Five Things - Week Ending 13 September 2013.

Thank you to Tony for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Tony on Twitter @DISGU15ED.

So what five things did we learn this weekend upon our return to Elite League action?

  

1>     Can the cream really rise this early – 2 wins for Belfast, Braehead and Sheffield leaves us all looking pretty, and 1 win for Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dundee leaves them feeling OK too - 2 losses for Nottingham makes me happy.

2>     Scoring charts – Roy tops the Elite League in scoring with 4 from 3 games (followed by Hayes  - Capitals, Sisca - Manchester and Clarkson - Dundee all with 4 from 4) – let’s hope that’s a stat he holds onto and he’s well on his way to another 40+ goals.

3>     What a weekend for the Steelers – I made it a net score of 12:1, with Roy 4, Mosi 2, Nelson 2, and singles from Fretter, Dowd, Legue and Coyle. Thommo seems to prefer to mix his scoring threats up across the first three lines rather than focussing on just one, and that’s looking good so far.

4>     Storm or just a light shower – Happy news for the Phoenix was that the new boys went down 2:6 and 2:7 this week-end. Great that they’re here, but we should expect changeable performances, with increasing chances of light drizzle, and occasional yellow (&purple) snow warnings.

5>     CHL next round – So for all the new JYP and Frolunda fans, you’ll be glad to know the next round you get TPS Turku (another team from Finland) and ERC Ingolstadt (the team that Braehead beat in the shopping centre) respectively. Will be interesting to see what Frolunda do against a DEL side – I suspect the result won’t be pretty!

Closing thought for this week is to thank Phil Hill, back at the Steelers for the last couple of years after leaving the implosion that was the Cardiff Devils in 13/14. Thanks for that Play-Off final goal, and thanks for helping bring the Elite League title back to the Arena. All the best with the move to the Telford #bleedorange

P.S. Thanks also go out to Forney, Baldwin, Kohn, Latulippe, Petruska, Thomo, Bois, Deeds, Morency, Doyle, Unice, House, Jazzy & Gospel for their help last year, especially those who helped earn that banner we raised on Sunday. Cheers!

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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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Big Match Preview - Cardiff (Home)

After the experience that was the Champions Hockey League, it's the first home game of the regular season with a Challenge Cup encounter with Cardiff. Cardiff experienced mixed fortunes here in the House of Steel last season, from the exhilaration of winning this afore mentioned trophy to the 11-0 humbling we dished out just three days later. It promises to be just as feisty as ever. 

Their last visit saw a certain Jeff Legue score an all important third period goal that clinched the Monteith Bowl here in Sheffield.

Helping us set the scene for the game is Devils supporter, and good friend of FSB, Sean Phillips. Here's what he had to say:

FSB: How would you sum up last season for Cardiff?

SP: It was a great season for us. Our depth in the roster was key to our success along with a stellar season from Ben Bowns. It was disappointing to not make the final four but to finish a point off the top spot and come away with a trophy is something none of us expected.
 

FSB: Looking at your roster, you've retained a lot of last season's team. Who do you see having the biggest impact?

SP: Andrew Lord. It all starts with Lord and without him nothing ticks. His systems for a young coach and the ethos he's built into his roster are nothing short of spectacular. Lord is a massive asset to us off the ice and more so, he's one of the premier power forwards in the league. I cannot stress how valuable he is to our club and hope he's here for a long time.
 

FSB: You've brought in Leigh Salters from Braehead but lost Matthew Myers back to Nottingham, what's the general feeling about that?

SP: Losing Myers may come across as a bummer, but where would he slot in? We have three forward lines full of imports, two GB defenseman and its number one goalie. Myers would play the tenth forward role and he's far too talented for that and consequently too expensive. Salters adds a great dynamic to our firepower and physicality and so I'm very excited to see him play a full season for us, as opposed to against us!
 

FSB:  A couple of more smart moves have seen Guilliame Doucet come in and Tomas Kurka return.  You must be pretty pleased about that?

SP: Doucet is a great addition. After four games I'm hoping he honours the two year deal he signed as he's a natural goalscorer which I feel we've lacked since Jon Pelle left for Belfast. We've had some great guys and players but Gui is one of those clutch players you can throw out there when you desperately need a goal. As for Kurka, we've seen him, we know what he's all about and his experience shows through in how easy he makes things look. His link up with Doucet has been great to watch and with Joey Haddad also contributing, that's a horrible looking line to play against.
 

FSB: What do you think of the roster that you will face in opposition, namely us?

SP: All the teams have upgraded, some more than others. I look at Sheffield's roster and I just find it a little uninspiring. I am in no way a coach and Thompson knows his stuff, but I can't see where your secondary grit is coming from when Fitzgerald is in the penalty box. I feel a few teams will bully Sheffield. Plante looks the real deal and if you retain the league title, he'll be a big reason why.
 

