1, Ferland 0+1.

Shots On Goal: Giants 47, Steelers 30

Powerplay: Giants 0 from 4 (0% conversion), Steelers 0 from 4 (0% conversion)

Penalty Minutes called: Giants 10, Steelers 20

Steelers Goaltender Stats: Mustukovs 44 Saves (111), GAA: 3.10 (2.61), Save Percentage 93.60% (91.70%)

Man of the Match: Matt Marquardt (Steelers), Matt Towe (Belfast)


Now for some of your thoughts:

Richard Wilcock: "Thommo's summed it up. We were poor, we need to play in first ten minutes like we do in the last ten."

Jonathan Cater: "Belfast deserved it. Thought some strange calls but didn't impact the result. Changing the lines messed up the flow of our players."

Sarah Stephenson: "First ten minutes killed it for us again! But we didn't just get into the game and didn't look interested, different team to Tuesday."

Bryan Ibbotson: "Horrendous first 10 minutes cost us that game. Did improve slightly as the game went on but would say our worst performance of the season so far."




Thanks for reading guys. If you want to get involved please contact us on Twitter or find us on Facebook and like us and leave a comment:-
@FrozenSteelBlog
@FrozenSteelMNL
@FrozenSteelJr
@BTI_Podcast
@hockeybhoy
@Disgu15ed
@SedgyFergus
@georgefbarber

Check out Breaking The Ice Available to listen and download on iTunes and SoundCloud.
Or Email the team at Frozen Steel

You can also get involved in Steelers related discussions by joining the forums at Steel Talk

Friday 22 September 2017

Frozen Steel Jr Goes LIVE!


Before we get into the actual announcement itself, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support over the last few years. It is because of you guys that we have grown to the point where we have; and we appreciate it enormously. We look forward to continuing bringing you the level of coverage that we have done so far, and more!

All that being said, it's time for the announcement.

With it being a new season, Alan has looked into some additional changes and we have collectively agreed upon how we can further improve our content for you all. It is therefore with great pleasure and excitement that we announce the creation of Frozen Steel Junior. 

The thinking behind this is that we recently opened discussions with another Steelers based blog, Steel The Puck. This particular blog was created just over a year ago by 16 year-old George Barber. In speaking with George, it became very apparent that his intentions and motives behind his blog were very similar to that of our own. He also outlined future plans for his blog, including a podcast, something we that already provide under "Breaking The Ice". Following on from those discussions, the two sides have decided to join forces as one under the Frozen Steel banner.

Where Frozen Steel Junior comes into the equation is very simple. With George and fellow Steel The Puck writer Amy-Leigh both being under the age of 18; we decided it would be an ideal opportunity to create a section on Frozen Steel for the under 18 age group within the Steelers fan base. 

This will allow both George and Amy-Leigh to continue with their own articles as well as getting involved at some point with our podcast. It will also allow for other Steelers fans of their age group to be equally involved with the newly created junior side of Frozen Steel. This new section will be jointly overseen by George and Alan. The @SteelThePuck Twitter account will be renamed as @FrozenSteelJr, and both George and Alan will be the only people involved in the access of that account.

As well as bringing along some of their current articles, we are also creating a junior version of the ever popular Soapbox, which will be entitled "Soapbox Jr."

So, if you are under the age of 18, you now have an area of Frozen Steel for you to get involved in, whether it be through Soapbox Jr, writing your articles or even a guest appearance on the Breaking The Ice podcast.

One thing that we must absolutely stress, is that if we suspect any fake social media accounts are being created, or current social media accounts being used, in order to establish contact and approach the younger members of Frozen Steel and the Steelers fan base, we will take action towards blocking their access to our articles, contributors and fans alike.

If we feel it necessary we will also inform Tony Smith and the Club of such suspicious activity, especially if we obtain your name. With recent events that were linked to our hockey club, we are simply taking NO chances.

We would also like to take this opportunity to ask that any parents out there that follow our blog to keep up-to-date with their child's activities on any social media accounts that they have. We hope that you can understand and appreciate our reasoning behind this request.

In the meantime, there will be further news to announce with regards to Frozen Steel Junior, which we shall bring you in due course.

We thank you for taking the time to read this announcement and we hope that you are all as excited as we are.

Regards,
Alan, Mark, Tony, Fergus and George
The FSB Team


Thanks for reading guys. If you want to get involved please contact us on Twitter or find us on Facebook and like us and leave a comment:-
@FrozenSteelBlog
@FrozenSteelMNL
@FrozenSteelJr
@BTI_Podcast
@hockeybhoy
@Disgu15ed
@SedgyFergus
@georgefbarber

Check out Breaking The Ice Available to listen and download on iTunes and SoundCloud.
Or Email the team at Frozen Steel

You can also get involved in Steelers related discussions by joining the forums at Steel Talk