This Month in Steelers History - August

Thank you to Robert for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact him on Twitter @steelersstats or view his website on http://steelers-stats.com/ (Click here)

Headlines and comments from years gone by - how many do you remember..

AUGUST 1996

• Steelers coach Alex Dampier denied there was any risk involved in signing new Italian Canadian netminder Piero Greco. 
• Steelers summer shopping spree continued with the signature of new 6ft 3ins import winger Frank Kovacs.
• Injured ice hockey ace Steve Nemeth's Steelers career is in doubt after he criticised the club in the Star over non-payment of his wages. Steelers coach Alex Dampier put an end to weeks of uncertainty over transfer target Jamie Leach declaring "I've got him".
• Steelers also brought in new forward Glenn Mulvenna. 

AUGUST 2001

• Former Chesterfield owner Norton Lee has won the fight to run Superleague ice hockey in South Yorkshire, but the millionaire businessman and his Eye Group partners will have to fight for the right to use the name Sheffield Steelers.
• Steelers die-hards turned out in their thousands to show support for the men who saved their club this weekend. Around 2,200 made their point in the sunshine outside Sheffield Arena at a rally called to back Andy Cooke and Martin Jenkinson and their plans to take a Steelers team into the British National League.
• Sheffield Arena has sprung the most sensational surprise so far in the controversy over who will play top-class ice hockey in the city. They have told the Ice Hockey Superleague that they do not accept their choice of franchise holder and union of ex-Chesterfield FC boss Norton Lee and sports-right firm The Eye Group.
• Steelers people power won the day in emphatic style this afternoon , when Sheffield Arena sensationally handed next season ice contract to Mark Smith, part of the current caretaker ownership, Brian Whitfield and David Cox and the rest of the directors of (FOSSL) were the heavyweights working behind the scene to help keep Steelers a locally-owner club. They had continually warned the ISL they could not mess with the people of Sheffield, or they would lose.
• Steelers British National League dreams are over swept aside by an inexplicable change of heart from a league that suddenly doesn't want the best club in the country. A day long BNL meeting in London saw an 8-4 pro Sheffield majority, voted for five days earlier, over-turned. No reason was given for the U-turn, but it is clear that the chairman, Tom Muir, found the right formula to turn the majority against Steelers.
• Mike Blaisdell and Dave Simms are back to rebuild a new 'Steelers' and have 16 days to sign a complete team of players ready to start a new Superleague season on 1st Sept.
• They did, however, manage to recruit a good side including two former NHL players, Brad Lauer and Paul Kruse, both had seven hundred NHL games behind them. Former top flight netminder, Ryan Bach was brought in after playing in the AHL to help the defence. The coach decided to swoop on the DEL for his two main defencemen, Jeff Sebastian and Marc Laniel. GB international Rick Brebant came back for a second year and Brent Bobyck came from Nottingham Panthers to help bolster the offence.

AUGUST 2006

• Following the resignation of Dave Whistle, rookie coach Dave Matsos was appointed with, not surprisingly, mixed response. But he soon stamped his authority on the side recruiting almost an entirely new squad.
• Whistle recruited Scott Ricci from Nottingham and then Steelers top summer transfer target Dan Tessier signed for Steelers. 
• Goaltender Jody Lehman and Rod Sarich re-sign for second season and Shaun Sutter and Shawn Maltby came in alongside Tessier. Brett Cloutier was brought as an enforcer to protect them as well as Phil Hill, who joined Jonathan Philips from Cardiff.

