Sheffield Steeldogs enjoy winning role in ‘Streaming Series’ pilot scheme to bring back hockey

With no competitive ice hockey played in the UK since early March because of the coronavirus pandemic, NIHL National rivals Sheffield Steeldogs, Milton Keynes Lightning and Swindon Wildcats have taken on the challenge of spearheading a pilot scheme which has the ultimate aim of getting the sport back up and running at various levels throughout the country

With social distancing measures meaning no fans are allowed into rinks, the trio are playing behind-closed-doors across three weekends, with every game being streamed live on the internet to a hockey-starved public.

It is believed the first two games – each one costing £12 – sold a combined 2,800 tickets for the online stream, and on both nights they were treated to some quality fare, Swindon edging out visitors Milton Keynes 8-6 on Saturday, before coming unstuck at Ice Sheffield at the hands of the Steeldogs, who deservedly prevailed 5-1.

The hope is that more of the NIHL National’s 10 teams will jump on board for a cup competition in December with a league season possibly – government permission permitting – following on in January.

Steeldogs’ owner Ali Cree said there were plenty of positives to build on from the past two days.

“It’s a learning curve – a few people had an issue logging on to the stream, but we’ll look at that so that it’s seamless going forward,” he said.

“But, on the ice, I thought our guys were phenomenal, particularly with just four practice sessions under their belts, and I was really impressed with Saturday’s game too,” he added.

“All three teams are going to have a debrief on Monday and we’ll share things – good and bad – and listen to all the feedback. But there have certainly been plenty of positives.”

As athletes in all other sports to have returned to play in arenas and stadiums devoid of fans, it understandably felt almost eerie with no spectators sat on Ice Sheffield’s blue seats, save for the few officials and media allowed into the Covid-secure environment.

But the traditional in-game entertainment, fusing loud music with regular announcements, went some way to papering over that obvious absence, while some players admitted afterwarads that once the puck dropped their focus automatically switched to the task in hand, as it would on any other match night.

After the goal-fest of the previous evening in Swindon, the opening period to last night’s game between the Steeldogs and the Wildcats, must have seemed dour by comparison, ending as it did goalless.

But the hosts, no doubt feeling better for having got their first competitive 20 minutes since March out of the way, wasted little time in taking the lead after the break, James Spurr being the man to break the deadlock at 21.40.

The game was forced to a halt for a few minutes after Steeldogs’ defenceman Lewis Bell was left lying on the ice after a shuddering collision with the boards in the hosts’ zone when under pressure from Swindon’s Josh Batch.

Bell eventually got to his feet, but played no further part in the game, while Batch got a five-plus-game penalty.

Sheffield looked to have wasted some of the resulting powerplay when Tim Smith was sent to the box on a high sticking call, but Swindon’s Sam Godfrey was called for tripping to restore the hosts’ man advantage.

And it was while enjoying a 4-on-3 advantage that the Steeldogs doubled their lead when Alex Graham, who had gone close with a couple of openings for himself in the first period, was in the right place to divert a pass from former Sheffield Steelers’ team-mate Ben O’Connor into the roof of the net at 26.25.

Matthew Myers, who would normally ply his trade with Cardiff Devils in the Elite League, halved the deficit as Swindon got just rewards for their efforts but it was a piece of sublime skill from his Great Britain international team-mate Ben Lake which restored the Steeldogs’ two-goal lead.

The 30-year-old winger, temporarily assigned to the Steeldogs for the Series with EIHL parent club Belfast Giants out of action, picked up the puck just past the centre line and showed great hands to carve out a clear opening for himself in front of the net from where he lifted the puck effortlessly past Wildcats’ netminder Renny Marr with 34.24 on the clock.

The game as a contest, was effectively ended inside five minutes of the third, the impressive Graham – you have to remind yourself that he is still only 17-years-old – picked up a stray puck just inside the Swindon zone and showed a cool head to fire it glove side past Marr.

Not surprisingly, Swindon enjoyed more time in the hosts’ zone during the lfinal 10 minutes, but Dimitri Zimozdra stood tall, as he had done all night.

The visitors’ frustration was then completed when defenceman Smith fired into an empty net to secure a comfortable victory.

Given how long it has been for the sport to return to action, the weekend was an encouraging success, two competitive games which were not short on quality. But, as Cree admitted afterwards, there is still a long way to go before any kind of a league season is made possible.

For that to happen, fans need to continue getting behind the streams, long enough at least until the government’s DCMS officials rule that they are allowed back inside rinks.

When that moment arrives, however, is anyone’s guess. Sadly, it may well not be until next season but, in the ‘Streaming Series’, the second-tier, semi-pro NIHL National has maybe, just maybe, found a formula to that can fill the void.

The Steeldogs are next in action at Milton Keynes on Sunday, November 22. To buy tickets to watch the game online via a liver stream, as well as the previous night’s clash between the Lightning and Swindown, go HERE

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