Sheffield Steeldogs top Streaming Series but face waiting game over potential NIHL National season

For Sheffield Steeldogs and NIHL National rivals Milton Keynes Lightning and Swindon Wildcats, it has proved to be anenjoyable and valuable experience, something that can only be regarded as a success, based on the encouraging number of people who were prepared to pay to watch the behind-closed-doors games via an online stream.

It’s a model teams in the top-tier Elite League – its five English teams bolstered by a potential £4m in funding from central government – look set to emulate in January if their plans to stage games without fans gets the green light in the coming days.

However, what happens next for the second-tier NIHL National, or what is allowed to happen next, remains unclear. Prior to the Series going ahead, there was talk of going on to stage a cup competition in December, with the possibility of some kind of regular season league campaign to follow in January, involving most, if not, all the other seven NIHL National teams.

But the availability of ice may prove to be major stumbling block, given that ice rinks have been classed purely as leisure facilities meaning, therefore, that any sited in areas set to be classed as tier three under the government’s post-lockdown regulations on Wednesday will be unable to open.

The English Ice Hockey Association, the sport’s governing body, are among many within the sport continuing to hold talks with officials from the Department for Digital, Culture in the hope of getting the status of rinks changed, thereby allowing teams and athletes to enjoy ‘elite sport’ status and be able to train and play like those in most other winter sports will be able to.

If successful, it is hoped the second-tier will then launch some kind of regular season in January, albeit a truncated and belated one.

The Steeldogs brought the curtain down on the Series with their first defeat, going down 5-3 at Ice Sheffield to Milton Keynes, although Ben Morgan’s players had already ensured they finished top of the ‘standings’, having followed up their two previous wins over Swindon with an accomplished 6-2 victory in Milton Keynes on Saturday.

Having weathered an early storm, it was the Steeldogs who struck first, captain Tim Smith working well to get behind the net before finding Ben Lake in front from where he fired past Brandon Stones with 10.39 on the clock.

In a stop-start first 20 minutes, clear-cut chances were hard to come by, Ross Venus coming closest for the visitors before Liam Stewart drove down the middle, holding off James Spurr before back-handing past Dmitri Zimozdra at 17.59.

The impressive Venus didn’t have to wait too long to make his mark, however, breaking free down the left before bearing down on Zimozdra and going five-hole to make it 2-1 at 22.45.

But the hosts were soon level, Craig Elliott forcing the puck home just under three minutes later and, although the Steeldogs failed to make a five-minute powerplay count – Russ Cowley having been handed a 5-plus game for high sticks – they soon made amends when taking the lead for a second time through Stanislav Lascek at 34.40.

Just as it looked like the Steeldogs would take that one-goal lead into the second break, a pinpoint stretch pass from the Lightning’s David Clements found the dangerous Venus, the GB international again showing why he is so highly regarded when rounding a stranded Zimozdra to tap the puck into the empty net with just four seconds of the period remaining.

It wasn’t long before Venus was celebrating his hat-trick, either, his one-timer from the edge of the left circle proving too fierce for Zimozdra.

Tiredness became a factor as a succession of penalties on both sides interrupted the flow of the game. The Steeldogs had just killed off one such penalty when Robin Kovar pounced to make it 5-3 at 56.54.

And even though the hosts spent the last two minutes of the game on the power play and also pulled Zimozdra from his net, they couldn’t find a way back.

Regardless of the result, however, they still had plenty to be satisfied about when taking the last five weeks into account.

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