AUGUST 2011

• Sheffield Steelers latest management company has called in insolvency practitioners, with the loss of 16 jobs. Rink Corp is run by millionaire Paul Regan, owner of Steelers and Cardiff Devils. It is not clear how much Rink Corp owes, or whether Sheffield based staff are at risk. The company must now call a meeting of those creditors, a process sponsor's and business associates have witnessed far too often.
• Troubled tycoon Paul Regan today hit back at criticism for liquidating Sheffield Steelers Management Company, and turned his anger on title winning player coach Ben Simon. Regan has declined to discuss financial details of why he closed Rink Corp, which managers Steelers and his other club Cardiff Devils, a move that has unsettled some fans. But in a surprise attack on the outgoing Simon appears to point the finger at the way Sheffield was run last season.
• Steelers championship winning player coach Ben Simon responded to a startling attack by his former boss Paul Regan. Simon told the Star "I firmly believe that I left Steelers in a far better state than when I took the job.
• I sincerely hope the team finds a way out of this, (liquidation) and does it the right way. The players and fans deserve the best". Simon says he has no desire to get in a slanging match with Regan.
• Steelers are celebrating a preseason triumph 100 season tickets have been snapped up already. That's a three year high, built on last season's Elite League championships win and the recruitment of popular player coach Ryan Finnerty.
• Paul Regan is to quit day to day management of Sheffield Steelers after a torrid week of in-fighting at the club. While he will retain a half share in the Arena team, he will supervise only his club, Cardiff Devils, leaving the Elite League champions solely in the hands of commercial director, Tony Smith, aged 47.
• Pressure from Sheffield Steeler fans has led to co-owner Paul Regan handing over majority shareholding to his Sheffield based partner Tony Smith. The move, which now sees Smith with 51 per cent of the shares, will be seen to further distance Wales based millionaire Regan, who owns Cardiff Devils.
• New Sheffield Steelers owner Tony Smith has defied the economic pressure on his club and CUT attendance prices. Former owner Paul Regan triggered controversy at the end of last season when he announced some prices would be going up. But Smith has been carrying out a review of the one time cash crippled club's pricing structure and believes Steelers tickets can come down.
• The new coach was soon in trouble as Rob Dowd quit for Belfast and leading scorer Joey Talbot decided to call it a day. To replace them Finnerty brought in Mike Ramsay and Colt King. In the net John DeCaro replaced Ervin Mustukovs and Matt Stephenson and Steve Birnstill were brought in to help Rod Sarich on the blue line.
• AGE (and a fair few beers the night before) may have wearied them. But the veteran players who came from all corners of the world to celebrate Sheffield Steelers 20th anniversary did themselves and the club proud over the weekend. Saturday's Legends game watched by 4,600 fans, was a heart warming stroll back to the good old days, with the famous unit of Tommy Plommer, Les Millie, and Tim Cranston back in their proper order, Alex Dampier ruling the bench and Ron Shudra marshalling forces on ice.

August is often turbulent in Steelerland - and we thank Tony Smith for bringing some stability to our off-seasons!


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This Month in Steelers History - April

Better late than never, here's April's history lesson.

Thank you to Robert for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Robert on Twitter @steelersstats

APRIL 1996 (20 years ago)

The Play-Offs were completed by March of this year but that did not stop people celebrating the win.

Steelermania brought Orchard Square in the city centre to a shuddering halt. Hundreds of ice hockey fans joined Sheffield Lord Mayor Councillor David Heslop in saluting the Grand Slam champions and Steelers Captain Ron Shudra and his men were swamped by well-wishers and autograph hunters.

This was after Sheffield Steelers had returned from Wembley after completing the Grand Slam over arch rivals Nottingham Panthers.

Just a footnote: the season ended with Tony Hand scoring 180 points and Ken Priestlay scoring 88 goals, both feats are still records to this day.

APRIL 2001 (15 years ago)

Ice Hockey's Superleague appears to be attempting to hasten Steelers plunge into financial liquidation. The Grand Slam club was fined £50,000 by Superleague because of “total mis-management” at board level. For only the second time since the league's inception the Standards Committee considered a charge of “bringing discredit or harm upon another club or Superleague”.

Dave Simms the driving force behind Sheffield Steelers for 10 years wants to step down from his job as team manager. He has laid the ground for a return to the club for Mike O'Connor, possibly as general manager, to properly run the club's commercial affairs. The recruitment of O'Connor could be a significant boost to Jenkinson and partner Andy Cook's bid to the Superleague to either buy the franchise or continue it in its present form.

Martin Jenkinson and Andy Cooke, supported by new general manager Mike O'Connor were presenting their credentials to the Superleague board, hoping to be awarded the ice hockey franchise. Sheffield Steelers ice hockey was due to be shut down by a judge today, leaving a long list of unpaid bills in its wake. The company, which lurched into debts under owner Darren Brown, declined to contest a winding up order brought by VAT officials. The firm is now expected to be liquidated, with the franchise reverting back to the Superleague which wants to sell it.

Fight for Steelers turns ugly, Martin Jenkinson claimed he had “shaken hands” on a deal with the ISL and that why he and fellow investors Andy Cooke and Martin Smith had ploughed £180,000 into Steelers in the past few weeks.

