Sheffield Steelers lose ground in Elite League title race as Scottish weekend gets off to bad start
SHEFFIELD STEELERS’ head coach Aaron Fox is hoping for a swift bounce back from his team after their Scottish weekend got off to the worst possible start in Glasgow.
Hosts Glasgow Clan were good value for their 5-3 win over the Steelers - their third in four outings against Fox’s team this season - with the six-time champions looking at Saturday night’s trip to Fife Flyers for an instant response.
““I thought we were pretty good for the majority of the night to be fair,” said Fox, who was forced to rely on three lines due to injury and unavailability.
“I really can’t fault the compete level from our group tonight, we played three lines and the boys were a little gassed at the end of it but I thought we were in the battle all night long.
“It’s obviously a disappointing result but obviously there are four points still up for grabs this weekend and we’ve got to bounce back.”
The Clan wasted no time in getting ahead through British defenceman Joe Hazeldine after just 80 seconds but were hauled back quickly when Brien Diffley replied for the Steelers just over five minutes later.
The Steelers actually went in ahead at the first intermission after Mikko Juusola’s 18th-minute marker only for the lead to swap hands just after the halfway point when Steven Seigo’s strike at 27.03 was followed by a goal from Rylan Schwartz at 31.49.
The teams were level when Kevin Tansey beat Lucas Brine in the 36th minute which is how it stayed until the closing stages when Tristin Langan got the home side ahead again at 52.57.
As the Steelers pushed forward searching for parity, Matt Greenfield was called to the bench, allowing Langan to secure both points for the Clan with an empty-netter with just 23 seconds remaining.
The result kept Steelers fourth in the standings, five points adrift of leaders Nottingham Panthers and two off second-placed Caradiff Devils having now played the same number of games. The Panthers host third-placed Belfast Giants on Saturday, while Cardiff visit Manchester Storm. Sunday sees the Steelers finish off their Scottish road trip with a visit to Dundee Stars, the Giants entertain Manchester, while Nottingham and Cardiff are at home to Fife and Glasgow respectively.