Discipline concerns Steelers’ coach Christiansen

The South Yorkshire club are struggling to find any consistency in the Elite League, their latest setback coming in the Challenge Cup on Sunday night when they lost 4-3 at home to Cardiff Devils.

Defencemen Dustin Kohn, Danny Meyers and Chad Langlais were all missing through injury at the Motorpoint Arena, along with top-scoring forward Maxime Lacroix who is out until the New Year after undergoing surgery on a broken ankle.

With the regular season league the main focal point for teams, Christiansen will be relieved his team’s injury problems have occurred while most of their games have been in the Cup.

The Steelers have won one of their three league games so far and return to the main event next Wednesday when they host leaders Dundee Stars.

But Christiansen refuses to use his team’s injury problems as an excuse for their inconsistent start, believing disciplinary issues are more of a concern.

“Yes, we’re short but that isn’t an excuse,” said Christiansen. “We have to adapt and we have to make sure that we become a smarter team.

“The part that is more concerning is the discipline – that is something we have to address because over the course of a season it is going to bite you. What’s important is that when those league games start we are not making the mistakes that we’re making right now.”

Thuis weekend, Kohn and Meyers are expected to be missing in action once again, with Langlais rated as 50-50, for when the Steelers take on Coventry Blaze, again in the Challenge Cup, their only game of the weekend.

The Steelers currently sit second in the Group B table, two points adrift of Nottingham Panthers, who have played two games less than them.

Cardiff are third, two points behind the Steelers with two games in hand, while the Blaze are two points further back but with six of their group games remaining.