And, not to leave you in suspense:

JUNE: 19th. Former Chesterfield owner Norton Lee has won the fight to run Superleague ice hockey in South Yorkshire. But the millionaire businessman and his Eye Group partners will have to fight for the right to use the name Sheffield Steelers.

Steelers’ die-hards turned out in their thousands to show support for the men who saved their club this weekend. Around 2,200 made their point in the sunshine outside Sheffield Arena at a rally called to back Andy Cooke and Martin Jenkinson and their plans to take a Steelers team into the British National League.

Steelers’ completed their four trophy Grand Slam by defeating the London Knights 2-1 in the Championship Final. It was perhaps fitting that Scott Allison should get the  game winning goal was scored on the powerplay, after just returning from an eleven match ban after his exploits in Nottingham in February. This was after Kent Simpson had levelled the scores in the second period.

APRIL 2006 (10 years ago)

First order of the day was to win the new cup. Steelers took on Coventry in the second leg and in the second minute Mike Peron showed they meant business as he scored on the powerplay. Coventry equalised in the thirty fifth minute and the no further scoring after overtime. Then it was up to Mike Peron and Kent Simpson to score to lift the cup for Sheffield.

Steelers progressed to Nottingham to face Cardiff in the semi finals. The game was a grim three hour affair, not helped by a long stoppage in the third after Brad Voth was ejected for boarding. Steelers took the lead in the first minute but it was left to Ron Shudra to decide the game with a winning penalty shot. The final was a defensive affair with Steelers fancying their chances against Newcastle. But it was not to be as David Longstaff gave Newcastle the victory.

APRIL 2011 (5 years ago)

In a game worthy of the final Steelers dominated the first part of the semi final racing into a two goal lead.

But Nottingham came back and took the lead only for Ben Simon to take the game to overtime. However, inside two minutes Robert Lachowicz scored the game winner to end a disappointing post season for Steelers.

Ben Simon has quit Sheffield Steelers two days after the end of a glorious season in which he delivered the Elite League title. The highly principled player coach felt the new salary offered to him the biggest single slice in a reduced overall player's budget left too little room for the rest of his players. Club owner Paul Regan insists the club must not bust the wage cap, as it had done at the beginning of the season, to accommodate him. Simon could not be a “special case” he said.

They then went on to sign Ryan Finnerty as their new player coach, the lighting fast appointment coming just two days after Ben Simon quit. Finnerty comes from the club owner Paul Regan's other club, Cardiff Devils although he was a fan's favourite in Sheffield for two and a half years.

Ryan Finnerty believes his best chance of success as new Sheffield Steelers player coach is in retaining his top British players, yet he's been hit with an early setback over want away Rob Dowd. Dowd appears to have agreed terms with Belfast Giants.

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This Month In History - March

Thank you to Robert for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Robert on Twitter @steelersstats

MARCH 1996 (20 years ago)

This month, unusually, was to be play off time.

In the early rounds of the play offs Steelers stumbled unexpectedly in Basingstoke but two consecutive shutouts saw them demolish Fife 11-0 and Nottingham 8-0. They could afford to be shut out in Nottingham because four wins saw them progress comfortably to Wembley.

The only play off final I’ve been to and what a cracker! Steelers played Humberside Hawks in a slightly one sided semi final. The Steelers had the game sewn up early in the second as they cruised to a 4-0 lead, eventually winning 6-3.

This year, unlike last, Wembley saved its best for the final. 

Steelers were 3-0 up by the 22^nd minute through Malo, Neil and Cranston. But by the end of the second period Nottingham had tied the game up with three goals in 94 seconds. The remaining period and ten minutes of overtime remained scoreless: so it was into penalties. Eight penalties failed to separate the teams and Nottingham were buoyant after stopping Priestlay, Hand and Nemeth until up stepped Rob Wilson to blast the shot past Scott O’Connor for the winner.

MARCH 2001 (15 years ago)

Steelers would have been stripped of their newly-won league title if their players had gone on strike before Sunday's ISL regular season finale at Manchester Storm.

Steelers’ tycoon Darren Brown faces a double threat to his empire over unpaid bills. Sheffield Steelers are facing a fresh winding up order after failing to pay programme printing costs and Chesterfield FC have been reported to the Football League by Mansfield Town over £36,000 in unpaid ticket receipts.

