The Sheffield Steelers bounced back in the best way possible on Sunday, with a 6-1 victory over the Belfast Giants.
Just a day earlier, the Giants, current Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) champions, inflicted a 5-2 defeat over the Steelers, and Aaron Fox’s side were looking to shake some cobwebs off.
It took them just 28 seconds to do so, with Dan Ciampini arriving at the back door to poke home after a nice pass from Mark Simpson.
Just 37 seconds later, unbelievably, it was two! A steal from Kevin Tansey in the Belfast zone allowed Brett Neumann to play the puck to Mitchell Balmas who fired a powerful effort past Tyler Beskorowany in the net to double the lead.
The Giants panicked and took a time-out, having a minute-long breather with a few stern words from Belfast mainstay Adam Keefe.
It could have been much worse a few minutes later, as Josh Roach’s elbow put the Giants down to four men, but Robert Dowd was penalised for high sticks, wiping the Steelers’ man advantage out halfway through the power play.
Matthew McLeod got the Giants on the board on the power play halfway through the first period, scoring unassisted on the breakaway, but their hope was short-lived.
A minute and a half later, Mikko Juusola’s shot after nice hands on the left rebounded into the path of Robert Dowd, who accepted the invitation and restored the two-goal lead.
Josh Roach managed to squeeze another penalty in just before the end of the period, and Patrick Watling’s nice play to Balmas gave him an easy finish to make it 4-1 going into the first break.
Roach was in the penalty box again and was joined by teammate Will Cullen, who was penalised for delay of game. This gave the Steelers a minute of 5-on-3 action, but the Sheffield side largely wasted it.
That was about it for a painful second period, and problems with the Zamboni meant the Sheffield crowd had an extra long wait for the third period.
When it came, Roach decided it had been too long since he had last been in the penalty box, and he returned after the clearest tripping call in the sport’s history, before Daniel Tedesco gave the Steelers another power play.
They didn’t make the most of either of those, but Scott Allen, assisted by Ciampini, scored with five minutes to go with an audacious flick backwards between his own legs.
His unbelievable display of skill was followed, 53 seconds later, with a power play goal from Marc-Olivier Vallerand, firing home from long-range at an awkward angle.
Goals from the Steelers 6-1 win over the @belfastgiants pic.twitter.com/pF89xzTU55
— X-Sheffield Steelers (@steelershockey) March 10, 2024
He went top shelf, the Steelers went five goals ahead, and the Belfast Giants went back to Ireland in low spirits.
The Sheffield Steelers are now 11 points clear at the top of the EIHL table, and host the Guildford Flames on Wednesday 13 March in the Challenge Cup final.
Final score: Sheffield Steelers 6-1 Belfast Giants
GOALS:
Steelers: #12 Daniel Ciampini from #24 Mark Simpson and #29 Scott Allen at 00:28
#92 Mitchell Balmas from #25 Brett Neumann and #6 Kevin Tansey at 01:05
#75 Robert Dowd from #63 Mikko Juusola and #58 Dominic Cormier at 12:41
#92 Mitchell Balmas from #14 Patrick Watling and #25 Brett Neumann at 18:58 (PP)
#29 Scott Allen from #12 Daniel Ciampini at 55:01
#88 Marc-Olivier Vallerand from #23 Colton Saucerman and #92 Mitchell Balmas at 55:54 (PP)
Giants: #70 Matthew McLeod unassisted at 11:03 (PP)
Featured Image Credit: @steelershockey via X