Sheffield Steelers edged out in battle to retain Elite League title

Aaron Fox’s team had taken the defence of their title into the last day having dropped only one point from a possible 20 to leave them a point behind leaders Belfast Giants.

But a 4-3 defeat at the SkyDome Arena brought an end to their hopes. Even if they had managed to claw a way back to win in Coventry, the Giants went on to win their game at Nottingham Panthers 4-3 in overtime, rendering the Steelers’ result meaningless.

At one stage, both games saw the teams’ tied at 3-3 with about 15 minutes to go in each contest.

The crucial moment arrived in Coventry with just over three minutes remaining when the Blaze won a face-off, the puck breaking kindly for Chase Gresock who fired through traffic and past an unsighted Matt Greenfield to make it 4-3 to the hosts.

The Steelers pushed hard for a way to equalise and take the game into overtime, also pulling Greenfield with just over a minute remaining, but to no avail.

A short while later, the Giants took the extra point on offer in Nottingham when Mike Lee beat former Steelers’ goalie Jere Huhtamaa 83 seconds into overtime, meaning the visitors’ finished three points ahead of their nearest rivals.

The Steelers had to haul themselves back into the game at Coventry having fell 2-0 behind inside four minutes through goals from Brady Pouteau and Nick Seitz.

The deficit was halved almost immediately at 3.56 when Sam Tremblay converted a pass from Daniel Ciampini from close range.

The game was all-square just under five minutes later when Mitchell Balmas beat Mat Robson in Blaze goal.

The Steelers then forged ahead in the 27th minute through Ciampini, only for the Blaze to reply quickly themselves through Terrance Amorosa at 28.20.

That is how it remained until 56.39 when Gresock’s shot found its way through, killing off the Steelers’ hopes.

It means the Giants will go forward to contest next season’s Champions Hockey League while the Steelers must try and salvage their campaign by retaining the play-off trophy they won to complete the treble at the end of the 2023-24 season.

They start their play-off challenge next weekend against Glasgow Clan, heading north of the border on Saturday before playing the second leg of their quarter-final on Sunday at the Utilita Arena.