Player Shayne McCosh met potential new owner Andy Cooke following the squad's demand for payment of £40,000 in bonuses by this afternoon, otherwise they would refuse to play at Nottingham in tonight's Play-off match. Cooke offered a deal where two bonuses would be paid today, totalling around £12,000, and two more of the same amount this Friday.

Darren Brown's dramatic decision to quit Sheffield Steelers today triggered a three-way fight for Britain's best ice hockey franchise. Rotherham car firm owner Andy Cooke was the afternoon meeting Steelers directors David Cox, David Brown and Brian Yates. The second candidate is Sid Butt of Woodhouse, who owns a meat distribution centre in Scotland. The third is a secret consortium, which could become the favourite.

Steelers secured another cup, this time The Challenge Cup, against Ayr for a record third time.

At the Odyssey Arena they defeated the Ayr Scottish Eagles 4-2 before a crowd of over 7000. Their were four scorers for Steelers Steve Carpenter,  Warren Norris opened the scoring but their was controversy surrounding Tony Hand’s disallowed goal (which would have seen Steelers down by one) but then Paul Beraldo and Rick Brebant made sure for Sheffield.

The previous Sunday Steelers had secured the league title against Manchester when a large crowd of 12000 plus saw Steelers win 5-3. They had clinched the league earlier but we could now see they finished nineteen points clear of their nearest rivals, Cardiff Devils.

The three week play off campaign was overshadowed by constant worries about wages and the Challenge Cup final being scheduled just before did not help. So it was no surprise that they got off to a shaky start, losing three games straight including conceding five without reply in Nottingham.

However, they recovered and four consecutive wins saw them through to the semi finals against Bracknell. In only Bracknell’s second outing to the play offs they drew level with Sheffield only for Rick Brebant and Steve Carpenter to end the scoring close to the end of the second period.

MARCH 2006 (10 years ago)

The end of a dismal season came on March 12^th when Steelers slumped to their nineteenth loss of the season in Coventry and thus ended the season in their lowest ever place in the table that of sixth place.

There was to be some redemption in the form of the new cup competition. Although horrifically scheduled, on the first weekend of the playoffs, Steelers played Coventry and the two sides came away with a goalless first leg.

With Dave Whistle in sole charge it seemed the Steelers had found a new lease of life as they sailed through the play offs into the semi finals of the Championships.

MARCH 2010 (5 years ago)

The Sheffield Steelers were today celebrating after being announced as 2010/11 Elite League Champions. The title run in came down to the wire, between the Steelers and fierce rivals the Cardiff Devils. Both were even on 87 points from 54 games, but Sheffield winning one more game in regulation than their counterparts was the determining factor.

Sheffield’s final two games were against the Braehead Clan who were playing in their inaugural season in the Elite League.
 

The South Yorkshire side travelled north of the border on Saturday (19^thMarch) to face the Clan at the Braehead Arena in the penultimate league game. Sheffield strolled to a 5-1 victory in a game where they didn’t even get out of second gear, preserving energy for tomorrow’s eagerly awaited rematch.
 

Only one goal separated the teams in the first period, coming courtesy of Steelers Captain Jonathan Phillips at 19:02 after some good work from linemate Rob Globke. A second period blitz from Sheffield which saw them hit four unanswered goals pretty much wrapped up the game and sealed them the two valuable points. Jeff Legue was first on target at 25:52 with his 39^thgoal of the season to give his team a 2-0 lead. Frustrations began to get the better of the hosts and their agitator Kyle Bruce finished a late hit on Steve Munn who took exception to the hit, and the pair dropped the gloves with Munn claiming the honours in a good bout.

The fight seemed to spur the Steelers on further as they fired home three more goals in the following four minutes, to put the game out of reach. Firstly, Joey Talbot netted Steelers third of the night on the powerplay at 35:05 to give the visitors some more breathing room.

Neil Clark then slotted home another powerplay marker at 38:14 after a neat pass from Rob Globke again to make it 4-0. Great Britain international Ashley Tait then rounded off the second period scoring at 39:54 with his 25^thof the season and Sheffield’s fifth of the night.

A Bobby Chaumont consolation effort in the third period for the Clan wasn’t enough to prevent Sheffield from claiming the all-important two points in their quest to land the League title.

The same two teams battled it out once again twenty-four hours later at the Sheffield Motorpoint Arena in front of a bumper crowd. Sheffield cruised to a 7-2 victory to ensure they were crowned 2010/11 Elite League Champions for the first time since the 2008/09 double-winning side.

