Showing posts with label The Walkeden Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Walkeden Review. Show all posts

Tuesday, 15 September 2015

Sheffield Steelers v Cardiff Devils - Challenge Cup Group B


Sheffield first home game of the new season versus Cardiff as well as the banner raising of last years league championship.

Sheffield Steelers – 8
Mathieu Roy (3) - 1st, 3rd (PP), 3rd
Jace Coyle - 1st
Jeff Legue - 1st
Levi Nelson - 1st
Robert Dowd - 2nd
Tyler Mosienko - 3rd


Cardiff Devils – 1

Andrew Lord - 2nd

Steelers first home game of the season as they took on the Devils in the challenge cup. 24 hours earlier the Steelers defeated Coventry in their own barn 4-0 and looked to take that momentum into the Cardiff game and to get revenge for the previous week. After giving up an early penalty shot which Tyler Plante saved comfortably from Leigh Salters the Steelers gave up another breakaway but Plante saved again and drew a delayed penalty but Sheffield broke and it was Jeff Legue from the right hand side who threw one on goal and it was Mathieu Roy who tipped it past Bowns for 1-0 at 1:08. It was 2-0 at 12:50 when some great work by Mosienko set up Jace Coyle on the blue line who fired his snap shot through traffic and beat Ben Bowns at his near post. No Less than 30 seconds later it was 3-0 when Legue and Roy linked up with Mathieu Roy playing a lovely back handed pass to the tape of Legue who moved Bowns and finished from a tight angle at 13:12. With the clock ticking down Levi Nelson made it 4-0 at 19:39 when he skated into the zone and brought the puck into his body before brilliantly sniping one past the blocker of Ben Bowns and Sheffield took a comfortable lead into the 1st break.


Into the 2nd period Cardiff pulled a goal back through their player coach when Andrew Lord fired one onto the post before picking up his own rebound and firing the backhanded shot past Plante to break the shutout at 24:02 to make it 4-1. In pretty much the very next play Robert Dowd made it 5-1 after a slick pass from Legue in the slot he fired a quick release stick side of Ben Bowns at 24:20. Cardiff had a mountain to climb going into the third period being down by four goals.

Sheffield scored their 6th goal at 44:48 while on the power play the Steelers broke 3v2 and Colton Fretter took his time to pass the puck through two Devils players for Mathieu Roy to re-direct past Ben Bowns to score his 2nd of the night. Sheffield continued their dominance at 46:39 when they scored their 7th when Duco played Phillips while drawing a delayed penalty from Batch it was the captain who slipped in Mosienko at the back door to slot past Ben Bowns which also saw the end of the night of the British number 1 as he was replaced by Mike Will in between the pipes. Mathieu Roy completed his hat-trick at 57:46 when he received the puck in the slot before showing nice hands to stick handle it under the leg pads of Will who was already down on the Ice and that made it 8-1 and completed a convincing win for the Steelers to secure a four point weekend.


FINAL SCORE: Sheffield Steelers 8-1 Cardiff Devils

Mathieu Roy took the Man of the Match award for the Steelers and Mark Richardson received it for the Devils. The Steelers next game is Saturday 19th September when they take on the Coventry Blaze in their only game of the weekend at the Sheffield Arena.


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Sunday, 6 September 2015

Cardiff Devils v Sheffield Steelers - Challenge Cup Group B


First game of the Domestic Season as the Steelers travel to Cardiff to face the Devils in the BBT.


Cardiff Devils – 5
Joey Haddad - 1st

Joey Martin - 1st (PP)
Carl Hudson - 3rd (PP)
Leigh Salters - 3rd
Jake Morissette - 3rd (EN)

Sheffield Steelers – 3

Robert Dowd - 3rd (PP)
Tyler Mosienko - 3rd
Mike Duco - 3rd (PP)

First game of the domestic season for the Steelers but the second for the Devils after beating Manchester just 24 hours earlier. Cardiff took the lead at 2:10 when a defensive lapse by the visitors allowed Joey Haddad to re-direct past Plante from in front of goal and it was 1-0 to the home side. Cardiff extended their lead to 2-0 at 10:09 when the Devils looked to be offside but nothing was given and this time it was Joey Martin who was fed in front to slot past Plante on the power play and that's how it stayed going into the break and the whole of the second period.

After a scoreless second period Sheffield pulled a goal back on the power play at 44:06 when Robert Dowd scored the first goal of the Steelers domestic season when he turned in the slot finishing past the always impressive Ben Bowns. Cardiff soon went on the man advantage when Eddy was called for holding and at 45:02 made it 3-1 after an absolutely beautiful play by Joey Martin found Hudson who finished up high on Plante. Steelers come straight back though and in the next shift a bit of a lucky bounce at 45:19 and O'Connor found Mosienko who faked Bowns and slotted into the open goal to make it 3-2. A flurry of goals and Cardiff scored a fourth at 46:13 when it was Leigh Salters credited with the goal after forcing a leg save out of Plante on the wraparound and Fitzgerald unluckily lifted it into his own goal to make it 4-2 to Cardiff. Five minutes to play and Sheffield on the man advantage again and Mike Duco scored his first goal in Steelers colours at 55:26 to make it 4-2 but with the clock ticking down Paul Thompson pulled Plante to try and find an equaliser but Morissette scored into the empty net at 59:39 to give the Devils a 5-3 victory.


FINAL SCORE: Cardiff Devils 5-3 Sheffield Steelers

Josh Batch got the Man of the Match award for the Devils and Robert Dowd for the Steelers. Sheffield's next game is Coventry away on the Saturday 12th and then Cardiff at home on Sunday 13th. See You There!


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Sunday, 16 August 2015

Sheffield Steelers v Braehead Clan - Holiday Inn Cup Match Report


Pre-Season action between the Steelers and the Clan at Ice Sheffield in the Holiday Inn Cup

Saturday - Sheffield Steelers 4-0 Braehead Clan

Wearing their retro white jerseys Steelers ran out comfortable winners in their first pre-season game in preparation for the Champions Hockey League games. Tyler Plante recorded a shut-out on his debut for the Steelers and his opposite number was left out to dry at times but both netminders did have to be called upon several times to make fantastic saves.

Steelers took the lead around the mid-way stage of the first period when assisted by Mathieu Roy and Tyler Mosienko it was Colton Fretter who scored the first goal of the season when ripped a shot high past Chris Holt in between the pipes for the Clan to make it 1-0. Braehead then had a big 5 on 3 power play with their best opportunity's falling to ex NHLer Ric Jackman as he fired two big slap shots straight at Plante who held onto them comfortably. Sheffield would return to full strength and go on the man advantage themselves and Levi Nelson scored his first goal for the club assisted by Mike Duco and Robert Dowd as he fired a sweet shot over the blocker of Chris Holt to make it 2-0.

