Downcast Steelers now facing another uphill slog

SHEFFIELD Steelers’ head coach Ryan Finnerty is hoping his players can cushion their crushing play-off agony by staging a remarkable comeback in the Challenge Cup final in Nottingham tonight.

Finnerty’s future has been thrown into doubt after his team failed to reach the Elite League play-off finals weekend for the second successive year, going down 6-5 on aggregate to Coventry Blaze after a 4-2 overtime defeat at Ice Sheffield on Sunday night.

By way of adding insult to injury, the Steelers head to Nottingham tonight for what they hoped would have been the first of two visits to the National Ice Centre in the space of five days.

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As it is, they face an uphill battle to overturn a 4-1 deficit against, hosts, cup holders and recently-crowned Elite League champions Nottingham Panthers.

Five weeks ago, the Steelers were chasing silverware on three fronts and went into Nottingham on the back of a seven-game unbeaten run. But the wheels came off after a 4-2 win for Nottingham over the Steelers, ruling their South Yorkshire rivals out of the title race.

The Panthers, who face a play-off semi-final against Cardiff Devils on Saturday, are themselves chasing what would be only the second grand slam of the Elite League era – incentive enough for the Steelers to come out fighting and deny them.

“This is a crazy situation,” said Finnerty, who will be missing from the Steelers’ bench tonight after being handed a match penalty for arguing with referee Michal Hicks in the wake of Sunday night’s desperate loss.

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“Normally, when you lose in the play-offs you normally have all summer to feel the pain and be miserable. But we got up after the Coventry defeat to go to the rink to practice one last time.

“We will be professional, work hard and give it one last go in Nottingham and see if we can end this season on a bit of a high.”

Should Nottingham prevail tonight, it would mark their fourth straight success in the competition and sixth overall.

If the Steelers are able to overcome the three-goal deficit and go on to deny Nottingham, it would be their first success in the competition since the Elite League began back in 2003.

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Coventry Blaze’s Russell Cowley hopes head coach Paul Thompson can end his 18-year reign at the club with another piece of silverware this weekend.

Former GB coach Thompson has won 15 major trophies at all levels of the British game, including an Elite League grand slam with Blaze in 2004-05. He is leaving the club at the end of the season to move to Sweden after steering his team to a play-off semi-final against Belfast Giants.

“If we can win the play-offs it would be a great way to finish for Thommo,” said forward Cowley.