20.3.2015 - Steelers Away at Panthers Talk Show

Steelers final away league game of the season and Mark and Alan discuss it with Tom making an appearance on pre game but due to problems Tom couldn't feature on any others.

listen to ‘20.3.15 - Steelers v Panthers Pre Game’ on audioBoom

listen to ‘20.3.15 Panthers vs Steelers End of Second’ on audioBoom

listen to ‘20.3.15 Panthers vs Steelers End of Game’ on audioBoom

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Heaven Gains Another Angel

Rest In Peace to the beautiful Amy Usher who unfortunately lost her battle with cancer on the morning off Thursday 19th March 2015.

Amy was well loved amongst the hockey community and she managed to bring everyone together where no one has managed to do that yet.

Frozen Steel would like to send our condolences to the Usher family our thoughts are with you at this tough time. Amy will be missed by so many people as she has touched so many hearts so fly high up their Amy. The Big man in the sky only takes the best of people.

Friday and Saturday guys make sure your loud and proud for Amy Usher on the 21st Minute

Lets go and win the league for her
#ForAmy
#HockeyFamilySticksTogether

SIHA Round-Up 15th March 2015

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

On Sunday Sabres U14 D2 maintained their 100% win record but didn’t get things their own way against a talented and hardworking Deeside Junior Dragons in an entertaining game. Leon Shaw put Sabres 1-0 up at the end of the first in a period in which they were the better team. Deeside looked like a different opposition in the second but found themselves 2-0 down after Ben O’Brien had scored a well taken goal, however Deeside’s efforts were rewarded when they pulled one back to make it 2-1 at the end of the second. Sabres gained the upper hand when Leon Shaw scored a lovely delayed penalty goal to make it 3-1 but Deeside didn’t give up and took advantage when a lapse of concentration in defence was punished by the impressive Charlie Spidgeon who made no mistake to haul Dragons back into the game. It was hard to predict which way it would go but Sabres dug deep and worked hard to ensure that it was they who secured the points with Leon Shaw unlucky not to score again when he flicked one onto the piping. A gritty performance from Sabres in an enjoyable game for the spectator but not necessarily for the Coach!

Greyhounds U16 D2 enjoyed a 9-0 success over Blackburn to maintain their 100% win record which has seen them crowned as league winners. Blackburn pushed Greyhounds all the way in the first period but two decent goals; one for Gabriel Grzibovskis & one for Jack Brain put Greyhounds in control. It was soon 3-0 when a Blackburn player went to block a shot with his skate from Nathan Price only to help the puck on its way into the net. The second period was a lot closer although a good spell from Greyhounds brought a couple of good saves from the Blackburn netminder but he couldn’t do anything to prevent Luke Allen firing in after a lovely pass from Jack Brain had created the opening to see Greyhounds in front at 4-0. A Gabriel Grzibovskis hat-trick made it four for him as well as 7-0 for Greyhounds. Nathan Prince scored a lovely short-handed goal to make it 8-0 with Thomas Cope making it 9-0 to put away his own rebound after a very good initial shot had been well saved by Blackburn’s goalie. Another impressive performance for Greyhounds who’s season just gets better & better.

The same can be said for Lasers U12 D1 who enjoyed an impressive 13-0 away win against Kingston Hull to keep them in the hunt for glory in what turned out to be a very good day for junior hockey in Sheffield.

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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SIHA Round-Up 14th March 2015

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

Sheffield Spartans & Blackburn Hawks shared the spoils in a great game of ice hockey at Ice Sheffield on Saturday in NIHL North One. Spartans were the better team in the opening period and should have realistically been in front but had to be content with a 2-2 period with Ollie Barron twice putting Spartans in front only for Hawks to equalise through Adam Brittle & Chris Arnone. The second period was a little scrappy, mainly due to some awful and inconsistent refereeing on both teams but it was still end to end & as exciting as the first period. Hawks had some good spells of pressure with Brandon Stones making several good saves to keep Spartans in the game. But whereas Hawks had more chances, Spartans had the better ones and on the balance of play deserved their 4-2 lead at the end thanks to good goals scored by Shaun Wild & Nick Manning. Hawks stepped it up a gear to score early on in the third through Chris Butler. Spartans still created chances and were more than in the game but a good spell of possession and pressure on Spartans goal from Hawks reaped rewards with a determined effort to drive the puck home after Brandon Stones had made a fine save but unable to do anything about Aaron Davies popping in the rebound as there was a Hawks player lying on top of him with the goal allowed to stand. Spartans reacted positively to hit back at Hawks who always looked dangerous on the counter attack but it looked more likely a draw as the clock ticked down; however there was to be a cruel twist in the tale with just 16 seconds left of the game. Some lovely build up play had Hawks on the back foot and when Will Barron forced the puck home and the goal signalled it looked like Spartans may have inflicted Hawks first defeat of the season. The reaction of the Hawks players spoke volumes as Spartans celebrated but it was not to be has the referee then decided to wash it out for a man in the crease, doing so without consultation to harshly rob Spartans of a hard fought and valuable win. It was a poor call, it was the wrong call, one of many but obviously it had more of an impact than some of his other decisions. The last 16 seconds passed without further incident to see the final score tied at 4-4. The result & Sutton’s loss in Billingham sees Spartans move up to 4^th play-off spot, one point above Sutton who they play in their last game on the 28^th.

