Matt Greenfield added another milestone to his Sheffield Steelers career on Saturday night as he recorded the 26th shutout of his time with the club in the 6-0 win over Coventry Blaze.
The previous Steelers record of 24 had been held by Jody Lehman before Greenfield moved past that mark last season.
Now, in game number 228 for the Steelers since joining from the Kansas City Mavericks in 2022, the 26th clean sheet has been added to an already impressive list of achievements.
Greenfield, though, was quick to play down the personal landmark. “Happy with the shutout, it always feels good,” he said “But more importantly, we got the win.
“I think that was a big one for our group because it showed what we can do when we’re rolling.”
For a goaltender, there is always that moment when the possibility of a shutout begins to creep into the mind and Greener admits he is no different.
“You never like to think about it too early,” he explained. “I think anytime you come in after the second period and there’s still a zero on the board, your mind starts to wander there a little bit, but it’s more important to stay focused, stay in the moment and make sure the other team can’t climb back into the game.”
That concentration was needed against Coventry. The Blaze started strongly and Greenfield felt they came ready to play.
“I thought they came out pretty hard,” he said. “I thought we had to weather a bit of a storm in the first five minutes.
“We had a goal taken off the board, but I think that actually helped turn some momentum for us after that, our transition game really started to show.”
Greenfield has also been impressed with the new defensive group playing in front of him.
“They’re outstanding,” he said. “I could go through them one by one and talk about all their strengths.
“They block shots, they play physical, they move the puck well, they’re offensively gifted and they’re tough guys to play against, they’re also great guys in the room. I’m really happy with the defence we’ve got.”
That ability to defend and then quickly turn play the other way is something Greenfield believes could become one of the Steelers’ biggest strengths this season.
“With our transition game, I think we’re going to be a tough team to handle,” he said. “We’ve got some really offensively talented guys who play the game the right way. When they’re getting the puck with speed and going downhill, it’s going to be a tough task for whoever is facing us.
“If we can keep getting guys the puck with speed and in motion, I think we’re going to have a lot of success.”
Best Seat in the House
There are times when a goaltender is more spectator than participant. Greenfield is quite happy with that, as long as it happens at the weekend.
“I definitely prefer watching it go the other way on a Saturday night than having it come at me in practice during the week,” he smiled “It’s a joy to watch, I think the fans are going to be excited by some of the plays this group is going to make this year.”
For Greenfield, shutout number 26 is another personal milestone.
But as ever, his focus remains firmly on what comes next.
More wins, More clean sheets and, most importantly, more team success.
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