After a goalless second period Clan came into the third period trying to get back into the game and had a golden opportunity to get back into the goal but Tyler Plante made an outstanding back door leg save when a goal would have brought Braehead back into it. Steelers made it 3-0 at 49:29 when Luke Ferrara shot a back handed shot past Holt assisted by Hewitt and Moyer after the Clan goalkeeper gave up a rebound. With just under 8 minutes left in the game Roy and Coyle were in the box and Clan had a second 5 on 3 but Tyler Plante just continued to make the big saves and with four seconds left on the clock after some fantastic work by Robert Dowd it was down to Levi Nelson who dragged the puck nicely and fired a back handed effort past Holt for his second of the night and 4-0 score line for the Steelers.

It was a comfortable 4-0 win for the home side but the two sides meet again less than 24 hours later. Tyler Plante took the man of the match award for the Steelers and had to do the "Eddy" and ex Steelers Stefan Meyer received the award for Braehead.

Sunday - Sheffield Steelers 3-3 Braehead Clan (Steelers Win 7-3 on Aggregate)

Game two of the weekend, both teams un-changed in their final preparation for the Champions Hockey League that begins on Thursday. It was a goalless 1st period with the highlight being Fitzgerald dishing out the money to his former fans after being jeered by them, a real character the former Clan man that's for sure. Wasn't much to really talk about during the 1st period both Tyler Plante and Chris Holt stood up tall and made some fantastic saves.

Braehead had a lightning start to the second period scoring two in quick succession first it Braehead's Alex Leavitt who nicely tipped within a minute past Tyler Plante who has been solid for 80 minutes of hockey so far. Then not more than a minute later a poor defensive mistake by Steelers let in Stefan Meyer who didn't hesitate and slotted low past Plante. It was then old Mr Reliable Jeff Legue who stepped in to bring the Steelers within one goal as he skated down the left and sniped his shot low past the left pad of Chris Holt to break the Clans shut-out. Clan would restore their two goal lead when Scott Pitt played a nice pass to Ben Davies who slotted low past Plante and Braehead was able to take a two goal lead into the 2nd intermission.

Into the third period and again it was the battle of the goalies as they both had outstanding performances and Scott Pitt had a great chance for the Clan but his slap shot come back off the crossbar and then Bari McKenzie was called for a penalty and within 10 seconds of the power play Mathieu Roy brought the Steelers within one goal when Roy placed a nicely back handed goal past Holt as well as receiving a cross check from Aarssen for his troubles but that's what he made a living on last year. With the clock ticking down and into the final two minutes just as Tyler Plante was being pulled O'Connor fired a shot from the blue line and it was brilliantly tipped by Mike Duco to level the score at 3-3 and that's how it finished and Steelers won the Holiday Inn Cup 7-3 on Aggregate.

Chris Holt took the man of the match award for the Clan and Mike Duco was given the award for the Steelers. Next up for both teams is the CHL and it's going to be one hell of an experience and lets show Europe what we can do. Good Luck to both teams next week.

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:-
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Sunday, 3 May 2015

The Walkeden Review - Recent Procedings


So it's not been a month since the season ended and it's already been an interesting off-season but it would be boring if it was quiet.

The most surprising was the sacking off league winning head coach Gerad Adams who had his contract terminated by the Sheffield Steelers. This moved shocked a lot of fans not just Sheffield fans but around the league I mean the man had won one league championship and a playoff title in just 14 months in charge as well as losing two cup finals in that time as well.

Tony Smith said in an interview that the reason for the sacking was nothing he had done but he was looking at the bigger picture. I might not agree 100% with the sacking but I try and be as neutral as possible especially when I'm updating and while I too like to look at the bigger picture I did understand Tony Smiths decision to cancel the contract of Gerad. The picture Tony is looking at is a culture change in Sheffield especially with us taking part in the Champions Hockey League and the formation of the U20 league as well as our commitments in the EIHL, so Tony Smith has gone on record saying that he wants a head coach that can handle the responsibility off all this and he feels Gerad Isn't qualified enough for this which in one way might be insulting any maybe had handled it wrong and I don't think he would have accepted another post. From the moment the news was announced fans have been moaning and I agree everyone is entitled to an opinion but I'm not arguing that, but fans are now worried about whether certain players will come back because of the departure of Adams but it's not always the coach that sells the club I'm preety sure Tony Smith has a part to play. It is also why in this sport you should never get too attached to players because it's not like football and contracts don't always mean something, you get the odd player that hangs around for years for example, Legue, Phillips, Hewitt and Thomas and then you always get the players that don't stay for a year or two.

Where the fans worry about players returning with Adams no longer being in charge you've only got to look how they function elsewhere for example in the NHL when do you ever hear about the Head Coach recruiting players? You don't it's nearly always the work of the General Mangers to sign players, handle trades etc, obviously the head coach will have a say on what he thinks he needs but it's not all the head coach and what I'm trying to get at is there no need to worry as it's not always the coach that sells the club, their surroundings, the owner, staff and most importantly the fans will help sell the club to them. We might get the odd player that doesn't come back which is likely and fans will say it's because they sacked Adams well that hockey for you. I like to think CHL will have a big part to play to help players decide! Okay realistically we can't and won't win it but it's the opportunity of playing against some of the best players in Europe so plenty of selling points which fans don't think about just concentrate on one aspect.

So far we've found out Mathieu Roy is back for a further two years which joins Ben O'Connor as he's got two years remaining on his contract. Cullen Eddy and Colton Fretter are returning on the second year of their university deal, Robert Dowd, Jonathan Phillips Jeff Legue are also returning on the final year of their current contracts. Peterborough Phantoms also announced that Luke Ferrara wouldn't be returning and since then the Sheffield Star announced that Ferrara had signed a full time deal with the Steelers to make that 8 players already for the 15/16 season. We also found out that Frank Doyle is retiring and he had also said that if it wasn't for his hand injury he would have been back in Sheffield, he might have only been a Steeler for two years but what a two years is what he performed every single night and I believe we all wish him the best of luck for the future.

We've also just found out that our new head coach will be Paul Thompson, okay it was probably the worst best kept secret to date but I'm not going to lie that I'm over the moon with it and Paul isn't going to be just our head coach he's also going to be the general manager which means he will overlook all things on the hockey side of business.