Rod Sarich was the first on the scoresheet after he blasted home on the powerplay to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Jeff Legue doubled the Steelers lead with his 40th goal of the season after a sublime pass from linemate Joey Talbot finding Legue backdoor all alone who made no mistake in slotting the puck home.

No further scoring followed in the first period, in which Sheffield heavily outshot their opponents 13-3.  An unlikely source in Jerramie Domish netted the Steelers third goal after some good work from Derek Campbell to find Domish in space, to make it 3-0.

Neil Clark added further misery to the Clan just 39 seconds later, when he netted his 37^thgoal of the season to give Steelers a 4-0 lead. Steelers piled on further pressure and they got their just desserts when Rod Sarich netted his second of the game shorthanded to make it 5-0 to the South Yorkshire side.

Sheffield Steelers lynchpin defenceman Steve Munn netted a rare goal on the powerplay to round off the second period scoring in which the hosts outshot the visitors 18-5.

A resurgent Braehead Clan started the third period the brighter of the two teams, and former Manchester Phoenix Captain Adam Walker broke the visitors duck to give his side a glimmer of hope. Jordan Krestanovich netted the visitors second goal of the night on the powerplay to give the excellent travelling support of the Clan something to cheer about.

Their celebrations were short lived when Steve Munn fired home his second of the night at 56:46 to make it 7-2. The bumper crowd were buoyant for the final three minutes signalling the start of major celebrations.

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This Month In History - February

Thank you to Robert for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Rob on Twitter @steelersstats

FEBRUARY 1996 (20 years ago)

Steelers Alex Dampier persuaded David Longstaff to join them on loan to the end of the season.

Sheffield Steelers went into their game with Cardiff Devils (their closest rivals) in mid February knowing a win would set them up for the title and Ken Priestlay blasted four past Stevie Lyle in a 34 minute spell to ensure this. When Newcastle held Steelers to a draw in late February they had gone on a streak of ten straight wins which saw them within two points off the title. Then in front of a packed house of over 9000 Sheffield Steelers claimed the league and part two of The Grand Slam, beating Nottingham 7-2.

During this period they scored 55 goals conceding 23 with 8 wins and just one tie.

FEBRUARY 2001 (15 years ago)

Friday February 9^th, an infamous day in ice hockey.

Some of most explosive scenes of violence seen in British ice hockey for years wrecked Steelers latest bid to confirm new ownership of the league title last night. Steelers were leading Nottingham 3-1 when aggro broke out on the ice. Barry Nieckar, whose blind side punch concussed Scott Allison, after he (Allison) appeared to cross check Dennis Vial in the side of the head. Vial looked groggy and slipped to the ice as Niecker continued to pound him, the officials declining to step in. Seconds later, Steelers cleared their bench, storming into the middle of the ice, Panthers bench followed suit and every player then took a sparring partner. Like a man possessed Scott Allison climbed over the penalty box plexiglass to join in. At one stage it looked as if Vial butted Nieckar. As a side show Scott Metcalfe beat up Chris Baxter and Adam Smith did the same to David Struch. A glass pane was smashed alongside the Steelers bench, slightly injuring a girl fan. Nottingham goalie Jordon Willis later described the scene as "ridiculous, dangerous, barbaric". It could lead to hefty suspensions for the main protagonists, including both coaches for failing to control their benches. When the dust settled, Steelers lost their poise along with their goaltender, and the match, and the chance to win the league on the night. 

video
 
Record Ban: Allison out for 14 games and fined £850. Vial out for 6 matches and fined £750, Coach Blaisdell get 2 matches, and £500 fine after Friday's violent scenes at Nottingham Panthers.

Five cars rented for Steelers players and staff were the subject of repossession action, while the championship stars were training. The latest embarrassment for owner Darren Brown came when a debt-collecting agent representing a car hire company arrived at the Arena stadium. Now the players, who say they continue to play only if they are paid on time, have decided to hit back at their management.

Steelers’ players have discussed a fresh strike plan aimed at turning up the heat on owner Darren Brown. But they decided against going ahead with a playing boycott after an angry confrontation with their team manager and coach. Sheffield captain Dennis Vial says the “feud” between players and ownership should end. "We should just sit down and talk this out. On pay and bonuses, all the players want is what they deserve, no more. We need to get on and play hockey".

Steelers clinched the league title on Sunday February 11^th, two days after the Nottingham debacle, with a 6-1 win in London. Average crowds of almost 6,000 watched these league encounters.

