Sheffield Steelers feeling 'good festive vibes'ahead of Boxing Day showdown with Nottingham Panthers

Having edged out Cardiff Devils 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night, the Steelers extended their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 win at Coventry Blaze 24 hours later.

What made it an even more positive weekend for the Steelers was that while they were holding off their hosts at the Skydome Arena in Coventry, the Panthers were falling to a surprise 6-2 defeat at home to Guildford Flames.

It means their East Midlands rivals - who they also visit on Saturday - remain top only by virtue of having more regulation wins.

Head coach Fox was understandably delighted with his players’ efforts, but admitted they were pushed close on both nights.

“We got off to a good start but let Coventry back into it,” said Fox, whose team will train today and Christmas Eve ahead of Friday’s visit from the Panthers.

“But it’s never an easy game (against Coventry), they play fast and this building is always hard to play in.

“It was a little tight down the stretch there, but it was a big four-point weekend for us which we’re thrilled with.

“It means we’ll be able to go into Christmas with some good vibes and some good feeling and we know we have got two huge games (against Nottingham) coming up.”

The Steelers’ opened the scoring on the power play at 4.39 when top-scorer Mitchell Balmas reacted quickest to a rebound and lifted the puck over Matt Robson’s pad.

That was how it stayed until early in the second period when, after a successful penalty kill, the Steelers doubled their lead through captain Robert Dowd at 21.36.

But, as was the case in South Wales the previous evening, the Steelers saw their two-goal advantage chipped away at by their hosts.

The Blaze halved the deficit just under five minutes later when captain Kim Tallberg broke free and beat Eaman McAdam in the Steelers’ goal before - just after the halfway mark - Jere Vertanen levelled when firing into the top corner on the power play.

Both goalies were kept busy throughout but it was the Steelers who struck next when Evan Jasper made a 5-on-3 power play count when he beat Robson at 50.57.

With just under two minutes remaining, Coventry called Robson to the bench and gained further superiority in numbers when Steelers’ Jack Dougherty and Dowd were sent to the penalty box inside the last minute.

But a combination of McAdam and a willingness to block shots ensured the Steelers held on.

Steelers’ man-of-the-match Balmas hailed the battling qualities of the visitors, but reserved special praise for netminder McAdam and the team’s penalty kill units.

“It was a hard-fought game, I think both teams really came and battled and competed,” said Balmas. “We were able to get that third one, and it’s been great for us to sweep this weekend.

“Our penalty kill came up big at the end there, and Eamon made an excellent save right at the end - but he was big all night. With him and (Matt) Greenfield (Steelers’ No 1 netminder) it really goes to show what you can do with two hot goaltenders.”