On Saturday 26th November the Sheffield Steelers faced their rivals, the Nottingham Panthers at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield for a tense game.
An early chance for a Sheffield goal is denied by the Nottingham netminder, giving the Panthers possession. Fortunately for the Steelers they were able to clear the puck down the ice. However, a few seconds later, Panther’s player Duggie Lagrone was injured after taking a heavy fall. Fans could only watch as he was carried off ice by the medic team, unable to return to the ice. The Steelers aren’t off to a great start as their skating is all over the place and they are fumbling their passes. Twelve minutes into the game, Kevin Shulze got a two-minute minor penalty for tripping, giving the Panthers their first powerplay of the evening. Nottingham was unable to do anything with their powerplay due to the incredible net-minding from Matt Greenfield. By the end of the first period the score was still 0-0.
In the second period the Steelers came back out fighting. Danny Kristo scored the first goal of the evening, assisted by Brandon McNally and Robert Dowd in the second minute of the period. It wasn’t long before Sebastian Piche assisted by Adam Raska scored the second goal for Sheffield. Unfortunately, Matt Greenfield moves too far away from his goal, leaving the net practically unguarded. This gives Brett Welychka the opportunity to score Nottingham’s first goal of the evening.
In the third period, the Steelers seemed to have lost their momentum, playing similarly to the first period, missing shots, and fumbling passes. With two minutes left on the clock, the Steelers missed a crucial shot that would have put them safely ahead 3-1. With just over a minute remaining, Nottingham called for a timeout and made the decision to pull their netminder. The final minute is tense as the Steelers are given a two-minute penalty for “delaying the game” when their net came loose for the second time in a row. This gave Nottingham a 6 on 4 advantage which paid off when Kelly Summers scored the equalising goal, five seconds away from the end of the game. The third period ended with a tie meaning the game went into overtime.
Both teams had five minutes to score a redemption goal in a 3 on 3 battle for the win. The Steelers came close several times but at the end of the extra five minutes, neither team managed to score. Both sides were tense as the final score was left to penalty shoot outs. Again, however, Nottingham and Sheffield miss all their chances to score. After five rounds, the teams tie again (with neither side scoring) forcing sudden death. Finally, Brendan Connolly scores, ending the tie and winning the game for the Steelers. In celebration he throws his hockey stick into the crowd for a lucky fan. Subsequently he is awarded man of the match and the Panthers are booed off the ice. The win sees the Steelers keep their second place position in the table.
Glossary:
Overtime: A five-minute period that is the result of a tie. The first team to score is the winner.
Penalty shoot-out: If neither team scores in the extra five minutes, both teams choose five players to go 1 on 1 against the opposing netminder. Whichever team scores the most goals will win the match.
Sudden death: If teams tie in the penalty shootout, the winner is the first team to have a player score.
-By Jay Palmer
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