Sheffield Steelers captain Robert Dowd "leads by example" against Manchester Storm
SHEFFIELD STEELERS captain Robert Dowd brought all his leadership skills to the fore as he helped his team secure a hard-fought victory at Manchester Storm – keeping up the pressure on leaders Belfast Giants.
At one stage on Saturday night it looked as if the Giants were going to come unstuck against visitors Guildford Flames, trailing as they were 3-1 after two periods.
But they managed to recover and take the game into overtime before winning 4-3 in a shoot-out.
The Steelers meanwhile, were given a thorough test by a Storm side desperately trying to close the gap on the teams above them to secure the eighth and final play-off spot.
“Dowdy was fantastic,” said assistant-coach Carter Beston-Will. “Obviously there were the two goals but he’s a super-physical player as well and he’s just hard on the hunt, on the forecheck and on the back check - he led by example tonight which is one of the reasons why has has the ‘C’.”
Nothing could separate the two teams in the first 20 minutes but it didn’t take the Steelers long to break the deadlock after the restart when Dowd pounced on a rebound from Brien Diffley’s initial shot to make it 1-0.
It was a hooking call on Brandon Whistle that saw the hosts take advantage of a power play situation and level in the third period when Craig Martin beat Matt Greenfield to find the top corner of the net at 48.08.
But the noise from the home crowd was soon quelled when the Steelers hit back 90 seconds later.
It was an excellent feed from Colton Saucerman that put the puck on a plate for Dowd to fire a one-timer past David Tendeck from the top of the circle at 49:34.
Storm didn’t help their attempts to level for a second time with a couple of late penalties, their hopes finally extinguished by a Marc-Olivier Vallerand empty-netter with 11 seconds to go to secure a 3-1 win.
“That was a super-close game,” added Beston-Will. “Manchester outplayed us in the first but I think we got better as the game went on.
“I think the shot count was 39 each which shows that either team could have taken it. But we found a way and when Manchester tied it up in the third period the boys responded with a quick one and from there we just defended hard.”
Elsewhere, Nottingham Panthers remained on second-placed Steelers’ heels with a 2-1 win at Dundee Stars, but Cardiff Devils lost ground on the three teams above them when they lost 5-3 at home to Coventry Blaze, who moved up to within a point of them in the standings as a result.
Sunday night sees the Steelers travel to Coventry, while Nottingham host Glasgow Clan. Belfast remain on home ice for the visit of Manchester, while Cardiff visit Guildford.