FEBRUARY 2006 (10 years ago)

Dennis Maxwell's short lived career at The Star Sheffield Steelers has ended; he flies home to America on Thursday. The parting of the ways was inevitable after the Canadian criticised Steelers owner Bob Phillips in The Star last Saturday for demoting him from his unofficial role as player-coach.

February was a particularly dismal month with Steelers winning just one game and that was in the Ice Hockey Cup. They were shut out no less than three times and scored only fifteen goals.

FEBRUARY 2011 (5 years ago)

Possibly the title-defining moment came in Cardiff in the middle of February.

The month previously, Sheffield had got pole position in the League as Cardiff’s record-breaking run of twenty two games came to an end. Back to back games, against their nearest rivals, saw Steelers run out eventual winners in an overtime game which was settled by a rare strike from Mark Thomas.  This was after Scott Matzka had equalised a Jeff Legue goal to tie the game at 4-4 and send it to overtime. 

The next night, at the Arena, Steelers saw off Cardiff 5-2 with Robert Dowd getting two goals with Jeff Legue getting the game winning goal. Coach Ben Simon said afterwards “A lot of guys stepped up this weekend, but the hard work has to continue”.

Jeff Legue was scoring at over a goal a game by this time and he scored seven overall in February.

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This Month In History - January

JANUARY 1995 (20 years ago)

Two days into the new year Sheffield slumped to an 8-3 defeat in Hull. After the game Alex Dampier boarded the supporters’ buses and made a personal apology for the performance.
Within a few days Dampier had put his words into action as Jamie Van Der Horst, a no-nonsense defender joins the Steelers from Solihull Barons.

Steelers went top of the league with a 4-2 victory over Durham at the Arena. This was to be their second victory of six that month.

JANUARY 2000 (15 years ago)

Angry Steeler owner Darren Brown has carpeted his managing director, over a £5,000 payment to finance company, which was due to pursue a winding up order against Steelers in court. Brown was furious when he discovered his accounts department had not settled the relatively modest bill which was in danger of bringing the club to its knees. 

There was a bid to oust sport tycoon Darren Brown he's been secretly asked to hand over running of Sheffield Steelers ice hockey club. He has been dogged by a series of cash-flow difficulties, including a threatened visit of bailiffs to Chesterfield FC over a £49,000 tax bill. A long running saga over the payment of £150,000 soccer transfer cash, failure to pay an ice hockey player on time and a £5,000 lottery prize owed to fans.

The row over the finances of sports tycoon Darren Brown rumbled on with ice hockey players setting a deadline for possible strike action and football fans demanding real answers. Steelers coach Mike Blaisdell has revealed how he fully supported his players decision to threaten strike action against unpaid wage.

The league continued to be a success for the Steelers, who had been top all year and were now closing in on the title. They won all games bar one, that to their rivals Cardiff at The Wales National Ice Rink.

JANUARY 2005 (10 years ago)

Dave Whistle and Dennis Maxwell will lose their jobs if they fail to turn round the Steelers season owner Bob Phillips declared. The management pair will be dismissed at the end of the 2005-06 season unless they can change the woeful sequence of Elite League results and make a decent push for the Play-offs.

Jason Hewitt, formerly of the now defunct London, made his debut on the 7^th January in a 3-2 win in Nottingham.

The threat of the axe falling on the coaching staff did little to turn around their fortunes in the league but they embarked on a new competition, The British Ice Hockey Cup. This was to be a knockout competition and because Nottingham could not enter Hull Stingrays of the EPL stepped up.

JANUARY 2010 (5 years ago)

Steelers today unveiled another new owner and this one is made in Sheffield. Tony Smith boss of Rhino Sports manufacturers has acquired a 15 per cent stake in Rink Corp, the company that holds the rights of Steelers and Cardiff Devils.

Steelers’ new owner Paul Ragan has no intention of adopting the one time club dream of a new rink in Rother Valley Country Park. But Regan had little intention on moving Steelers to any new rink there. He told the Star "I knew nothing about it until the week before last. As far as I was aware, the Yes! Project is more likely the 'One day in a million years time project.'

This successful month, on the ice, was marred only by the debacle against Cardiff at the Motorpoint. I (Robert that is - Editor) witnessed, and walked out of, a totally inept display by Sheffield against a Cardiff side on a record breaking run. Sheffield capitulated to a 7-1 defeat which left people wondering “can a person really own two clubs without bias”.  NB: Paul Ragan also owned Cardiff Devils.

