The Steelers may have lost ground in the title race following Saturday’s 4-2 home defeat against Guildford Flames, but there was one positive to come out of the night with the club posting a 9,368 sellout.

It meant that for only the fourth time in their history, the Steelers have had 35,000-plus crowds for four consecutive home games.

“We can’t thank our fans enough for their loyal support,” said Steelers’ owner Smith. “It was a shame a fantastic game of hockey didn’t end in a win, but we are still very much in the title race

RAMMED: Sheffield Arena was sold out with a crowd of 9,368 for Saturday night's 4-2 defeat for Sheffield Steelers against Elite League title rivals Guildford Flames. Picture courtesy of Dean Woolley/Steelers Media/EIHL.

“35,000 people just don’t turn up, this has been a decade-long project to bring the best family entertainment together with our incredible, fast and exciting sport – we believe we are getting things right here.”

On the ice, the Steelers looked like they would grab a point at least after second-period goals from Robert Dowd and Scott Allen saw them pull level with the Flames, who had gone ahead through Bradley Lalonde and Logan Fredericks.

But, with just 22 seconds of regulation remaining, Guildford edged ahead through Daniel Tedesco, with Ian Watters adding an empty-net marker for a 4-2 win.

The Flames moved three points clear with a 6-4 home win over Manchester Storm last night.

In NIHL National, Leeds Knights suffered their first blank weekend and dropped to second after back-to-back defeats to third-placed Peterborough Phantoms.

Milton Keynes Lightning moved one point clear at the top with wins over Bees IHC and Telford Tigers. Sheffield Steeldogs lost ground on the top three after two defeats to Swindon Wildcats.

Sheffield Steelers' boss thanks fans for strong backing in team's bid for Elite League title