Sheffield Steelers v Fife Flyers: Robert Dowd on the hard grind needed to get the right results
WITH 16 games remaining in their Elite League regular season schedule, Sheffield Steelers are preparing for a grueling conclusion to their season.
No 1 target are the Belfast Giants, currently six points better off than the Steelers, who hope to cut that deficit to four with their game in hand against bottom club Fife Flyers at the Utilita Arena tonight.
Nothing is guaranteed, of course but - should the Steelers get their way against the Scottish strugglers - the pressure will certainly be intensified on the Giants when they hit the ice again this Friday in the first of two games at home to Cardiff Devils.
The Steelers’ hopes of overhauling the Giants was given a massive shot in the arm after they enjoyed a four-point weekend, the second part of which saw them produce a rousing third period comeback against the Giants.
Losing 2-0 going into the last 13 minutes, the Steelers scored five unanswered goals to run out 5-2 winners.
This stage of the season is more about being able to keep ticking over, as bodies and minds get more and more tired given the demands being placed.
Like the Giants last season, the Steelers have taken on a bigger workload this year with their Champions Hockey league exploits, likewise Cardiff on their way to winning the Continental Cup on home ice last month.
For Steelers’ captain Robert Dowd - two-goal hero against Belfast on Sunday - the arduous grind between now and the end of the season is nothing new.
“Yeah, it is a long old grind, all the other teams can attest to it,” said Dowd, who with a goal against Fife will become the all-time leading goalscorer for the Steelers. “When you’re in additional competitions outside of the Elite League, it just adds extra strain on guys’ bodies because you’ve already got a jamp-packed schedule as it is.
“And it’s the same for Cardiff this year, too, having just played in the Continental Cup.
“And it’s normally typical that injuries are picked up as a result and it can be frustrating in that way, but it definitely adds a strain.
“It’s all about just trying to stay healthy and keep ourselves ticking over at this time of year. I think this month we’ve got three Wednesday games on the bounce, so Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and repeat, it’s tough.”
Dowd has hit a rich vein of form at exactly the right time for his team, the Steelers’ captain posting six goals and seven assists in the last six games.
But it is at the other end of the ice where he believes one of the key factors in Steelers’ title challenge exists, in the shape of netminder Matt Greenfield.
Once again the 30-year-old American has been a rock for his team, boasting a save percentage of 93.38 - the highest in EIHL goalies starting more than 20 games - and a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.14, again league-leading.
“He’s massive for us,” added Dowd. “Since he first came in, he’s been one of the most elite goalies that I’ve ever played with and I’ve played at this level for a while now and have played with some very, very good goalies.
“But every game he brings it, every practice he brings it and for us as a team it breeds a massive amount of confidence because you know a soft goal isn’t going to go in and he will battle for every puck
“And that helps give our defencemen room to breathe and express themselves offensively in front of him as well, which makes such a big difference.”