Sheffield Steelers 3 Skellefteå AIK 2: Relentless Steelers make it a Champions Hockey League treble

With each passing win in the Champions Hockey League, Sheffield Steelers are changing the perception of how Elite League teams are viewed around Europe.

One odd-goal win against more highly-regarded opponents could maybe be passed off by some as a one-off, a ‘flash in the pan’, somewhat ‘lucky.’

But having now beaten two top-ranked SHL teams, as well as see off the challenge from Czechia giants Sparta Prague in a rather more comfortable 5-1 victory, there can be no doubting the credentials of Aaron Fox’s team in this competition.

Maybe this is in some way, a significant turning point for the EIHL.

Ahead of the opening 4-3 defeat against Switzerland’s Fribourg-Gotternon, you got the feeling in some ways that this wasn’t the priority for Fox and his players coming into the 2024-25 campaign, that the EIHL regular season title and play-offs - maybe even the Challenge Cup again - which they lifted in grand slam style last year, remained top of the list.

That may still the case and while it is probably still a stretch to imagine the Steelers adding a fourth piece of silverware to their collection in the space of 12 months, on this evidence, you simply cannot rule them out.

Of course, they still have to qualify for the knockout stage of the CHL but, having beaten reigning SHL champions and last year’s CHL runners-up Skellefteå AIK 3-2 at the Utilita Arena on Sunday night, you could argue the Steelers already have one foot in the next round, sitting eighth with two games to play.

Those games don’t come around until early October, making it something of a frustration for the Steelers, possibly, that they can’t get the job ‘done’ now while they are riding the crest of a European wave.

Next week brings the first domestic action of the season when they begin the defence of their Challenge Cup title at home to Guildford Flames - the team they beat in last year’s final.

But they have given their fans plenty to dine out on in the meantime, not least thanks to yet another first-out-the-blocks start on Sunday which left the visitors stunned and 2-0 down inside five minutes.

Brandon Whistle was the man who broke the deadlock at 2.47, taking a pass from Angelo Miceli just inside the Skellefteå zone before driving forward and beating Alexander Hellnemo by firing into his top left-hand corner.

Less than a minute later, the Steelers doubled their lead, Joel Janatuinen picking the puck up on the right around the halfway point before firing low to beat Hellnemo at his near post.

But what the Steelers could do, Skellefteå could match, scoring two quick goals to drag themselves level with just over 10 minutes gone.

First up, Andreas Johnson fired home a rebound off Matt Greenfield to beat the Steelers goalie at 9.38 then, just 79 seconds later, Zeb Lindgren was left free to fire through traffic to make it all-square.

But, unlike against Sparta when they were outshot 2-to-1, this was a night where the Steelers more than matched their opponents, much like whey they secured a memorable 3-2 overtime win on the road at Växjö Lakers just over a week earlier.

Whereas Marc-Olivier Vallerand was the hero with just 17 seconds remaining on that occasion, this time the decisive moment came much earlier in proceedings and from the stick of a player who has time and again proved a ‘go-to-guy’ for the Steelers ever since he arrived for his first season in the summer of 2023.

After receiving a pinpoint pass from deep by Joona Huttula just outside the opponents’ zone, Mark Simpson broke free and was calmness personified as he beat Hellnemo low to his left to make it 3-2 at 34.03.

The Swedish champions huffed and puffed, but the Steelers would not bend, continuing to create quality scoring chances of their own, while remaining solid through all three zones.

It ensured they were able to send the vast majority of the 7,844-plus crowd home happy once again, dreaming of what could become yet another memorable campaign.