FSB: Finally, who do you reckon will be the key players in this match, and what will be the final score?

SP: Key players will be Jake Morissette for Devils and Tyler Mosienko for Steelers. Both smaller guys who are key to their teams penalty kills along with a genuine scoring threat. As for a score prediction, I'm saying nothing. Let the guys settle it out on the ice, they're the ones who really know what they're talking about after all!

 

Thanks to Sean for his time, we appreciate it.

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Big Match Preview - Coventry (Away)

Saturday night sees the Steelers travel down to the West Midlands to face the Coventry Blaze at the Sky Dome. It's safe to assume that we have had some success there in recent times and we hope this run continues. Added spice to the game is the return of Paul Thompson, albeit this time on our bench. "Thommo" spent 20 years or so there, so it will be an emotional night for him. Can we get our first win of the season there?

Helping us set the scene for the game is Blaze supporter Kat Taylor. Here's what she had to say:

FSB: How would you sum up last season for Coventry?

KT: In a word - Rollercoaster! I felt that we put on the A-game when it was crucial (playoff quarters, cup games, etc), and that if we could have maybe maintained some of that momentum season-long we could've finished a little better than we did. Still though, an entirely new season awaits!

FSB: Weber has retained a good core of last season's squad. Brian Stewart is one, can he be even better this season?

KT: Keeping Stewie for another year was a very good decision IMO. One of the best, if not THE best goalie last year. He's a fan favourite for a reason. Last season's effort will be hard to top, but I believe he can only get better - especially now he's got an Elite league season under his belt.
 

FSB: We see the evergreen that is Ashley Tait has laced up his skates for another season. Do you think this might Ash's final season before he retires?

KT: I'll be honest, I was amazed that he was still playing when I found out how old he was! I don't see why he can't continue, especially if he can carry on banging them home like he did on Sunday against Fife. If he's still competitive, and this season will tell, then I see no reason why he can't carry on.
 

FSB:  Of the new boys, which one are you looking forward to seeing play the most and why?

KT: So far I've seen some great skilful play by Lukacevic in the pre-season, as well as some rather, ahem, 'assertive' action by Valabik. At the moment I'm really liking the way Trimm is able to just ping off cracking shots too, easily making space in the centre - I would love to see him score some more pretty goals and he's therefore my favourite new player.
 

FSB: What do you think of the roster that Thommo has recruited for us this season, and are you confident the home support will give PT a warm welcome back?

KT: Oooh, that's a tricky one. You guys gave a valiant effort in the CHL, especially the game against Frolunda. I certainly wouldn't bet against you winning some silverware this year. 

With Thommo though - I wouldn't expect a cold welcome, given the success the man has brought to Blaze in times gone by. However I am not familiar with the terms he left Blaze under so couldn't give an accurate answer here.
 

FSB: Finally, who do you reckon will be the key players in this match, and what will be the final score?

KT: Key players for the Blaze will definitely include Valabik (provided he isn't banned at the time of writing), Tanaka (likes to get stuck in and go after every puck) and Stewart (Your guys will definitely test him!). I predict the game will end close but Blaze will edge it - 4:3.

Thanks to Kat for her time, we appreciate it.

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This Month In History - September

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 @steelers-stats.

SEPTEMBER 1995 - 20 YEARS AGO

So far Steelers had swept almost all before them, playing twelve and losing just once, at home to Nottingham, shortly after Tony Hand had been involved in a car crash.

The team then came up against Milton Keynes Kings, and even though Steelers were 6-1 up at one stage; the visitors threatened to win 8-6 and only late goals from Shudra and Hand saved Sheffield.

Steelers record for the month was 5-1-1 with 59 goals for, and 28 against.

SEPTEMBER 2001 - 15 YEARS AGO

 
Steelers got off to a flying start. They lost one of their Benson and Hedges Cup qualifiers, 5-3 at Newcastle Jesters, but gaining an 100% record in the League. The team amassed 23 goals in those Cup games and 22 in the League in the 11 games played overall.

SEPTEMBER 2005 - 10 YEARS AGO

Steelers’ pre-season friendly games saw them defeated twice by Cardiff, only getting a win over EPL side Sheffield Scimitars. A below average start saw Steelers heading out of the Challenge Cup at the knockout stage after only gaining four points from a possible ten.


SEPTEMBER 2011 - 5 YEARS AGO

After the turmoil of the pre-season Steelers made a solid start.

Jeff Legue and Joey Talbot were both on top of their game, with Legue bagging a hat trick at home to Newcastle. He finished the month with 8+9; however not to be outdone Talbot finished on 9+11. Steelers won all of their league games but faltered in the cup picking up just one point from a possible six.

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