Welcome to our match report from Sunday's unforgettable game when we entertained the Belfast Giants.
After slipping up in Milton Keynes on the Saturday, Steelers headed back looking for a response on the Sunday. However, in opposition were Adam Keefe's Belfast Giants: a team that had held the upper hand in previous games this season with the Steelers only recording one win in the six played so far. Steelers team news saw Swedish forward Andreas Jämtin return to the line up after completing a three game suspension whilst Colton Fretter, Robert Dowd and John Armstrong remained on the injured list. Giants had a few injury problems of their own as Mark Garside, Stephen Murphy and Dustin Johner were absent. Former Steeler Ashley Tait was added to the roster to add more depth on the night for the visitors.
Steelers were the first team to be penalised on the night as former Giant David Phillips was called for an interference minor, but the Steelers penalty kill showed why it was one of the best in the league by negating the man advantage even if the Giants had plenty of looks including a goalmouth scramble. 36 seconds after the penalty expired, the Steelers opened the scoring. Jämtin did superbly to break up a Giants move in the visitors zone and then Cole Shudra showed great vision to feed fellow teenager Liam Kirk whose one-timer fizzed past Jackson Whistle for the forward's 6th of the season. The goal announcement hadn't finished when the Steelers added a second 26 seconds later, Andreas Valdix fed Ben O'Connor who waltzed through the Giants defence and scored a delightful goal that had people purring. It was Ben's 11th of the season.
The Giants were shell-shocked, and just over a minute later shipped a third to the rampant Steelers who clearly scented that they could really take the visitors to town and dish up a heavy beating. Whistle offered a rebound from a Scott Aarssen shot and Levi Nelson basically said "Thank you very much." as he pocketed the third unmarked, and his 15th of the season. This was the cue for Keefe to call a time out but it seemed to have not much of an effect as players from his side started to lose their own personal discipline. But they were given a chance when Nelson was assessed a double minor for accidental high-sticks, yet remarkably this failed to produce a goal for but instead a fourth Steelers goal. Spiro Goulakos, who was being mercilessly booed every time he touched the puck, lost possession on the blue line and Jämtin raced clear. The Swede confused Whistle with a brilliant move before finishing confidently short-handed and score his 7th of the season. What a way to return back to the line up!
Could the Giants stem the bleeding in the second, goals wise? Well they did, as the Steelers only scored once in the middle period but embarrassingly enough for the Northern Irish team: it was a second shorthanded goal. With Valdix sitting a hooking minor, O'Connor took possession of a loose puck and skated away down the left wing before firing an effort into the roof of Whistle's net despite the netminder getting a small piece of it. Ben's 12th of the season. But Giants became more and more indiscipline began to creep in, Sebastian Sylvestre sat a 2+10 check to the head and then as the period almost finished, Brendan Connolly launched himself late on Shudra which Steelers skipper Jonathan Phillips rightly took exception to. Connolly and Phillips picked up fighting majors for their altercation but it was also the end of the night for the Giants number 63 as he was also assessed a 5 plus Game for the late hit on the young Steelers forward.
Steelers had a five minute powerplay out of this but could only score once on it despite many looks, Matt Marquardt getting the decisive tip in front to net his 18th of the season at 41:33. With just under eight minutes to go, Keefe decided to end Whistle's night (not that he could be blamed for the majority of the goals conceded) and give Andrew Dickson the remainder of the game. Two minutes after his introduction, Dickson was fishing the puck out of the net as Steelers scored a seventh. Remarkably it was a third shorthanded goal of the evening as Steelers were defending an Aarssen slashing minor, O'Connor sending Jonas Westerling down the left and he produced a superb saucer pass that evaded the sole Giants defender (the much maligned Goulakos believe it or not) and skipper Phillips rammed the puck home at the far post. The scoring was complete with 50 seconds left in the game; another superb break by the Steelers as they bore down on Dickson 3 on 1 and Marquardt applied the coup de grace with a superb finish from the high slot for his 19th of the season. A night to remember for the Steelers, but one to seriously forget for the Giants.
Goals: Steelers 8 Giants 0
Steelers Scoring: Marquardt 2+1, O'Connor 2+1, Jämtin 1+1, Valdix 0+2, Westerling 0+2, Kirk 1+0, J.Phillips 1+0, Nelson 1+0, Aarssen 0+1, Wallace 0+1, Matheson 0+1, Shudra 0+1.
Shots On Goal: Steelers 30 Giants 31
Powerplay: Steelers 1 from 6 (17% conversion), Giants 0 from 6 (0% conversion)
Penalty Minutes called: Steelers 19 Giants 52
Steelers Goaltender Stats: Mustukovs 31 Saves (966), GAA: 0.00 (2.22), Save Percentage: 100.00% (92.30%).
Man of the Match: Ben O'Connor (Steelers), Colin Shields (Giants)
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