Anyone that thinks this is a bad appointment well he's not just an ex elite league coach. He's the best British coach around and probably "one" of the best coaches to ever be on these shores. A coach that took Great Britain forward when everybody thought they would never get where they are today. He went to Europe and competed, improved himself and is coming back even better than when he left. Looking at the bigger picture this is the way forward that's obviously my opinion.

That's it from me, well until Thompson makes a signing and we'll have an article piece so enjoy the summer guys and you'll hear from us soon.
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:-
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Wednesday, 1 April 2015

The Walkeden Review - Two More Years For Mathieu


Sheffield Steelers forward Mathieu Roy has re-signed for the Steelers

It might not have been the best day to announce this considering it was announced at 6am on the 1st April also known as April fools and you can probably guess where it was going! Fans didn’t know whether to believe it or not or whether the club were having us on but let’s be honest if they was having us on it would be a cruel way to do it because I don’t know of one Steelers fan that isn’t glad the Roy has signed a contract extension keeping him at the club till the end of the 2016/17 season. I myself didn’t realise it was April fools and was just over joyed that the best player in the EIHL had re-signed for the Steelers.

Mathieu signed for Sheffield from the Florida Everblades last summer where he spent 5 seasons 3 of them as captain lifting silverware as their captain and he brought with him an impressive resume. He certainly showed that this season. In the regular season Roy has scored 95 points scoring 42 goals and putting up 53 assists and then only sitting 50 penalty minutes.

Roy re-signing is a massive boost especially just a few day before the playoff finals weekend, Mathieu Roy will be part of a team that will be looking to defend their league championship as well as being part of a Sheffield team taking part in the Champions Hockey League for the first time.

Going into the Finals Weekend Roy is on 98 points (post-season points added) and just two away from 100 EIHL points which will be a massive statement in just his first season and with another two to come for sure opposition teams will be hating the fact he re-signed but there is one thing for sure Mathieu will put 100% every single time he steps onto the Ice so I’m glad he’s playing for us rather than against us as Mathieu is a massive part of the Steeler family.

JustGiving - Sponsor me now!I'm also playing in the UK Forum All-Stars 2015 in Sheffield representing the Blue Cross for a second year in a row and any donations big or small will be appreciated and you can donate by pressing the button to the right.

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:-
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Monday, 2 March 2015

The Walkeden Review - So Proud Of The Hockey Community


Hey Everyone well what a strange few weeks it has been and what a big talking point we do actually have especially when we talk about the hockey community as a whole and what they did this past week.

When the news got out about the bad news that Steelers fan Amy Usher had received to do with a rare form of Cancer she has, Not only did the Steelers fans express the emotions and send her so many messages but they came from around the league from up north in Braehead to over in Cardiff even from those neighbours of ours in Nottingham and it was then that the hash tag #HockeyFamilySticksTogether was created and on Thursday 12th February is even made it into the top 10 trends on Twitter and considering Ice Hockey in the UK is a minor sport compared to the likes of Football and Rugby that was such a massive achievement. Fans coming together from all over the league is something you wouldn’t see in other sports and again it just shows how special the fan base of our sport is and it doesn’t matter what team you support and the colours you wear at the end of the day you all follow the same sport and so we are all one big family. You get a sense of it while travelling away with your team especially on occasions like the double header weekend in Belfast when despite the result you drink and party with each other and just have one hell of a time, But this was something special and it just got bigger and bigger with an article on it getting into one of the top NHL blogs and then even former Steeler and current Dundee Star forward Chris Blight created a fun fund to raise money for Amy and her Family to have a treat and within 24 hours had raised over £2500 just simply amazing. You also get Dave Simms who is walking from his home in Birmingham to Sheffield in time for the final regular season game at the arena along with Elliot Hall and Neil Edwards to raise money for Amy and Weston Park and it goes on. (All the links for these can be found on the Frozen Steel Blog Website if you scroll down the left you’ll find all the links there).

We come to Saturday which was also valentine’s day and there was big rivalry league game being played in Nottingham between Sheffield and off-course Nottingham themselves and both sets of fans came together as did everyone around the league and videos are floating the internet but I’ll post the two I did on here. Anyway around the league on the 21st minute of the game which is puck drop at the start of the second period a chant off “Amy Usher” rang around the arenas and it was simply just amazing and it was a very special moment to be able to be apart off.  Just from the messages that were sent to Amy as well as the videos I mean just by reading them I was overwhelmed so god knows how they must have felt so much love for them it’s unreal.  I’m sure while reading this many of you have seen the videos from around the league where it shows it from the NIC, Braehead Arena, SkyDome and they was all very special and if not go looking for the others one way to find some easily is by going on our Twitter @FrozenSteelBlog and going on our favourites and there should be some not too far down the list. I saw several people sending links to the BBC and so on and it would be fantastic if one of the mainstream took notice and got it out there even more because Ice Hockey is getting bigger in this country and no disrespect to Premier Sports but if BT or even Sky Sports ever took an interest again it would only help the growth of the sport and if the fans can continue to stay united as they did this past week and it will only help the sport and show it in a good light! Yes fans will have disagreements that’s part of supporting different, yes teams will make mistake but no matter what happens #HockeyFamilySticksTogether.

Below are going to be view of the videos I could get my hands on easily
Up in Braehead During Braehead Clan and the Cardiff Devils on the 14th February

Amy Usher Chant during the 1st Leg of the Challenge Cup Semi-Final in Sheffield

Steelers and Nottingham fans with the Amy Usher Chant on the 14th February

That Ones for Amy

One of the big things that came into light was the video by Pascal Morency which I’m sure everyone has seen and it was just simply amazing I can’t help but start to think how on earth he and his wife managed to do put the video together because it was just simply amazing.


The Amy Usher chant also seems to be a regular occurrence now as on the 21st minute of the games versus the Panthers and Blaze (19th and 21st February) the chant has been started and not just in Sheffield on the 22nd February when the Steelers were in Belfast you could hear the chant through the webcast which is a fantastic gesture by the Belfast fans for me and just shows that no matter what the Hockey community will always be united because as we know Hockey is an international language.

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:-
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Saturday, 24 January 2015

The Walkeden Review - Steelers Make A Double Swoop


The Sheffield Steelers have made a double signing and they have brought in 25-year-old American Goaltender Josh Unice and 28-Year-Old Slovakian Tomas Petruska.

It has come to the attention that goaltender Frank Doyle has been playing hurt for some time and it has now come to the time where he just can't continue to play anymore so Sheffield made the move for the former #86 overall third round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2007 draft.