Prior to the Spartans game, Rapiers U16 D1 faced a potentially tricky game against Coventry Blaze who made life difficult for the Sheffield team at times. The first chance fell to Coventry on a breakaway but they couldn’t put their chance away in the 2^nd minute. Lasers went onto dominate but they didn’t pick the most of their possession or chances against an inform netminder and a stubborn defence that do deserve praise. However the netminder as eventually beaten when a brave save from a one on one breakaway saw possession fall to Sam Rodgers who calmly put his chance away to put Rapiers in front. As the clock ticked down some lovely individual skill from Sam Rodger saw him flick his shot high to leave the netminder no chance and put Rapiers in front 2-0 at the period break. Coventry started the period brightly and after both teams had good chances to score with Evan Coles making an excellent save in Sheffield’s goal, it was Blaze who did score through Daniel Mulcanny who was strong on the puck after he created space to put his chance away nicely. This lifted Coventry who was now on top of things and whilst on the powerplay they turned possession over to fire in a shot to make it 2-2 through Edgars Landsbergs. Rapiers hit back though but couldn’t find a way past Coventry’s rear-guard to be all square after two but after a scrappy start to the 3^rd, Rapiers went on to gradually dominate proceedings to run out 6-2 winners. Finlay Ulrick scored first and after some sustained pressure Aaron Lyon forced a good save from the Coventry goalie but was on hand for the second bite of the cheery to make it 4-2.  Finlay Ulrick picked up a perfectly timed & weighted pass to leave the netminder no chance and the win was rounded of by Jake Howis in the dying seconds of the game. It was tough to start with but Rapiers class told in the end in what was another good game of junior hockey.

The academy’s other senior team were also in action against their Blackburn rivals but against the Eagles in NIHL North Two. Blackburn is always a difficult place to get a result and things became a bit naughty and physical but a solid workmanlike team performance with a special mention for the unwell Josh Gent who insisted on playing to turn in an admirable performance with 5 goals & an assist. Josh aka Charles VII grabbed his hat-trick in the first period with Mikey Mawer, Nathan Britton, Callum Rawson & Paul Lofthouse getting on the score sheet with a solitary goal from Eagles through Jordan Ashington to see the score at 7-1 in Senators favour. The second period was a little tougher but Josh Gent & Nathan Britton put Sens further in front at 9-1 but another Jordan Ashington goal in the last minute pulled one back for Eagles. Harry Bolton & James Riddoch gave Eagles a little hope into the third but Josh Gent popped his 5^th one in to make it 10-4 before it all turned a bit unsavoury in the 52^nd minute with numerous penalties handed out to both teams. However the dust did settle somewhat with no real further incident for Senators to notch up another win in what has been an amazing season.

Steelhawks U18 D1 were also on the road to face Billingham and came away with an impressive 14-4 win. A Joe Colton hat-trick, a brace from Oli Simms plus one from Cole Shudra put Steelhawks in a strong position at 6-1 at the end of the first. Sheffield’s dominance continued into the second, despite a couple of Billingham goals, as Cole Shudra grabbed his hat-trick with two more goals with one apiece for Aaron Lyon, Connor Parker & Thomas James Brooke-Smith. With an 11-3 lead Steelhawks were always in command and ensured their victory by conceding just one more whilst Kyle Watson and another couple from Cole Shudra rounded off a good performance.

Scorpions U18 D2 were also in action but came unstuck against a very good & undefeated Manchester team who climbed to the top of the league after their 12-2 win at Ice Sheffield whilst Swampfrogs recorded a solid 11-3 away win against Grimsby.

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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It's the final countdown....

