AARON FOX says some of his Sheffield Steelers’ players need to do some quick “soul-searching” after seeing their weekend ruined by defeat at home to Manchester Storm.

The Steelers went into the Motorpoint Elite League clash at the Utilita Arena on Saturday buoyed by a 3-2 win in Manchester from the previous night.

And despite taking the lead through Olivier Archambault’s 28th-minute strike, that was good as it got on home ice for head coach Fox’s team.

They were pegged back before the end of the second period when Brady Gilmour tipped in Loren Ulett’s shot at 38.20 and found themselves behind less than five minutes into the third when Tim McGauley finished off a sweeping move from close range by beating Greenfield to his left.

As the Steelers chased the game, just over 90 seconds after Greenfield was pulled for the extra skater, was presented with a simple empty finish to seal the two points.

Already missing Rob Dowd through injury and Ivan Bjorkly Nordstrom and back-up goalie Lucas Brine to international duty with Great Britain at the European Cup of Nations in Poland, the Steelers were further hampered by the loss of influential centre Adam Rockwood to injury before the game.

But Fox refused to make any excuses for a performance he felt lacked the killer touch throughout the evening.

“You get what you deserve some nights,” said Fox. “(On Friday) I felt like they were probably the better team for the majority of the night.

TOUGH NIGHT: Sheffield Steelers' netminder Matt Greenfield is beaten by Tim McGauley's match-winning goal for Manchester Storm at the Utilita Arena on Saturday. Picture: Cerys Heslop/Steelers Media.

placeholder image — TOUGH NIGHT: Sheffield Steelers' netminder Matt Greenfield is beaten by Tim McGauley's match-winning goal for Manchester Storm at the Utilita Arena on Saturday. Picture: Cerys Heslop/Steelers Media.

“I felt like we were the better team tonight for the majority, but there just wasn't a lot of end product.

“So I think there needs to be a bit of soul searching for our group. We’ve played some good hockey as of late, but this weekend definitely wasn't our best.

“I’m just disappointed that there's a few guys in the room right now that aren't pulling their own weight and that's a problem - especially when you're a little thin.”

The Steelers will look to bounce back from their loss when they visit Guildford Flames on Saturday.