Welcome to our main match report from Sunday's home game against the Manchester Storm.
After their late, late winner against on Saturday evening against the Panthers: Steelers faced Ryan Finnerty's Manchester Storm in the second of successive games at the House of Steel. The team was the same as it was for the Panthers bar Finnish defenceman Miika Franssila who ruled out by doctors after the hit which caused him to leave the Saturday game early. This meant Zack Fitzgerald moved back to defence. Storm, who had thumped a hapless Coventry 9-1 at the Storm Shelter on Saturday night, were at full strength with long term injury Chris Auger still absent.
The visitors set the pace and within the first 23 seconds, Ervins Mustukovs had to cover up otherwise it could have been a horrific start for the home side. The pressure continued but Steelers were standing tall, and then the game saw it's first notable incident when Storm captain Jay Rosehill was ejected on a 5 plus Game for a check to the head on his opposite number, Jonathan Phillips. Rosehill was clearly incensed at the decision, by launching his stick before he departed the scene: an act which surely cost the former Braehead forward another ban off DoPS perchance. Twenty seconds on the major powerplay, Steelers converted when Mathieu Roy beat Mike Clemente short side for the French-Canadian's 19th of the season.
A couple of minutes later, Steelers scored a second powerplay goal and Roy pocketed his 20th of the campaign when Clemente offered a rebound on a Ben O'Connor effort. It looked even worse for the Storm when Steelers bagged a third at 12:08, Eric Neiley with a superb no look backhand pass to Jonas Westerling whose shot looped over Clemente for the Swede's second in successive games and 5th of the season. Remarkably Finnerty didn't call a time out when you expected it, and his Storm side got themselves back into the game at 17:17. With Steelers Andreas Valdix sitting a holding minor, Ryan Trenz put one on goal and it eventually landed at the stick of Mike Hammond (scorer of 4+1 in the 9-1 Coventry win) and he nudged it home.
Steelers made another awful start in the second period, failing to clear their own zone and Andy McKinney scored from the resultant scramble at the top of Mustukovs' crease. Yet it seemed to wake the Steelers up as they restored the lead 32 seconds later at 22:41, skipper Phillips bagging his 6th of the season from the high slot area. After Matt Beca and Davey Phillips had a bit of a push and shove, Storm's Ciaran Long came flying in and took exception to the Beverley blueliner which resulted in a wee tilt, totally unwarranted from Long's direction so the former Basingstoke man picked up a 2 plus 10 for instigation despite a five minute major for fighting. It took Steelers just 15 seconds to profit on that powerplay, Roy completing his hat-trick when he once more picked up the trash as they say: his 21st of the season. Yet Storm came back into it and reduced it to 5-3 just 50 seconds after Roy's goal when Hammond scored his second of the night, tipping in a Matt Stanisz blue line effort.
Penalties then followed for the Steelers as the Storm continued to press and the home side, fatigue began creeping in alarmingly. On their third powerplay in a row, Luke Moffatt applied a low finish past Mustukovs with just under five minutes left in the middle period after some well executed special team play by the visitors. It ended 5-4 with twenty minutes left but it could have been 5-5 easily when Andreas Jämtin gave the puck away cheaply to Hammond but Mustukovs denied the forward a hat-trick goal on a shorthanded play. Steelers were seriously drained, you could see it, and within just 12 seconds of the final period beginning, Storm were on parity when Moffatt scored his second of the night.
Storm clearly had the momentum as Steelers were forced back and back and hang on. A sixth goal followed at 47:11, Linden Springer's shot was diverted towards goal by Dane Byers and the loose puck landed at Moffatt who completed a natural hat-trick and send the Storm supporters in absolute ecstasy. Quite simply Steelers were dead on their collective feet and couldn't contain the visitors when they scored a seventh on the night and fifth unanswered at 49:58, Byers tipping home for a remarkable 1+4 evening and amazing considering the Canadian was originally signed a team "policeman". Steelers tried to get back into it, but when Jämtin was ejected himself on 5 plus Game for a check to head (same call as Rosehill's) that was virtually that and the streak ended.
Goals: Steelers 5 Storm 7
Steelers Scoring: Roy 3+0, Westerling 1+2, Neiley 0+2, O'Connor 0+2, J.Phillips 1+0, Aarssen 0+1, Wallace 0+1, Ronnberg 0+1, Nelson 0+1.
Storm Scoring: Byers 1+4, Moffatt 3+1, Hammond 2+2, McKinney 1+0, Trenz 0+1, Ehrhardt 0+1, Springer 0+1, Stanisz 0+1, Fleming 0+1, Bakker 0+1.
Shots On Goal: Steelers 26 Storm 25
Powerplay: Steelers 3 from 6 (50% conversion), Storm 2 from 6 (33% conversion)
Penalty Minutes called: Steelers 40 Storm 46
Steelers Goaltender Stats: Mustukovs 32 Saves (1019), GAA: 7.00 (2.39), Save Percentage: 82.10% (91.70%).
Man of the Match: Mathieu Roy (Steelers), Dane Byers (Storm)
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