Sheffield Steelers display their clinical side to offer hope of chasing down Elite League leaders

The 3-0 triumph was built on a solid start in the first period by the Steelers - at times a big concern for their head coach this season - providing the foundation for a deserved victory which moved them into second place and saw them cut the deficit on leaders Belfast Giants to seven points with a game in hand.

Their aim to overhaul the Giants and retain their league crown was helped by the fact the Giants’ slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Dundee Stars, just 24 hours after being given a late scare at bottom club Fife Flyers, who they eventually edged out 7-5.

There may just be a crack or two appearing in the Giants’ armour who before their weekend in Scotland had driven themselves to the top on the back of a run of eight straight wins.

Cardiff saw themselves drop to fourth as a result of Sunday’s loss at the Utilita Arena, making for a pretty miserable weekend for Pete Russell and his players who had lost the previous night 3-2 at home to Nottingham Panthers, who are now third.

Captain Robert Dowd got the ball rolling at 3.47 for a lead that was doubled by Dominic Cormier - his second goal of the weekend - just under two minutes later.

Cardiff hit back hard, as expected, but found Matt Greenfield in stoic mood, the Steelers netminder going on to record his third shutout of 2025, as the points were sealed by a 55th-minute goal by Patrick Watling.

The two teams meet again at the same venue on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Challenge Cup semi-final.

“I felt like our start was the difference,” said a delighted Fox. “That first period, I felt we were relentless all over the ice and made them earn everything. We took our chances and it probably could have been more than 2-0 after the first.

“And it was a pretty clinical performance from us in the third, we’ve been pretty good when we’ve had a lead and shut that game down pretty well. It was a huge win for us on both nights.”