Sheffield Steelers survived a late scare to beat Coventry Blaze 2-1 in overtime on Sunday, but the main events of the evening were heartfelt tributes to Adam Johnson.
In what was the first fixture at the Utilita Arena since the devastating events of 28 October, when an on-ice collision resulted in the premature death of Nottingham Panthers’ Adam Johnson, it was always going to be an emotional day.
A video tribute to Johnson was played on the big screen while a two-minute silence was observed impeccably by the 8,449-strong crowd, which was littered with jerseys of various teams from across the country. The ice hockey community was, as ever, united.
The match began with an understandably subdued atmosphere, but the Steelers on the ice started strong.
In the second minute of the opening period, a shot by the Steelers’ Marco Vallerand was spilled by Taran Kozun in net, and this was representative of the away side’s start to the game, who struggled despite Steelers netminder Matt Greenfield having to play part of the period without a stick after being upended in Gretzky’s office.
The Steelers were making use of the left side consistently, and their good work paid dividends as Brett Neumann got on the end of a move he started, winning possession of the puck in his defensive zone before nice play from Colton Saucerman and Daniel Ciampini gave him the opportunity to poke home, top shelf, right on the doorstep. It was sublime. Steelers led at 07:45!
The Blaze’s struggles to create opportunities continued, being forced to dump shots on net from close to the blue line, but Greenfield’s net never seemed to be in too much trouble.
The Steelers were given two power plays in the first, with the first coming when Nathan Ripley was given a two-minute spell on the naughty step for tripping, but despite shots on goal, no dice. The second came with just 36 seconds left on the clock, with Brady Norris sent to the penalty box for slashing, but there wasn’t time for the home side to carve out a huge opportunity, with Mikko Juusola’s saved hit the only one of note.
Shots on goal in the first favoured the Steelers by 16 to 6, a period of real dominance for Aaron Fox’s side.
The Steelers started the second period with an extra man on the ice, but they failed to take this opportunity, with the puck spending far more time in their defensive zone and on neutral ice than they’d have hoped.
Almost as soon as the power play ended, it was the 22nd minute, sparking applause in support of Matt Petgrave, the other player involved in the horrific accident with Adam Johnson.
22nd minute… Standing ovation for Sheffield Steelers defenceman Matt Petgrave, who’s not on the ice tonight.
Over 8,000 fans all on their feet to show their support & love for Petgrave. pic.twitter.com/aNYIzh8Q2Z
— Peter Spencer (@_PeterSpencer) November 12, 2023
Around the halfway mark, the Blaze started, finally, to find their style. Kristo had a big opportunity on the breakaway to level the scores, but his slapshot was fired high. Ripley then also blazed over the net, while Kim Tallberg couldn’t quite angle the puck five-hole.
With around four minutes of the period to go, Kristo received a warm welcome back to the arena after his summer move away to the Blaze, as his scuffle with Kameron Kielly by the benches earned the sides a roughing penalty each.
Jack Hopkins being penalised for holding with 23 seconds of the period to go ensured the Steelers would again be going into a period with a man advantage.
Second-period shots on goal: Steelers 8, Blaze 5, but the Sheffield side were still 1-0 up.
The Blaze finally got their first powerplay five minutes into the third period, with Mitchell Balmas given a two-minute interference penalty for a late hit, but it was a quiet one.
The Steelers were back to full strength in the 47th minute of the game, but this paled into insignificance, as everyone in the house stood and applauded the life and memory of Adam Johnson. The roof of the Utilita Arena Sheffield has never been raised higher.
Vallerand was deterred by strong Blaze defence and Ciampini couldn’t quite extend the lead. The Yorkshiremen were made to pay as J.D. Dudek went to the backhand and sent an excellent wrist shot five-hole to tie the game at 50:37.
This sparked the Steelers back into life, and a late powerplay due to a trip from Luciani gave them an opportunity to raid the Blaze net but the Blaze survived. On to three-on-three hockey we go!
Overtime it was, and it began with a silly offside from the Steelers’ starting three. As always, it’s a period of end-to-end action, with Patrick Watling having a chance that was squandered.
On came the popular captain Robert Dowd, one of Britain’s finest players, and he was served an apple of the highest order by Mitchell Balmas, arriving at the back door to win the game with a one-timer, sending the crowd into raptures.
This victory ensured a four-point weekend after a road victory against the Manchester Storm, and leaves the Steelers top of the EIHL standings, with two games in hand on their nearest competitors, the Cardiff Devils.
There’s a home double-header in Sheffield next weekend, with the Belfast Giants (Saturday 18 November, 7pm) and the Glasgow Clan (Sunday 19 November, 4pm) in town.
GOALS:
Steelers: #88 Brett Neumann from #12 Daniel Ciampini and #23 Colton Saucerman at 07:45
#75 Robert Dowd from #92 Mitchell Balmas and #25 Brett Neumann at 62:43
Blaze: #79 J.D. Dudek from #61 Alessio Luciani and #58 David Clements at 50:37
PENALTIES:
Steelers: #55 Kameron Kielly (MINOR, 2 mins) for roughing at 36:15 #92 Mitchell Balmas (MINOR, 2 mins) for tripping at 45:26
PIM: 4
Blaze: #29 Nathan Ripley (MINOR, 2 mins) for tripping at 15:22 #10 Brady Norrish (MINOR, 2 mins) for slashing at 19:24
#77 Danny Kristo (MINOR, 2 mins) for roughing at 36:15
#15 Jack Hopkins (MINOR, 2 mins) for holding at 39:37
#61 Alessio Luciani (MINOR, 2 mins) for tripping at 57:58
#58 David Clements (MINOR, 2 mins) for abuse at 62:43
PIM: 12
Image Credit: @steelershockey via X