Sheffield Steelers: Dominic Cormier key piece of an Elite League title challenge given Friday night boost

The Steelers’ cause was aided hugely on Friday night, though, when the damage done in South Wales was partway undone by Manchester Storm, who produced a stunning 4-3 win at home over leaders Belfast Giants.

More help will be needed from elsewhere in order for the Steelers to make it two regular season championships in a row. But, with five points the margin between the the top two, hope remains.

It was thought ‘assistance’ might have come via their midweek conquerors but Cardiff went into that game having suffered twice in Belfast last weekend - the second defeat at the SSE Arena a 6-0 hammering.

The Devils make one last trip to Northern Ireland on March 21, while the Giants face tough trips to Guildford, Glasgow and Nottingham, although that last road trip is on the final weekend of the regular season by which time the title could have already been won.

All the Steelers can do is keep winning their games, something they will be keen to get back to following their 6-2 defeat in South Wales, which came on the back of a 3-2 overtime defeat last Sunday at Guildford.

Tonight sees them host Coventry Blaze – rarely a comfortable night these days under Kevin Moore – before making the long trip north to Scotland to take on a Dundee Stars team still battling to make one of the last two play-off spots their own.

If the Steelers are to stand any chance of closing the gap before time runs out, they are going to need their clutch players on top form.

One such player this season has been defenceman Dominic Cormier.

An early-season addition in 2023-24, the Canadian left-hander played a pivotal role in the Steelers’ grand slam success that followed.

This season, he is the team’s leading scorer for defencemen, posting nine goals and 40 assists in 62 games in all competitions.

He also averages the most ice time this season for any Steelers’ player, the only one over 20 minutes at 22.18 per game, another example of why he is so highly-regarded by head coach Aaron Fox.

“He’s a great player,” said Fox. “He’s been sensational since we brought him in last year. Obviously, with his pace, we like to play fast and the way he plays suits us and suits him.

“He’s been a go-to guy on our power play and he drives the pace of the game for us. He can skate himself out of problems which is an important asset on the retrievals that we like to run.

“He’s been huge for us and nothing surprises me with him on a nightly basis.

“You can tell he loves scoring, he loves making plays and he’s a passionate player for us and has been awesome from day one.”