It's safe to say that this is a gamble on Unice as he hasn't really had a shot at a professional level, He has had a short stint in Slovakia but it didn't work out well for him only playing in 2 games but at the end of 25 he's still very young. As G said in an interview we aren't going to go out and find another Frank Doyle at the end of January but we had three options open to us and Unice was the strongest of the three. Looking at Josh's stats he has had a very good university career and he's coming here to prove himself. Josh flew to Sheffield on Friday and trained with his new team mates and will start the game on Saturday against Coventry as the Steelers look to pick up their form. Josh has represented USA at U17, U18 and U20 level as well as getting U18 goaltender of the year in 2007 so somebody somewhere rates and I look forward to seeing him in a Steelers Jersey.

After the sacking of Danny Bois on Monday his replacement has come in the shape of highly rated Slovakian forward Tomas Petruska. Petruska is a right-handed shot who has put some big numbers up in Europe however more noticeable is his most recent team Graz 99ers in Austria where in 20 games he's only managed 9 points (4+5) but I think that could be to do with his ice time sometimes you can see a player go to a league they don't know and won't have quite the same impact just because their ice time drops. With Petruska coming to the Steelers and with Fretter possibly still out injured I wouldn't be surprised to see Tomas on the top line along with Forney and Roy but there is a chance Petruska won't feature tonight for the Steelers as he flies into Sheffield Saturday night and if there is any delays he won't be playing but if all goes well and as planned then G is expecting him in the line-up tonight.

Looking at Petruska's honours he had a very successful season last year winning the Danish Cup with Herning as well as making it into the All-Star team. It also looks like he is a man that enjoys the post season for example 2012 he scored 21 points in 13 games (8+13) or in 2013 in 7 relegation games scored 12 points (4+8) and then last season scored 15 points in 12 games (8+7). So it just comes to show that he can put numbers up and I'm sure he will for us hopefully starting tonight.

So welcome to both Josh and Tomas and we wish you all the best in Sheffield and hope you both have a successful stay.

JustGiving - Sponsor me now!I'm also playing in the UK Forum All-Stars 2015 in Sheffield representing the Blue Cross for a second year in a row and any donations big or small will be appreciated and you can donate by pressing the button to the right.

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
@FrozenSteelBlog
@TomWalkeden
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@hockeybhoy
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Thursday, 22 January 2015

The Walkeden Review - So What To Say!


So then! This is going to be a rant - well I’m hoping not - anyway just a few things I want to write about! 

So we seem to have gone on a bit of a slump on Christmas day we was sat top of the elite league table and now we sat in 5th place! Yes we're only 2 points off 2nd place but we're now 7 points off top spot, which is occupied by Braehead, and without bringing the conference problems into it we can say that the Clan have the easier run in. If the Clan go on to win the league though they deserve it so fair play to them. Anyway back to us.

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

The Walkeden Review - Legue Returns to the Steelers


We all thought it was the end of an Era during the summer when Jeff Legue decided to leave to join the Steeldogs well it turned out we was wrong when on the evening of Tuesday 23rd December 2014 it was announced by the Elite League leaders that Top all time point scorer in the EIHL era Jeff Legue had re-signed for them till the end of the 2015/16 season.

I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say welcome home Jeff. Jeff will also not being wearing his usual #11 shirt as it is now back in the rafters after it was retired in honour of Tommy Plommer but Jeff has taken on the #12 shirt as his son was born in the 12th month. Now for the question what line will Jeff play on? For me I can’t see Gerad breaking up our top two lines as they have major chemistry and are just outstanding so that leaves Legue joining the third line and what an improvement he makes to it and that’s not taking away how well they have done over the last few weeks but on a personal note a massive upgrade on Latulippe as the former Devils man just never turned out to be the player he was in Cardiff. I can see Jeff jumping on the power play unit though alongside Sarich maybe! As let’s be honest we all know what them two can do together especially on the man advantage. But we will find out on Friday as Legue makes his debut in the Boxing Day showdown with them down the road the Nottingham Panthers before the Steelers travel to Nottingham on Saturday.
Gerad had this to say about the re-signing of Jeff (From the Steelers website) “I Couldn’t be happier, Jeff Legue knows what it is to be Steeler. He knows how to win and what is expected from players here. The whole club just got a lot better today.”
Jeff had this to say himself (From the Steelers website) “This is a great opportunity for me to come back to the Steeler sand help contribute to a push for a championship. Chances like that don’t come around often, especially at this stage of my career.”

So far in a Steelers jersey since his debut in 2007 Jeff has played in 448 games scoring 551 points getting a massive 240 goals and a further 311 assists. So far this season while playing for the Steeldogs in the EPL Legue has played in a total of 20 games scoring 32 points (20+12) and he’ll look to continue his scoring form as well as add to his Steelers total this coming Friday. So get along to the Arena for the crunch game to which will be an almost near sell out and the first chance to welcome Jeff home.


So once again Jeff welcome home!

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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Thursday, 27 November 2014

The Walkeden Review - Throwback Thursday 11.01.2014


Hey Guys welcome to another throwback article this time I’m choosing an old game that took place between the Sheffield Steelers and the Coventry Blaze, Hope you enjoy it!

Saturday 11th January 2014 – Sheffield Steelers v Coventry Blaze @ Motorpoint Arena. Face-off: 7pm, Erhardt Conference/Elite League