Fortunately it was only a blip and the Steelers made it six wins out of six for the remainder of the month, keeping the momentum up as they chased Cardiff for the title. Indeed, in the next game they routed Edinburgh with Neil Clark getting five in an 18-1 win.

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This Month In Steelers History - December

Thank you to Robert for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Rob on Twitter @steelersstats 

DECEMBER 1995 - 20 YEARS AGO

Sheffield families caught up in a bloody ice hockey war are considering launching legal action against rival team players. Parents of at least two young females who claim they were intimidated and verbally abused by injured Durham Wasps player Ross Lambert have already made contact with lawyers.

The Benson and Hedges final in front of a record crowd of 10,136 was claimed by Sheffield after an inspirational three goal performance from Tony Hand. The game was effectively ended, as a contest when Steelers scored three times in nineteen seconds during the second period to go into a four goal lead.

With a goal either side of Andre Malo’s effort Tony Hand scored two, the second delivered with all the glamour and polish expected of the Steelers. Receiving the puck he dribbled down the ice and in a trice had the puck through the narrowest of gaps. Hand completed his hat trick with an empty net goal as Panthers desperately tried to hold on to the Cup.

In the Durham Wasps game in Sunderland, forward Nicky Chinn was arrested after an ugly game. The Welshman was involved in an on-ice incident Wasps' Ross Lambert. 

They won all of the league games except in Durham (where they drew 6-6) and were now closing in on their closest rivals, Cardiff, for the title. They scored 58 goals in the league that month.

DECEMBER 2001 - 15 YEARS AGO

This month saw Steelers release forwards Brent Bobyck and Steve Roberts 

In front of 10,000 fans Mike Torchia recorded a rare cup final shutout as Steelers comprehensively beat Newcastle Jesters 4-0. Two goals from man of the match Jason Weaver helped Sheffield to their first trophy of the season. In the game Steelers were far superior scoring three breakaway goals, the opener from Kent Simpson. Weaver lengthened the lead with two goals in the middle period and any lingering Newcastle hopes of a comeback were dashed by Scott Allison who beat Satosarri one on one for the fourth goal. 

The league bandwagon went rolling onward with six wins; three of which were against their immediate chasing pack.

DECEMBER 2005 - 10 YEARS AGO  

One of Coach Dennis Maxwell’s first actions was to cut top points scorer Dan Ceman. 

Their form in the league started well with four victories, then took a nosedive as they lost four of the remaining five games just scraping a tie in the other.

DECEMBER 2010 - 5 YEARS AGO 

Bob Phillips’ controversial reign as owner of Sheffield Steelers is over, he is selling the club to secret millionaire Paul Regan for around £90.000. The 43 year old relative newcomer to hockey is owner of Elite League rivals Cardiff Devils, the club ironically which Phillips once owned. He told the Star "The club isn't worth anything as it is really. I is a loss making business because the crowds have dropped. But I am spending my money on the basic of what it will be, not what it is" he said. 

Regan was on the end of an acrimonious exchange of words as his team beat Nottingham Panthers 6-3 last night. The multi-millionaire businessman, who earlier had been barracked by Panthers fans when he introduced himself on ice to the near 6,000 Sheffield Arena crowd, had hit back by jokingly referring to them as a small club. But after the match, when he went to shake the hand of Nottingham official Gary Moran, he was met by loud criticism for making a "cheap shot". An embarrassing shouting match developed as newly installed PR officer Dave Simms sought to intervene. 

The good run continued into December, and Steelers were on a streak of three successive wins when they made the short trip to Nottingham just after Boxing Day. Joey Talbot's hat-trick proved to be the difference as it gave Steelers a quickfire double win over their arch-rivals. The game was a wide open contest until Talbot got the game winning goal to complete his treble before Steelers added the gloss with an empty net goal in the final minute.

Steelers opened the scoring at 15:44 thanks to a Rod Sarich powerplay marker but with seven seconds of the first period left, Panthers levelled matters thanks to a goal from Billy Ryan. It was a similar story in the second period as the teams shared the goals again. Talbot scored his first of the game at 23:52, only for Ian McDonald to cancel it out and make it 2-2 at 29:52. A powerplay tally for Talbot, his second of the game, had Steelers 3-2 at 34:01 but Ryan's second of the game at 39:14 made it 3 apiece after 40 minutes play. 

