Sheffield Steelers aiming to even the score with Belfast Giants after frustrating first night at SSE Arena
AARON FOX expressed his frustration after his Sheffield Steelers’ team let a good start go to waste in a 5-1 defeat at Elite League title rivals Belfast Giants.
The Steelers have an immediate chance to bounce back and split the weekend on Saturday when they meet the Giants in the second instalment of the pivotal double-header at the SSE Arena.
But in what is currently a four-way race for the title with Belfast, leaders Nottingham Panthers and third-placed Cardiff Devils, the Steelers can ill-afford to come off second-best in Northern Ireland two nights running and ceded further ground to their rivals.
“Disappointing,” said Steelers’ head coach Fox. “A tale of two halves in that game. I thought we were outstanding in the first. We go up 1-0 and then they come back and tie it back.
Our power play has a couple of great looks to go 2-1 up in the first and I felt like 1-1 was probably the worst-case scenario for us after that first 20.
“It's one of those where I probably don’t think it is a 5-1 scoreline, if the bounces go our way or we take our chances early on, that game is probably a lot different.
“But that’s the reality of the situation for us right now, we’re having a hard time staying out of our own way some nights.
“And if you’re only going to play for 35-40 minutes it’s going to be tough to win hockey games, especially against a team as good as Belfast.”
The night had started so well for the visitors when Mitchell Balmas put them ahead when firing home a loose puck at 6.27 after good work by Evan Jasper down the left channel.
The Giants levelled through Karl Boudrais at 14.12 when his shot through traffic eluded Matt Greenfield and although the Steelers had several power play opportunities they couldn’t find a way past former goalie Jackson Whistle.
Greenfield denied Jake Gaudet on a breakaway early in the second but couldn’t stop Ciaran Long from jamming the puck home and over the line at 22.15.
Balmas hit the post when fed by Ryan Tait on a two-on-one breakaway, while Greenfield was kept busy at the other end, producing one memorable save from Mike Lee when he looked certain to score.
But he was beaten for a third time when Boudrais cut in from the left and dashed across the front of the net before beating him with a neat backhand finish in the 37th minute.
There was an element of luck about the Giants’ fourth goal when a play behind net by Boudrais took an awkward bounce off the boards, leaving Greenfield out of position as the puck cannoned off the base of his net with David Goodwin diving full length to beat Ryan Tait to it to poke it into the empty net.
In the closing stages, Greenfield incurred a penalty for playing the puck outside the trapezoid, allowing the Giants to extend their lead when Marcus Eriksson back-handed home from close range with just under two minutes remaining.
“We’re just a pretty mistake-focused group,” added Fox. “And when we make one right now it’s like we turn into a little bit of a shell and start making panic plays, stop moving our feet and quit making plays.
“We kind of turn into passive players that aren’t going to take the bull by the horns at the moment and not finding ways to dig ourselves out of it.”