Sheffield Steelers – 5
Gord Baldwin (2)
Steven Goertzen
Tim Spencer
Robert Dowd

Coventry Blaze - 4
Kenny Kallstrom
Michael Devin
Shea Guthrie
Adam Henrich


With the Steelers on a good run and the Blaze struggling for points this was turning out to be a must win for the Coventry with the playoffs getting ever closer, Robert Dowd took an early penalty and Blaze would have their first power play of the night and they was looking to get going fast as Frank Doyle was forced into making some early saves but Blaze would score the first goal of the night while on the power play at 2:39 with Olson screening Doyle Kenny Kallstrom would fire one from the blue line. Some fantastic defending by Egener prevented Goertzen levelling the score from the right hash mark, Michael Henrich almost made it 2-0 soon after 1 on 1 with Doyle but the Steelers goalie made the same comfortably. With the Blaze on the power play again the visitors would make it 2-0 on 7:49 as Michael Devin would fire a one timer from the blue line past Doyle and not even a minute later Shea Guthrie made it 3-0 as the Blaze forward go into the Sheffield and forced Doyle into making the first move to fire into the roof of the net and what a first 8 and a half minutes it had been so far for the Coventry Blaze. The Steelers third line was out trying to make something happen but couldn’t beat Zacharias after a good opportunity in front of goal by Hewitt; Stefan Meyer was also making Zacharias work as he can’t get his re-direct past the Blaze netminder. Sheffield would get their first power play of the night as Jeff Legue receives a cross check by Egener and straight of the face-off Sheffield were trying to get on goal but struggled to set-up as they was going up against the best penalty kill in the league but Sheffield would get a 5 on 3 chance and on 17:40 Steelers would pull a goal back as Dowd would win the face-off and Legue would play to Baldwin to rip a slap shot past Zacharias and then not even a minute later still on the power play Sheffield would find themselves down by 1 goal as Goertzen would be played down the right and he skated into the zone in front of goal and slipped the puck past Zacharias for a real captains goal leading by example. Sheffield had a great chance to equalise as Stefan Meyer was all alone next to Zacharias but the Blaze netminder made a great save and Coventry take a 1 goal lead into the break.
End of the 1st Period: Sheffield Steelers 2–3 Coventry Blaze

Sheffield would start the period on the power play but wouldn’t be able to find an equaliser and Blaze would very quickly end up on their own power play as there is plenty of pushing and shoving in front of Doyle’s goal. It was a much more improved penalty kill than the first period. With 14 minutes left in the period Tim Spencer had a great chance to level the scores but Zacharias somehow saved when Spencer had the majority of the goal to aim for. At the mid-way point of the period Sheffield had Blaze camped in their zone with the 2nd line Dowd especially skating well looking for an outlet but Ginand blocked the best opportunity. But Sheffield would carry on pressing and a great pass from DiCasmirro would find Sirianni but wouldn’t be able to slot the puck past Zacharias which would be followed by a melee between Meyer and Olsson. Adam Henrich had a good opportunity to score a fourth for the Blaze but Doyle would save from just in front. After a goal fest that was the first period no one would be able to add to the score line despite several power play opportunities for both teams and Coventry would have a one goal lead going into the third period.
End of the 2nd Period: Sheffield Steelers 2–3 Coventry Blaze

Third Period got underway with the Steelers looking to find an equaliser as quick as possible but the first couple of minutes were extremely scrappy and neither team could get any real offence going as they were both just cancelling each other out. With Shea Guthrie in the box and the Steelers on the power play Sirianni rounded the goal and put the puck into Zacharias before Tim Spencer poked it under the netminder and into the goal for the equaliser just 4 minutes into the third period and that truly made it game on. Soon after Coventry had a big chance to go back ahead as a Blaze forward had the whole goal to choose from but Sheffield managed to somehow clear the zone. Coventry would take the lead again though on 46:38 as Michael Henrich would fire a slap shot from the blue line it would get caught up in the skates of his brother Adam Henrich before he taped it into the open goal, Doyle stood no chance as he had already came to the top of his crease to save the initial shot. The third period was very much end to end with both sides having chances at either end but Sheffield were having large amounts of possession in the Blaze zone giving Mike Zacharias plenty to think about. A few poor defensive errors almost let in Coventry to extend their lead but Frank Doyle made himself big and made sure he had them covered. With 3:23 left in the third period Sheffield found themselves on the power play again with Ryan Ginand in the box for slashing, Jeff Legue has possession of the puck on the blue line and fires one on goal and Gord Baldwin manages to tip it past Zacharias for the equaliser which made it a multi-goal game for the defencemen and a fourth power play goal of the game for the Steelers (When was the last time we could say that). Neither team could find anyway to find a winner so the game went into overtime which meant 4v4.
End of the 3rd Period: Sheffield Steelers 4-4 Coventry Blaze

Overtime started and there was an early worry for Sheffield as Frank Doyle took a skate to the head off Shea Guthrie but he shook it off and was able to continue playing, first real chance fell to the Steelers as Langlais shot one against the post as Legue was trying to screen Zacharias. Two minutes left in overtime it had been all Sheffield so far without Coventry worrying Doyle at all. With the clock ticking down and Dustin Kohn in possession of the puck in between the circles he played Dowd who skated from zone to zone on the delayed penalty all the way in front of Zacharias before nicely firing low past the Coventry netminder for the game winner on 63:19 to end a fantastic game of Hockey.
Final Score: Sheffield Steelers 5–4 Coventry Blaze OT

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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Wednesday, 19 November 2014

The Walkeden Review - Danny "Bwah" Bois Signs For The Steelers


The Sheffield Steelers are now back to full strength after filling their import quota.

Danny Bois has today signed for the Sheffield Steelers. The 31-year-old right winger joins after four years in Europe spending three seasons in Austria playing for EC Salzburg and Dornbirner EC where he was captain for his one year stay and last year he spent the season in Germany in the DEL playing for EHC Munchen.

The Canadian forward is from Thunder Bay, Ontario and was drafted #97 overall in the third round of the 2001 NHL draft by the Colorado Avalanche. Despite never playing for Colorado he spent four years in the OHL with the London Nights before spending five straight years in the AHL with the Binghamton Senators where he also played one game for the Ottawa Senators scoring no points but managing 7 PIM’s. Bois comes with more than 400 hundred AHL games on his CV scoring 135 points in 409 games (64+71) and accumulating an impressive 1124 penalty minutes during his time in the AHL.


The Steelers new signing has one silverware in Europe and they both came with EC Salzburg when he won the Austrian championship as well as the European trophy during his time in Europe Bois made 184 appearances scoring 91 points (40+51) putting up a further 558 penalty minutes so looking at his Stats we know were getting a player that is going to stick up for his team mates. After doing my research he’s a player that doesn’t go looking for trouble but he’ll sort it out when the time comes to it. Bois stands at 6ft and weights at around 90kg and a bit further down I’m going to put some videos up of a few of his fights one of them being against a certain Trevor Hendrikx.

I think Danny Bois is exactly what we need and is a perfect replacement for Pascal Morency who unfortunately had to retire due to Injury. Bois will stick up for his  team mates and there a few teams in the league with a few bigger guys so it’s nice to know we’ll have someone that can stand up to them and go toe to toe.


I’m not sure what number Bois will be wearing but I can hear it now when he scores at the Arena “Oh Danny Boy” let’s be fair that one is a no brainer. I believe Danny also has a strange way of pronouncing his name very similar to the way we say Mathieu Roy "Rwah"  I believe Danny will be here to play this coming weekend starting with our double header in Braehead and it now means we have our full Import quota. Bois joins the Steelers with his new team sitting third in the standings only a point of the top spot but with three games in hand.

