Coventry Blaze v Sheffield Steelers: Coach Aaron Fox seeking return to defence-first mindset for Challenge Cup semi-final showdown

The task in front of the Steelers comes on Wednesday night and is no simple one, a trip to the SkyDome Arena to take on an in-form Coventry Blaze in the first leg of their Challenge Cup semi-final.

The tie concludes next Wednesday in South Yorkshire and in order for his team to still be in contention by then, Fox wants to address some mild defensive concerns.

Team defence is what the Steelers’ seemingly relentless charge to the Elite League championship has been built upon - by far boasting the best Goals Against Average with just 1.76 - but, having ended the leaders’ 13-game winning streak 2-1 on home ice on Saturday, Fife Flyers made life just as difficult the following night.

The Steelers emerged from their home game as 6-4 winners, leaving them 13 points clear at the top of the regular season standings.

It was only the third time this season the Steelers have conceded four goals in a game - the second time against Fife - and Fox is keen for his players to improve the defensive side of their game.

“We talked about it a little bit after our game on Sunday,” said Fox. “That if we play the type of defensive game like we did at home to Fiffe, it will be a long night for us in Coventry.

“We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror a little bit here and just get back to what has made us such a good team this past couple of months, dig in and play a defensive-first mindset hockey game.”

The league may be every team’s priority when they set out on their campaign, but Fox is determined to repeat his Challenge Cup success from four years ago, his team pulling off a spectacular 4-3 win against hosts the Cardiff Devils a week before the season - and the country - went into lockdown mode due to the pandemic.

The triumph remains Fox’s only trophy from his time at the club and he is keen to get his hands on it once again.

“It was a really good feeling when we won it before,” he added. “We know nothing is going to be easy but I feel that if we’re playing our best hockey, we are a hard team to handle - if we’re all going and committed to the cause.

“I’m a very competitive guy. I set my goals and standards pretty high. This trophy is something we want and something we’ve been aiming for since the beginning of the year.

“These next seven or eight days are huge, not only because of the cup semi-final, but two huge league games in between, too.

“We’ve got four games in eight days now - it’s an important stretch of the year for us as a team.”