Sheffield Steelers 4 Cardiff Devils 3 - Steelers end long wait for Challenge Cup glory

SHEFFIELD STEELERS ended 17 years of Challenge Cup hurt when they finally got their hands on the trophy with a dramatic 4-3 win over Cardiff Devils.
ON OUR WAY: Brendan Connolly fires past Ben Bowns on a penalty shot to make it 3-0 to Sheffield Steelers in the Challenge Cup Final. Picture: Dean Woolley.ON OUR WAY: Brendan Connolly fires past Ben Bowns on a penalty shot to make it 3-0 to Sheffield Steelers in the Challenge Cup Final. Picture: Dean Woolley.
ON OUR WAY: Brendan Connolly fires past Ben Bowns on a penalty shot to make it 3-0 to Sheffield Steelers in the Challenge Cup Final. Picture: Dean Woolley.

Two goals from Michael Davies, along with strikes from Marc-Olivier Vallerand and Brendan Connolly ensured Aaron Fox’s team at least one piece of silverware this season after beating the Devils inside their own Viola Arena.

It was sweet revenge for the Steelers, both for two final defeats at the hands of the Devils in recent years, as well as going some way to making up for the 7-3 defeat they suffered at the same venue when the two teams met in a crucial Elite League encounter on Friday night.

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That result leaves the Devils in the boxseat to regain the regular season championship, but their hopes of a treble were dashed thanks to an excellent Steelers’ performance last night.

It delivered the club the Challenge Cup for the first time since 2003, when it was part of the Superleague era and before the EIHL had even begun.

Head coach Fox was understandably delighted to see his team bounce back in such positive fashion, less than 48 hours after suffering a potentially blow to their league championship hopes.

“We played a physical game and felt like we had to take the pressure to them,” said Fox. “I felt like we gassed out in the second a little bit – they are a four-line team and we are only a three-line team at the moment – and our legs got heavy in the second and we didn’t have an answer for them

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“But then I think we got our second wind in the third and we got back to playing our type of hockey.”

Sheffield Steelers' defend against Cardiff in the second period. Picture: Dave Williams/EIHL.Sheffield Steelers' defend against Cardiff in the second period. Picture: Dave Williams/EIHL.
Sheffield Steelers' defend against Cardiff in the second period. Picture: Dave Williams/EIHL.

Fox reserved special praise for netminder Tomas Duba, who turned away 42 of the 45 shots on his goal.

“Dubes made some huge saves for us,” added Fox. “To be fair, on Friday, Dubes knows he didn’t have his best night, there were a couple of soft ones there in the first but he stood on his head for us tonight, like he has done all year long and like the goalie I know he is.

“It was awesome to see.”

The Steelers enjoyed an excellent first period which saw them take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Sheffield Steelers' players celebrate their stunning Challenge Cup triumph in Cardiff. Picture: Dave Williams/EIHL.Sheffield Steelers' players celebrate their stunning Challenge Cup triumph in Cardiff. Picture: Dave Williams/EIHL.
Sheffield Steelers' players celebrate their stunning Challenge Cup triumph in Cardiff. Picture: Dave Williams/EIHL.
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Davies was first to strike, good work by John Armstrong on the right-hand boards seeing him elude two Cardiff players before feeding his team-mate, who fired home under Ben Bowns’s left arm at 7.05.

It got even better for the Steelers when excellent work by Brendan Connolly saw him carry the puck behind the net from where he dropped a pass back to Marc-Olivier Vallerand who forced it home at the near post.

Connolly was the man who made it 3-0 early in the third when he drew a penalty shot when hauled back by Joey Haddad as he bared down on Bowns in the Cardiff net. He quickly composed himself and beat the Devils goaltender over his left shoulder with a quick snapshot at 21.04.

But the Devils rallied impressively as they put the Steelers under relentless pressure for the remainder of the period and they got on the board at 24.06 when Sam Jardine’s shot went through traffic past an unsighted Duba.

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It was a one-goal game after Masi Marjamaki forced the puck through Duba’s legs but, despite what was at times desperate defending by the Steelers, the Devils were kept at bay until the end of the period.

The game was a more even affair after the restart with chances at both ends, Duba producing a number of notable saves. But the next goal was crucial and it went the way of the Steelers when Davies stole the puck just inside the neutral zone and drove towards the net where he fired over Bowns’s right arm to make it 4-2 with 48.52 on the clock.

Again the Devils came back hard and, after pulling Bowns from his net, their gamble paid off when, after a scramble in front of Duba’s net, the puck broke kindly for Haddad who fired into the net with exactly a minute remaining.

But that was as close as they got, the Steelers hanging on for a memorable triumph in South Wales.

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