The Steelers’ 14-game home winning streak ended last night, marking their first home defeat since December. The Storm haven’t won in Sheffield since 2018 either, but this win brings them up to 5th in the league.
The Steelers’ 12-game overall winning streak ended last Saturday away in Cardiff. Now they’ve lost two out of their last three matches.
The Steelers looked promising early on, with forward Patrick Harper hitting the upright within two minutes. Storm’s defenceman Joe Morrow then opened the scoring in the fifth minute, assisted by fellow Canadian Loren Ulett. For the first 15 minutes, the Steelers seemed physical at times in defence but sloppy while attacking. Chances were promising but wayward passes cost them.
In the 16th minute, Mikko Juusola equalised thanks to a wonderful pass from Josh Nichols. But less than 30 seconds later, the Storm took the lead again as captain Cameron Critchlow’s shot deflected past Steeler’s goaltender Matthew Greenfield. Momentum then shifted the Steelers’ way late on in the first period, with a powerplay leading to Juusola’s second goal, tipping a bouncing puck into the net.
In the second period, the Steelers had plenty of breakaway attacks and put shots in than the Storm, but Manchester had the only goal of the period through a long shot from Zach Sullivan deflecting past Greenfield in the 34th minute. Two of the Steelers’ sticks also broke in that period, perhaps reflecting their bad luck.
There was palpable anger towards some refereeing decisions in the 3rd period. Sheffield fans felt interferences and trips by the Storm went unnoticed, but when the Steelers committed the same offences, they were penalised. In the 48th minute, Storm’s Samuel Tremblay took their lead to 4-2. Six minutes later, Steelers’ Mark Simpson fired a short-handed, low shot past Storm goalie Evan Weninger. With the crowd riled up, the Steelers took a risk and took Greenfield off, playing 6 outfield players. It ultimately backfired, when a loose puck let Critchlow stroll in to seal a 5-3 victory for the Storm in the final minute.
Commenting after the match, Steelers’ coach Aaron Fox praised some individual performances and thought the team played well in the 2nd and 3rd periods, but had to be consistent over 60 minutes. On injured captain Robert Dowd, Fox said he should be back in action against Belfast. 35-year old Dowd, a club legend and Team GB captain, also signed a two-year contract extension this week.
Finnish winger Juusola was named the Steelers’ man of the match and remains their top goalscorer in the league this season. Joe Morrow was awarded the Storm’s man of the match.
The Steelers still sit top of the league – nine points clear with 12 games left to play. They travel to Dundee Stars tonight (Sunday 3 March) and return to Sheffield to play Belfast Giants twice next weekend (Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 March).
Featured Image Credit: @steelershockey via X