Sheffield Steelers only have eyes for Elite League 'bread and butter' ahead of CHL return against Eisbaren Berlin

The Steelers’ exploits in the Champions Hockey League are what have rightly made the majority of headlines across the first two months of the 2024-25 campaign.

Their next European test comes at the Utilita Arena on Wednesday in the first leg of their last 16 tie against German DEL champions, Eisbaren Berlin.

That draw - which sees the Steelers head to the German capital the following Tuesday - also brings the Steelers up against former apprentice Liam Kirk for the first time since he left the organisation back in 2018 after being picked in the NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes.

But Steelers’ captain Dowd is parking all thoughts of the mouth-watering tie to one side for the next couple of days as he looks to lead his team through two tough regular season assignments.

First up is a trip to Nottingham Panthers before the Steelers return home for Sunday’s clash against Belfast Giants (face-off 4pm).

It is the third meeting of the season with arch-rivals the Panthers - the Steelers having edged them out twice by one goal in the Challenge Cup - while Dowd and his team will hope to repeat the success they enjoyed over the Giants in their opening league game of the campaign in late September, although without resorting to the shoot-out that was needed to secure a 3-2 victory on that occasion.

Steelers’ head coach Aaron Fox has remarked on a number of occasions how difficult his players have found it to emulate their CHL form on the domestic front.

But Dowd thinks the Steelers are now getting into their groove as they look to defend their grand slam.

“I believe we’re getting into the swing of things,” said Dowd (pictured). “Obviously, it’s a different pace and style of hockey in the CHL and I think it was just about us getting back into the groove of Elite League games again.

“Our performances needed to be better and, hopefully, we’ve turned a page in that respect and we are now playing some good hockey here.

"We’ve still managed to find ways to win most of the time, so we can’t really complain or grumble. It’s when they start turning into regular losses that you have to head back to the drawing board.”

The Steelers head into the weekend on the back of a loss, a 5-3 reverse at Cardiff Devils.

But prior to that they had won seven straight in league and cup – their only back-to-back defeats coming at the hands of Manchester Storm and Coventry Blaze on the weekend before they clinched their place in the last 16 of the CHL with a shoot-out win of Czechia’s Dynamo Pardubice.

Ahead of Saturday’s trip to the National Ice Centre, the Steelers have enjoyed a rare ‘normal’ week, their first without a midweek game for over a month, something that has been welcomed by Dowd and his team-mates.

"It’s been nice this week not to have a Wednesday game,” added Dowd. “I’m not sure how many weeks in a row it has been where we’ve had a midweek game.

"Bodies are starting to get a little banged up, so it’s been good to have a week to rest properly and get geared up for the weekend.

"These are two big games for us. Nottingham’s performances this year compared to last year are very, very good and they have done a fantastic job in the summer with their recruiting and have a great team this year.

“And Belfast games are always big for us – Adam (Keefe, Giants, head coach) has done another fantastic job of recruiting a very, very good team.”

And while their return to the European stage is only days away, Dowd insists no thought will be given to Berlin until the final buzzer has sounded on Sunday.

"You have to be like that,” said Dowd. “You can’t do anything but approach things on a game-by-game basis. I’m not looking at Sunday, I’m just concentrating on Saturday and Nottingham and that will be the same with the other guys on our team.

"Nobody is looking at or thinking about Berlin. When we’re done Saturday, then we focus on Sunday and then the same again once that game is done.”