Welcome to Sheffield Danny! Hope you enjoy your stay and can contribute to the team’s success.

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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Wednesday, 5 November 2014

The Walkeden Review - The Scotland Double Header


The Scotland Double Header
A nice Saturday morning to get up early for the long journey up north across the border my hockey weekend started in Scunthorpe where I live and with my bag dresses and the parent already out I left the house wondering do they even know I'm going to Scotland this weekend. Past that now I headed to the train station to catch the 8.08am train to Meadowhall, Sheffield to meet up with the SSSC (Sheffield Steelers Supporters Club) to jump on the bus to make the journey. I arrived in Sheffield at 9am and after a short pit stop at Subway for some breakfast I headed over to the arena to catch the bus, two full busses travelling up to Edinburgh that's some fantastic support and that's not including the people that have drove themselves up or possibly going up on train, so expecting their to be a big orange following in Scotland this weekend. Everyone was aboard the buses the 2014 Playoff Final DVD was on and we left Sheffield just before half ten to start the journey north of the boarder.


The atmosphere on the bus I must say was extremely comfortable and during the journey it got to the part of the playoff final that we love to watch over and over again and that ladies and gentlemen is "Goertzen to Fata, SHOOTS AND SCORES". At that point there was a nice big cheer on the bus as everyone remember that moment, we then stopped at Washington services where we bumped into the players’ coach and after a nice break and a little chat with the players after they'd finished on the slots lol we was back on the road, next stop Edinburgh!

We arrived at the hotel about 4.15 and after a quick stop to check in and drop our stuff off it was off to the Rink ready for this evenings game and after the shambles of last year when we turned up midway through the 2nd period it was nice to arrive in plenty of time and I was able to take in a couple of pre-game beers and a chat with friends, which went down a treat and then it was onto the game where Sheffield ran out rampant 10-2 winners against the Edinburgh Capitals and it was an easy win in the end in a game that had the potential to be a banana skin with goals coming from Mathieu Roy who scored a hat-trick, Robert Dowd and Jay Latulippe who both scored two goals along with Fretter, Mosienko and Forney who each chipped in a goal. The game came with two powerplay goals for the Steelers through Roy and Forney as well as two shorthanded goals on the same powerplay by Latulippe and Roy, the Caps goal scorers were Jarolin and Rix and the game saw both Netminders get a run out but Doyle played the whole 60 minutes as Edinburgh were outshot 56-15. Ben O'Connor was the Steeler Man of the match and now the focus was on Sunday's game in Edinburgh. Also liked to say congratulations to Erin who won the fancy dress for the Steelers fans! Was a great game of hockey and Its always better when I've had a cracking laugh sat with friends but now it was a short journey back to the hotel to get some food :). Was nice to have a few drinks and talk with friends as well as a few of the players before going for a walk to look for a takeaway as the hotel prices were ridiculous and after that I thought it was time to hit the pit.

Another day another game a nice early wake up ready for a bit of match of the day and some breakfast after a lovely cooked buffet breakfast I ventured into the city centre with friends for some sightseeing and a bit of shopping. We're saw the players out about in the city but I had a great afternoon with good company was such a good laugh and managed to get a bit of shopping done getting some things for me as well as a present or two, It was then back to the hotel to watch a bit of the football in the Bar. At 3.30 it was everyone aboard the bus and it was off to Dundee we went for game two of the weekend against the team at the bottom of the league with two bus fills hoping for a four point weekend.

We arrived in Dundee just after 5pm and it was straight into the arena to grab a bite to eat before the game and it wasn't the best of games to be honest, despite out shooting the home side massively Steelers came away losing 4-2 with Mathieu Roy scoring both goals to add to his tally from the night before. Sheffield didn't play 60 minutes all night and at times were really poor defensively and just wasn't clinical enough but saying that Cheverie in the Dundee goal was outstanding all night but Sheffield are going to lose games but now it's to focus on Nottingham away on Saturday. So a two point weekend and now it was time for the long journey home, after a few good byes and some good laughs everyone seemed to be in good spirits despite losing its still been a top weekend. We left Dundee not long after 9pm and we eventually stopped for a break at around quarter to 1 not always the best times when the people had dropped off but I had my headphones in literally the whole way home and got some sleep as and when I could, even in the services people were laughing and joking and I think it's safe to say the guy working in W.H Smith has never been so busy at 1am in a morning. We eventually got back to Sheffield at about 4:15am a long old journey to say the least but it's what we have to do if we want to follow our teams all over the place. It was off to Meadowhall train station for me though as I still had to wait till 5:35 to even get to Doncaster and then it was a wait till 6:39 before I could get the train to Scunthorpe which at this point everyone I was with over the weekend will be nicely tucked away in bed.

Finally walked in the door at about half 7 and was finally in bed by 7:50 to catch some shut eye! It's been a great week though despite Steelers only winning one of their two games it was still good to spend time with friends as well as a few hours in Edinburgh and it was also nice to meet a few of my twitter followers over the weekend as more and more people are asking me if I'm Tom :) so if you see me say hi and I apologise if I'm not sure who you are there is a lot of people to remember lol. It was an amazing following by the Sheffield fans over the weekend and if you haven’t done a Scotland weekend yet guys make sure you make time for it and get to one as I promise you that you won’t regret it. It's back to reality for a few weeks before we go back up to Scotland for the weekend but next time we find ourselves in Glasgow for our matches with the Braehead Clan. So until then guys look after yourselves.


Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
@FrozenSteelBlog
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@TomWalkeden
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Let's Go Steelers!



Tom
@TomWalkeden 
(Follow me on Twitter for Live Updates on Games)

Thursday, 30 October 2014

The Walkeden Review - Throwback Thursday 19.10.2005


Hi everyone welcome to the first throwback article where I’m going to look at an old game and I don’t know why I picked this one!

Wednesday 19th October 2005 – Sheffield Steelers v Edinburgh Capitals @ Motorpoint Arena. Face-off: 7.30pm, Challenge Cup

Sheffield Steelers - 9
Warren Tait
Mike Peron
Dan Ceman (2)
Martin Masa (2)
Jonas Lennartsson (2)
Andrew Luciuk

Edinburgh Capitals - 0

The game I picked first was a home game against the Edinburgh Capitals at the Arena on Wednesday 19th October 2005 when we had to beat the Caps by at least 10 goals to progress in the Challenge Cup, this game also saw the return of Tony Hand to Sheffield.