The game looked certain to head into overtime until Steelers were presented with a late powerplay opportunity, and Talbot scored his hat-trick goal to edge Steelers 4-3 ahead at 57:41. Panthers then pulled their goaltender in the last minute and it was Jeff Legue who would find the empty net at 59:11 to secure the points for a 5-3 win. 

Rounding off the year, Steelers made it five straight wins in another high scoring encounter: this time against an injury hit Coventry Blaze who deserve great credit for a battling performance which fell just short but saw them slip to a third straight loss. 

The opening period was a shared one which saw both teams score within 40 seconds of each other. Visitors Blaze took the lead at 11:58 when Russell Cowley netted but at 12:38 we were tied when Talbot scored his first of three goals on the night.

It was a great start to the second period by the Steelers and particularly for Talbot as he netted at 20:57 and then again at 23:15 with a shorthanded effort to complete a straight hat-trick and fire the home side 3-1 ahead. Yet back came Blaze and their own sniper Luke Fulghum counted a double of his own at 30:48 and 32:42 to level up matters at 3-3; but that was not the end of the goalscoring action in that period as Jeff Legue edged Steelers ahead 4-3 at 38:04 when he slotted the black biscuit into the visiting net. 

Both sides had sides their chances in an end to end third period but it was Steelers who went two goals ahead when former Blaze captain Ashley Tait scored his team's second shorthanded goal of the night at 52:50. Yet Blaze would not lie down and at 58:05 future Steeler Aaron Nell pulled one back to give his side a glimmer of hope but that was ended with just 31 seconds left on the clock when Neil Clark scored into the empty net for a 6-4 win with Tom Murdy pulled for the extra skater.

Steelers then moved to within three points of slumping league leaders Belfast Giants and had four games in hand on the Northern Irish side. 

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This month in history - October

Thank you to Rob for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Rob on Twitter @steelerstats

20 years ago - 1995

The month really belonged to their first European sortie.

Steelers lay on a real Dutch treat, an awesome display of defensive might and clinical shooting gave sparking Sheffield Steelers their first taste of European Cup glory last night when they beat the hosts Tilburg Trappers.

The first game was penalty-strewn, with seventeen being given against Steelers but a game winning goal by Priestlay and an inspired display from Hand (1+2) gave Steelers the points.

However, they came up against crack opposition in Olympia Hertz of Slovenia. But even though they were well behind Steelers scored three to worry the opposition. The score finished at 5-3. They then beat a team from Spain in their last outing.

Back home they qualified for the semi final of the Benson and Hedges by beating Cardiff 9-5 on aggregate. But in the first leg of the semi Steelers caught a cold going down 5-3 in Fife. They won all of their four league games that month all by handsome margins the one against Cardiff attracting 9,000 fans.

15 years ago - 2000

Steelers had one foot in the Benson and Hedges Cup Final by the end of the month after defeating Bracknell 7-5 on aggregate and winning the home leg of the semi-final against Nottingham.

They also embarked on their Challenge Cup campaign where points gained were also combined with points in the League. Steelers won their first game, but were then shut out by London Knights at the Arena. However the League form was of no concern as they dominated proceedings with six wins.

10 years ago - 2005

Steelers disappointing form continued into October when they lost five of their eight games.

Their record for the month read as W2 L5 T1 with 22 goals scored and 27 conceded.

5 years ago - 2010 

Sheffield Steelers owners claimed that have banked a £100,000 investment package which will help secure the Club's future until the end of the current season. Bob and Mariani Phillips stated further cash injections from this unknown source will be available to them at any time on request. This announcement may go some way to allaying the fears of Steelers supporters who have seen two Steelers operating companies be liquidated in the last five years.

On ice, Steelers suffered a major blow when skipper Jonathan Phillips sustained a serious knee injury in a home defeat against the Braehead Clan. Phillips would not ice again until January.

However the team proved any doubters wrong when challenged with a ridiculous schedule of playing six games in just eight days. Steelers banked four wins in that period with their only losses coming against Cardiff and Nottingham. To add further insult, the roster was majorly depleted further as they lost Mark Thomas (broken foot), back up netminder Geoff Woolhouse (knee injury) and imports Jerramie Domish and Rob Globke both slowly returning after their own respective injuries as the loss of the aforementioned Phillips.

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