Sheffield Steelers show their intent to even the score with Elite League rivals
IF ever there was an intent to prove a point, Sheffield Steelers came out and showed that during the first period against Fife Flyers on Sunday.
Having lost out twice to their Scottish rivals in overtime three weeks ago, there was a hint of having a small score to settle when the Flyers visited the Utilita Arena for a second time this season.
The Steelers - again missing top goalscorer Mitchell Balmas and captain Rob Dowd - effectively settled that when they raced into a 4-0 lead inside the first 16 minutes in front of a 7,500-plus crowd.
Aatu Aarnio got the ball rolling at 5.43 while Ryan Tait continued his strong, early-seaso form when he doubled the lead at 8.00.
The power play then got to work, Logan Roe making it 3-0 at 11.50 before Evan Jasper found the net four minutes later.
Granted, there will have been a few nerves among the home crowd - and no doubt the home bench - when Fife struck back to make it a one-goal game with three goals in two crazy second-period minutes, two of them with the Steelers on the penalty kill.
But the Steelers steadied the ship, then rallied in the third with two further goals - Jasper with his second in the 50th minute and Olivier Archambault at 57.11 - to run out deserved 6-3 winners.
Now their attentions turn to Wednesday night and the visit of Manchester Storm for their final Challenge Cup Group A game where a win will guarantee a top two spot, maybe even a point will be enough.
Although his team came off second-best the previous evening in the Cup at Cardiff Devils - where a Kristoff Kontos strike after just 43 seconds proved enough for Paul Thompson’s team to go top of Group A - Steelers’ head coach Aaron Fox felt his team built on that impressive overall performance when they came out to face the Flyers 24 hours later.
“I liked our game for the majority of the evening,” said Fox, whose team moved up to fourth in the regular season league standings after the win over Fife.
“We had a great start. We got two on the power play and also five-on-five and I thought we were dominant in that first 20 minutes.
“That came after what I thought was a really good performance in Cardiff where we just didn’t get rewarded.
“We did a lot of the same little things that we did in Cardiff, but this time we found the back of the net.”
After seeing the game turn on its head so quickly - two of Fife’s three goals coming on the power play - Fox was pleased with the way his team were able to see the game out, despite losing forward Mikko Juusola to injury in the third
“Those are the types of games that magnify the grey hairs on my head by a hundred in those moments,” he added.
“But I thought we dug deep and had a really good third. We got back to a lot of the positive things we had done in the first period.
“That fifth goal is a great example. We make a play, win a battle and get below the goal line from a lost draw. Those are the little details that you have to do.”