Sheffield Steelers keen to prove their quality and achieve perfect Elite League season finale

The Steelers came through their two-legged quarter-final against Guildford Flames in convincing style last weekend, the 6-2 aggregate win offering a reminder of the kind of performances that, for a short while at least, made them a genuine regular season title contender.

That bid, of course, fell by the wayside, as did their Challenge Cup hopes at the semi-final stage. But Steelers’ captain Dowd believes this weekend offers his team a chance to prove their true quality.

“It was a frustrating end to the year, a year of maybes and almosts and that is obviously frustrating for the team, the players and everybody else involved in the club,” said Dowd.

“But this is a clean slate for us to come and maybe lift a trophy by putting together a really good weekend of hockey.

“There are a few guys in that room who want to prove something and obviously going into a weekend where anybody can win it, we feel like we’ve got a good chance.

“It’s one of those play-off weekends where it is anybody’s game - for all four teams that are there. You need to play 120 minutes of good hockey and you can lift a trophy.”

On several occasions this season head coach Aaron Fox has pointed out the stark contrasts between his team’s performances at times. When asked what he felt made the Steelers produce the best version of themselves, Dowd replied: “I think when we’re playing fast.

“We’ve got a team in there who can skate and when we’re playing fast hockey we can really get teams on the backfoot - but it’s going to take everything that we’ve got.”

On league position alone, it is the Steelers - who came in fourth - and regular season runners-up Cardiff Devils who will go into the weekend as favourites.

But Dowd warns against ruling out the other two teams, Glasgow Clan and Manchester Storm, who respectively beat league champions Belfast Giants and Challenge Cup winners Nottingham Panthers to make it to the National Ice Centre showpiece event.

The Steelers will take to the ice against Manchester on Saturday evening knowing who they could face in the final if successful, with Cardiff and Glasgow locking horns in the earlier semi-final.

Dowd and his team-mates are aware of the perils of looking too far ahead and head into the semi-final knowing they are facing off against a very dangerous Storm team who have been transformed in head coach Cam Critchlow’s first season at the helm.

Of the eight league and cup meetings between the two, the Steelers just about held the upper-hand, winning five, with the Storm inflicting losses on them both at home and on the road.

“They are a fantastic team,” said Dowd. “Critch has done an amazing job both in terms of recruitment and getting all those guys on the same page and playing the right way.

“They are a good team and it’s going to require us to be at our best to get the better of them.”