Panthers lie in wait for Steelers following four-goal blitz from Forney against Stars
Given the Steelers’ recent troubles – a five-match losing run in the league was ended at Coventry on Sunday – last night’s game was an overdue treat for their fans, who saw their side book a two-legged semi-final against Nottingham Panthers 14-1 on aggregate.
What became a terribly one-sided rout at the Motorpoint Arena began in the fourth minute with defenceman Darrell Hay’s opener, quickly followed by a second of the season for fellow blue liner Mark Thomas.
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Hide AdForney had contributed six assists in the previous eight games, but had not scored since a 5-2 win over Hull Stingrays on December 20. He ended his drought in the 19th minute as Steelers went into the first period break 3-0 ahead.
Robert Dowd added two more – his efforts split by a Dundee reply from Ryan Grimshaw – before Forney doubled his tally and made it 6-1 at 33.30.
His next two goals came on the powerplay to leave Steelers 8-1 ahead with just over 10 minutes remaining. The rout was completed by strikes from Gord Baldwin, Phil Hill and Luke Ferrara.