"Der der der der der...." - with sincere apologies to Swedish rock legends Europe. The final week of the regular season is almost here and the title race took an unexpected twist again on Sunday night when a result coming straight out of EH12 surprised all and sundry. The final countdown is definitely on, will my prediction still hold true or have I given the kiss of death to the Purple Army? Let's see...

 

Nobody, not even myself, could have scripted Sunday's events. Sure I expected a bit of backlash from the Cardiff Angels (as our good friend Mr Caps Banter Army has re-dubbed the South Wales team) against us but seriously who would have thought that the Caps would go and win against title chasing Clan? Come on one and all, you never saw it as well: did you?

What it has done for sure, the title race is now wide open and Clan now have to win out to secure the Monteith Bowl which I predicted they will get. Conceivably too, if Cardiff win their game in hand (against the very same Caps team) in the Big Blue Tent tomorrow night then Clan will slip to third and only regulation wins will separate Steelers and Devils. Complex enough for you? That's why I think this season's title race has been one of the most exciting ones in the 11 years the EIHL has been going. It's had more twists and turns than the world famous "Big One" rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Which makes for great entertainment but isn't too good for the nerves and chewed fingernails.

So will Caps ruin a second team's title ambitions on Wednesday and do the Steelers a second favour? Ideally, we would love it if they did but I honestly can't see happening. Cardiff are pretty damn good in their own barn, and not many teams escape there with a maximum haul. If it had been in Murrayfield, I would have viewed it as a banana skin for Andrew Lord's Angels but not in the BBT. Which makes for grim reading for both Gerad Adams and most importantly; Ryan Finnerty up in the West of Scotland. This then leads us onto 3 potential massive days...

Friday night sees the Steelers travel to the fabulous NIC again for the last time in the regular season where all sorts of implications could abound. The hosts want the win for the Erhardt Conference title; which can give them second seed in the play-offs provided Braehead win the league. Likewise Steelers are in the title hunt, and two points in the Lace City will really launch them into the box seat as regards the Monteith Bowl. If Steelers play like they did in the Challenge Cup semi-final second leg, then they can easily skate away with another win.

Saturday brings games in each Conference which will determine things. Should Sheffield have the win from Nottingham 24 hours earlier in the bag, they could easily be celebrating if they beat the Devils at Sheffield Arena in the teams' third league encounter in the last 10 days. A loss in Nottingham will put the pressure on Adams' men to get the win and then sit back and hope. Cardiff will be two points ahead if they win in the House of Steel and Nottingham have done likewise. Meanwhile Braehead entertain Hull, and they too will need a favour off their "big sister" to keep the purple dreams alive. A home loss to the Stingrays will end their hopes there and then.

So supposing Sheffield finish out with just 2 points from their last two games, there will be many anxious faces in South Yorkshire on Sunday. Devils will be out of the running if they fail to pick up any points Saturday as the regulation win calculator will come into play. A single point haul from the House of Steel might be enough to give them a chance but they need to overcome Nottingham to stand that chance: the positive there being that this game is back in the BBT. Clan on the other hand, have to secure a minimum of a overtime loss if they go into Sunday just a point behind Steelers. They go to Fife, "The Auld Barn", a place they have come unstuck a few times in the past and been beaten convincingly as well. It does add extra spice to proceedings for sure. 

With so many different permutations available, who can say which team be celebrating come probably around 9:00pm Sunday night. The race could be over Saturday but the way this season's title race has unfolded then as a betting man; I'd bet it's highly possible it won't be. Let's get both tomorrow and Friday out of the way and see where we stand then, it's going to be a real test of emotions. Panthers have a massive say in what's going to happen, I bet they wish they had been involved in it. The play-off match ups following the final games should be interesting. As they stand it's:

Sheffield (as league champions) v Hull
Braehead (as Gardiner Conference winners) v Fife
Cardiff v Coventry
Nottingham v Belfast

See what I mean? Anyway that's me done with, I'll have a look at the play-off quarter finals next week when we know who has finished where. As a Steelers supporter, I hope I have reasons to celebrate but then again I am ready to face the mickey taking if we miss out on the Holy Grail for the first time since 2011. I sincerely pray I don't have to go through the latter...Until next week is!

Thanks for reading guys. If you want to get involved please contact us on twitter or find us on Facebook and like us and leave a comment:-

@FrozenSteelBlog

@TomWalkeden

@FrozenSteelMNL

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Check out the Frozen Steel Podcast

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Or Email the team at frozen.steel.91@gmail.com