Why Sheffield Steelers are in no mood to write off Elite League title chances

One point from a possible four at title rivals and defending champions Belfast Giants may not have been the ideal return for the Steelers from their latest double-header trip across the Irish Sea, but it has not been all doom and gloom inside the locker room at the Utilita Arena this week. Far from it.

The point gained in a highly-entertaining second encounter at the Odyssey Arena on Saturday night – which saw the teams go toe-to-toe without either side scoring for 65 minutes before the hosts won in a shootout – may turn out to be the most crucial point won by the Steelers all season.

Make no mistake, sitting third, six points adrift of leaders Guildford Flames – who they still have to play twice – means there is less room for error for Aaron Fox’s team between now and the end of the regular season.

Phillips and his team-mates will look to bounce back and snap a three-game losing streak in all competitions when they take on fierce rivals Nottingham Panthers at the National Ice Centre tonight before hosting fifth-placed Coventry Blaze tomorrow (4pm).

“I don’t think what happened last weekend adds any more pressure because, at this time of year, every game is that kind of must-win mentality,” said Phillips.

“IWhether we were in the position we are now, or sat top, every game would still be a must-win. We say ‘must-win’ back in September, so there’s no added pressure – there’s pressure every weekend.

“We’re still confident as a team, we’re excited as a team to be pushing for the title still and being in the mix.

“Obviously, in any sport, you ‘d rather be sat in the No 1 position and ride that all the way through to the end but, we should take a lot of positives from last weekend.

“You just have to park what’s gone and move on because there are always another two big games around the corner.

“We have to learn what we can from defeats and realise that we have to compete like we did on the Saturday in Belfast every single night.

“This week has been good in practice, the coaches have pushed us and the boys have pushed each other, too. We’ve had some good, hard practice sessions, battle and compete competitions - there’s been a good spirit among the boys all week.”