Ice time required by Phillips

SHEFFIELD STEELERS' captain Jonathan Phillips admits it will take a few weeks for him to get up to full speed again following a three-month lay-off with a knee injury.

The 28-year-old Welshman suffered ligament damage last

October, finally returning for last week's appalling 7-1 home defeat to his former club and current Elite League leaders Cardiff Devils.

An 18-1 thrashing of bottom club Edinburgh Capitals followed ahead of a hard-fought 4-2 win at reigning league champions Coventry Blaze on Sunday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Player-coach Ben Simon's team should extend their winning streak to three games at the Motorpopint Arena tonight against second-bottom Newcastle Vipers, who they have twice beaten 8-0 already at home this season.

Victory would see the Steelers go second in the table above the Belfast Giants and leave them three points behind Cardiff.

"The knee is coming along well," said Phillips. "It obviously wasn't the best game to come back in but we've bounced back since then and the Coventry game will have done us good.

"I wasn't able to bend my leg for six weeks early on after getting injured and, at the moment, I've kind of lost that initial jump I had.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"But every time I go out there on the ice I do feel better and better which is promising, so hopefully I will get that jump back within the next few weeks."

DEFENCEMAN David Phillips will extend his playing time this summer after signing for the Adelaide Adrenaline in the Australian Hockey League.

The 23-year-old Yorkshireman is currently playing his second season of AHL in North America, enjoying a loan spell at the Lake Erie Monsters after initially stepping down to the ECHL when signed by the Toledo Walleye.

Phillips, who made history in 2009 when he became the first British-trained player to earn an AHL contract, switched to Chicago Wolves last summer after a first successful season with Rockford IceHogs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But it didn't work out for Phillips with the Wolves, or their ECHL affiliate the Gwinnett Gladiators, prompting him to be released from his contract shortly before Christmas when he was promptly snapped up by Toledo with who he had enjoyed two earlier spells.

Related topics: