Saturday night review: Sheffield Steelers and Leeds Knights extend winning streaks over rivals
Two Challenge Cup meetings between the two had seen the Steelers emerge 4-3 victors on both occasions and it was equally tight on Saturday night in the first league meeting of the season between the two.
Defenceman Sacha Guimond scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with just over 10 minutes left, but the Steelers still had plenty to do to get over the line, killling off a minute of 5-on-3 and then another minute of 5-on-4 before Mitchell Balmas made the points safe with an empty-net strike with 64 seconds left.
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Hide AdEarlier, Finlay Ulrick had broken the deadlock with 17.24 on the board with his fifth goal of the season for the Steelers, although that advantage was wiped out just over five minutes later by Panthers’ Olivier Betteridge.
Marc-Olivier Vallerand restored the visitors lead in the 37th minute but, again, the Panthers responded, this time through Tim Doherty at 48.37.
Guimond wasted little time in putting the Steelers ahead for a third time at 49.44 and, although it required some stout defending at times, the Steelers did enough to secure their sixth win in seven games from the regular season schedule and extend their winning streak over the Panthers to 21 games.
Back in Sheffield, defending NIHL National champions Leeds Knights extended their winning streak over Sheffield Steeldogs to eight games with a deserved 5-2 victory.
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Hide AdIn an even first period, Noah McMullin opened the scoring when he blasted through traffic and past Daniel Crowe at 11.50.


Jonathan Phillips responded by scoring on the power play at 15.12 after good work down the left from Walker Sommer with Krisjanis Fulganis in the box on a holding call but the second period is where the game was effectively won and lost.
The key moment came early on when the Knights made a 5-on-3 power play count when Matt Barron finished off a precision move involving Matt Bissonnette and Kieran Brown at 20.58.
But it was two goals in as many minutes just after the halfway mark that put distance between the Yorkshire rivals.
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Hide AdGood work by Ethan Hehir and Innes Gallacher below the goal-line saw the latter find FInley Bradon who finished off from the bottom of the right circle to make it 3-1 at 31.38.


It was an almost carbon copy move that saw captain Brown make it 4-1 with Matt Bissonnette and Bow Neely involved in the build-up.
The third period was a more sedate affair with chances rare and it took a 52nd minute power play strike from Bradon to put the game beyond the hosts, Nathan Ripley grabbing a consolation at 56.41.
The win created a bit of daylight between the Knights and their rivals ahead of Sunday night’s games, one of the teams hot on their tail being Hull Seahawks.
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Hide AdThey had to make do with a point in a 4-3 overtime defeat at Swindon Wildcats and showed plenty of fighting qualities when twice coming from behind, Bobby Chamberlain forcing the extra time with a last-minute equaliser.


Matty Davies’s team found themselves 2-0 down by the halfway mark after player-coach Aaron Nell’s third-minute opener was added to by a power play strike from Chris Jones at 26.49.
Chamberlain got the comeback going with his first of the night at 30.37 but it wasn’t until the 53rd minute that the visitors were able to haul themselves level, Emil Svec making a power play opportunity count.
All seemed lost again when Swindon’s GB Under-20 forward Joshua Shaw got the hosts ahead again at 57.09, only for Chamberlain to come up with the goods on the power play at 59.01.
A shoot-out seemed likely as the game entered the fourth minute of overtime, but Nell popped up to claim the extra point at 63.46.