The Steelers were in their Teal Green Jerseys and the Capitals were in their Blue with red shoulders jersey. Lehmann was in goal for the Steelers and Martin Kucera was in goal for the Capitals. The game showed Rod Sarich in the team who is obviously still in this year’s team but I must say the guy looks younger. Mr Shudra also still in the D.

Sheffield started the game the better of the two and was looking to get going fast as they need to win by at least 10 goals to get into the semi-finals, the first big chance of the game fell to Masa as he was on the breakaway but tried to make Kucera make the first move but couldn’t get it past the knee pads. Steelers got the first powerplay of the night and wow Sarich had some pace back then as he skated into the zone before firing a one timer from the blue line straight into the body of Kucera, It really was all Steelers during the first period Lehman didn’t have much to do other than playing the puck at times when the Capitals had cleared down the Ice, Kucera was seeing plenty of rubber as Steelers was finding options through Shudra, Masa, Simpson along with the third line playing had and Warren Tait was unlucky not to open the scoring mid-way through the period. Sheffield finally opened the scoring on with 3:55 left in the 1st period when Warren Tait forced a save out of Kucera but it rebounded back of his stick to open the scoring at 1-0. It was very quickly 2-0 as Simpson shot from the point and forced a rebound out of Kucera and Peron drove the net to lift the wrist shot into the back of the net. Not even a meeting later it should have been 3-0 as Simpson walked in but couldn’t beat the pads of Kucera. But Sheffield went into the 1st break 2-0 up needing another 8 goals to progress after a very one sided period with Kucera keeping the Capitals in the game.
End of the 1st Period: Sheffield Steelers 2-0 Edinburgh Capitals

Sheffield started the second period with their 1st line out to get going fast, even when the Capitals tried to create some offence they would soon lose the puck before they had the opportunity to have a shot on Lehman’s goal. Sheffield didn’t change their approach they carried on pushing up high leaving one D man back on his own because of the amount of goals we needed so we was taking a lot of risks. Danny Ceman would make it 3-0 on 23:59 as Masa somehow picked Ceman out who went top corner and Kucera had no chance with that one. Edinburgh had a great chance to pull one back but the puck went over the stick of the Capital forward with Lehman scrambling to get to the other side of the net. With the Steelers on the delayed penalty Tony hand thought he touched the puck but Masa was found all alone at the back door by assisted by Kent Simpson for his fourth assist of the night so far to tap in for 4-0. Capitals finally created some offence after McPherson forced a great glove save out Lehman that was just after Regan Kelly laid a big hit on Capital’s Lisabeth. With the Steelers on the power play on 33:35 Kucera tried to make the save of Masa but with a loose puck Jonas Lennartsson scored his first Steelers goal to make it 5-0. Capitals did have a golden opportunity with Jim Vickers in possession all alone at the back Jody Lehman stole what should have been a certain goal with 5 minutes left in the second period. With the clock ticking down on the second period Sheffield carried on pressing and just couldn’t break through and would take a 5-0 lead into the third period needing no less than another 5 goals at least.
End of the 2nd Period: Sheffield Steelers 5-0 Edinburgh Capitals

The third period almost started in perfect fashion but with Kucera out of his goal Simpson couldn’t finish into the open goal, of the very next face-off thought the Steelers made it 6-0 49 seconds into the third period Peron played a backhanded pass for Andrew Luciuk to re-direct past Kucera. Lennartsson then went onto score his second of the night just a couple of minutes later assisted by Simpson for his sixth assist of the night Lennartsson was on the breakaway and put it through the five hole of Kucera to make it 7-0 with just under 17 minutes remaining it was very possible and then a strange thing David Lawrence replaced Jody Lehman in between the pipes as Lehman had an equipment problem but would soon return. Peron had a great chance for an eight as he was brought down in front of Kucera but nothing is given to the disbelief of Mike Peron but the Steelers got back on it looking for that 8th goal. Kent Simpson then had a shot cleared of the line to his frustration but he had still been racking up the points as he had already assisted six out of the seven goals. With under 5 minutes remaining Martin Masa skates into the zone and fired a thunderbolt of a back hand past Kucera, it would very quickly be 9-0 with some tick tack passing it left Dan Ceman to shoot into the open goal and it left the Steelers needing 1 more goal with 4 minutes to play. But it would be one goal too many as the Steelers would fall a goal short, they through everything they had at Kucera including pulling Lehman for the extra forward but would unfortunately go out of the challenge cup but was a fantastic effort by the Steelers.

Final Score: Sheffield Steelers 9-0 Edinburgh Capitals

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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Tom
@TomWalkeden
(Follow me on Twitter for Live Updates on Games)

Sunday, 26 October 2014

The Walkeden Review - Getting Into Hockey With Chris Evans


With the new Elite League season well underway I spoke with another fan from Scunthorpe, Scunthorpe is a town that hasn’t got an Ice Rink so is a town that is very much a stranger to Ice Hockey so I spoke with Chris Evans who is actually from a village very near to Scunthorpe and is currently living in Sheffield while he attends university about how he got into the sport.

FSB - What or who got you into Hockey?
CE - I saw an advert in Sheffield and I only heard good stuff from my friends who had been to it

FSB - Do you remember the teams of your first games and where?
CE - It was at the Motorpoint Arena and was between the Sheffield Steelers and the Cardiff Devils

FSB - Are you glad you went to an Ice Hockey game?
CE - I am very glad that I went to an Ice Hockey game

FSB - Where do you think British Ice Hockey is going?
CE - I think it has the potential to be one of the top leagues in Europe and it has the potential to attract big names from the states

FSB - Would you ever go out your way to attend more games? If so why?
CE - Yes I would because I enjoy ice hockey a lot and would happily go to more games

FSB - Have you got anything to say to someone that might be attending their first game?
CE - Keep an eye on the puck and just enjoy it and look up the rules before you go, it will make understanding things easier

Thank you for reading and thank you to Chris for taking the time to answer a few questions! I plan on doing a few more of these in the near future. Also if there is anyone reading this that is from a town or a village around the Scunthorpe area etc. without a rink or without easy access please get in touch with me on twitter @TomWalkeden

so once again thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
@FrozenSteelBlog
@CausyFSB
@TomWalkeden
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Tom
@TomWalkeden
Tom

Thursday, 23 October 2014

The Walkeden Review - The Weekend's Touchy Subject


Good evening everyone hope your all having a good week!

