Steelers suffer quick retreat with defeats to Cardiff and Braehead

Hitting the road on Saturday night to take on the same opponents they had beaten at Ice Sheffield four days earlier, Paul Thompson’s team came unstuck in the Devils’ ‘Big Blue Tent’ for a third time this season.

The hosts’ 6-2 win stretched their unbeaten record to 13 games at home this season and Steelers will be glad to see the back of a rink that has always been notoriously difficult for visiting teams in the last few years.

Fortunately for them, their next visit to South Wales should see them face-off against the Devils in a brand new, 3,000-seater state-of-the-art rink.

As if a seventh league defeat of the campaign was not bad enough for the defending regular season champions to contemplate – Thompson labelled the performance by his players as “disgusting” – their headaches will have intensified last night following a 2-1 defeat at home to Braehead Clan.

The previous weekend, the Steelers had prevailed 9-8 in Glasgow in a shoot-out.

Last night’s rematch was always unlikely to replicate the kind of free-scoring that had given both coaches nightmares nine days earlier and so it proved.

Steelers again outshot their opponents without ramming home the advantage, a short-handed opener from Brendan Brooks and Bari McKenzie’s strike sealing a big road win for the Clan, despite Jace Coyle’s reply giving Steelers late hope.

Despite outshooting Cardiff 38-26 the night before, the Steelers again left themselves with too much to do, a 2-0 deficit at the end of the first being increased to 5-1 20 minutes later.

Mark Richardson (08.09) and Leigh Salters (16.03) fired the home side into the lead and although Fredrick Vestberg halved the deficit at 21.14, three goals in just over five minutes effectively settled the outcome.

Joey Martin restored the hosts’ two-goal advantage at 28.02 before two goals in as many minutes from Guillaume Doucet ended Steelers’ hopes.

Colton Fretter hit back for the Steelers and, although the visitors created other scoring opportunities, the only other goal to come was at the other end, through Joey Martin at 47.58.