Right down to business as well all know Sheffield and Cardiff both played each other home and away the past weekend and it didn’t go by without incident on and off the Ice and off the Ice I’m off-course on about fans on social media especially Twitter over the last couple of days and today (Thursday 23rd October 2014) I was reading tweets between two Cardiff fans who were arguing among themselves and then there was other discussion going on between both sets of fans and to be honest with you it really wound me up and originally I had this to say.

“Give G all the stick you want just because he’s at Sheffield you’ve had a problem with us for a long time but at the end of the day it wasn't G's decision to leave was it?? We needed a coach he wanted a job business done and a good decision he won a championship within 8 weeks, now you’re all saying Francis is a legend for what he did on Saturday which personally I think is pathetic! Yet if roles were reversed and it was G you'd want his head? Yes or No? And as for Mosienko call him what you want! He knows what he did is wrong yes he broke the rules he shouldn’t have done it and I’m in no way condoning what he did in any shape or form! But he’s served his ban, paid his fine and I believe everyone deserves a second chance and Sheffield gave him that and I’m thankful for that he is one hell of a player and one I would rather have playing for us than against us, the fans wasn’t sure about him because of his passed and I was one of them, but for me he’s proving his critics wrong by letting his hockey do the talking and at the moment his points are showing that! So why not concentrate on your own team’s problems and your thuggish players while Steelers let their skill do the talking, we'll be sure to wave at you from the top of the league in March.


That is what I had to say earlier and I’m going to add it. At the end of the game on Saturday Trevor Hendrikx received a match penalty and many Cardiff fans complained about him being suspended for the game against us on the Sunday at the BBT but yet the rules state that anyone that receives a match penalty comes with an automatic one game suspension no during this Jesse Mychan and Cullen Eddy both received game misconducts and both got away with a suspension and fine which personally I was surprised with and thought they both got off likely under the circumstances of what happened. Now today (Thursday 23rd October 2014) DOPS (Department of Player Safety) had their say and explained that Hendrikx received a one match suspension which had already been served after continuously hitting Steelers forward Tyler Mosienko while Mosienko was unwilling to retaliate and he also ignored match officials when told to return to his team bench and also punched Cullen Eddy in the face knocking his helmet off by going over the officials now for me that sort of behaviour is unacceptable in any sport as neither player was able to protect themselves/ and if it was a Steeler I can guarantee I would be saying the same thing. Now if that’s a big part of his game I feel sorry for Cardiff and its fans. You can moan about the one match suspension all you want but it’s the rules while receiving a match penalty and he was probably lucky not to receive more and got off likely. Now it also came out that Neil Francis who is the bench coach of the Cardiff Devils also received a one game suspension along with a £250 fine and a warning over his future conduct after it shows on video evidence to be making hand gestures followed by foul and abusive language towards Mosienko in connection with his match fixing in Europe with a previous team now as a bench coach doesn’t Francis have to stay professional at all times or at least keep control of the players on his own bench in which he failed to do and I thought what he did to Mosienko was completely un-sportsmanlike and should know better. I don’t understand how Cardiff fans like what he did! They say its banter it’s part of the sport to get Mosienko to react well if it is fair play to Mosienko for keeping his cool and being the bigger man and it’s not banter what’s so ever as a representative of a professional sports club he should remember to remain as professional as possible at all times and certainly almost brought the game into disrepute on Saturday evening.

I’m glad to see one of the old rivalries coming back this year especially with the way both teams have been built this year but with rivalries you also need to be sportsmanlike and show at least some kind of class and that goes from the owners, staff, players and finally the fans of both clubs as it’s the fans who are the future of the game.
The original post @TomWalkeden

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
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Let's Go Steelers!

Tom
@TomWalkeden
(Follow me on Twitter for Live Updates on Games)

Thursday, 16 October 2014

The Walkeden Review - O'Connor Signs For The Steelers


Is it just me guys or is Sheffield absolutely buzzing today (Thursday 16th October 2014) and this is all down to the fact the Steelers signed GB international Ben O’Connor! I’m not going to lie I’m extremely excited about this signing as he’s one of the best players around and he’s only going to make our blue line better.

Ben was released by Arlan from Kazakhstan and I don’t know why he was released but does it matter as the important thing is that he’s going to be putting on a Steelers uniform this weekend, I’ve been saying for years that I wanted to see Ben play for the Steelers and its finally happening.

Now the part that puts a bit of a downer on the news it’s only a short term deal which could become a permanent deal but that is a decision that Ben has to make as no doubt he’s going to have a lot of interest from teams in Europe so I myself expect him to be back out in Europe sooner rather than later. This deal allows Cullen Eddy to play up front as were still without the injured Robert Dowd and Pascal Morency who Morency actually hasn’t appeared since the first game of the season and with Colton Fretter back from suspension on Saturday means were back to full strength and it all means that Ben will slot straight into the Steelers blue line.

Ben comes to Sheffield with some big boots to fill as everyone knows his dad is a hero round here but I’m 100% that he won’t let Mike down. This isn’t his first time in the EIHL as he’s previously played for the Basingstoke Bison, Edinburgh Capitals and the Coventry Blaze in total scoring 63 points (21+42) in 166 appearances but for the last 4 years the GB D-man has been in Europe spending the last three years in Kazakhstan but before that he was in France with Morzine-Avoriaz-Les Gets where in the regular season he recorded 13 points in just 26 games which is a point every other game but then he moved to Kazakhstan first spending a year at Saryarka Karaganda playing 62 games overall scoring 35 points (15+20) before spending the last two years at Arlan Kokshetau where he played a total of 124 games regular and postseason scoring 113 points (35+78) which doesn’t include the 12 points he’s got this season for Arlan in 9 games (7+5) so his stats show he can play with the best and this weekend at home to the Cardiff Devils we get to see him in a Steelers uniform for the first time.

I believe Ben will be wearing #81 (It’s what I got from the Steelers twitter account from a picture of the sponsorship grid I have tweeted them to see if they can confirm it) and I’m pretty sure his Jersey will be a good seller especially if he ends up being here for the whole season I mean look at Sestito he was only here for a short term and I see plenty of his jersey about.

So come on then guys what are your views on this singing tell us what you think and how excited you are? Or maybe you’re not (quiet think of a reason why you wouldn’t be) but you know fans nowadays.

Thanks for reading guys. Any questions or comments please get in contact with the Frozen Steel Team on this article, Facebook or via Twitter:-
@FrozenSteelBlog
@CausyFSB
@TomWalkeden
@FrozenSteelMNL
@hockeybhoy
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Let's Go Steelers!

Tom
@TomWalkeden
(Follow me on Twitter for Live Updates on Games)