Review of the Weekend by the Steelers Boss
Sheffield Steelers head coach Aaron Fox believes his side produced plenty to be encouraged by over the weekend, despite experiencing two very different outcomes in Cardiff and at home to Fife.
Saturday brought the frustration of a 1-0 Challenge Cup defeat in Cardiff, on a night when the Steelers created enough opportunities to win but couldn’t find a way past Devils goaltender Christian Stoever.
Less than 24 hours later, Sheffield were back at the Utilita Arena and this time the chances did go in, with a four-goal opening period setting up a 6-3 Elite League victory over Fife Flyers.
Fox was delighted to take the two league points on Sunday and felt many of the positive aspects of Saturday’s performance carried into the Fife game.
“Obviously I’m happy with the two points,” said Fox. “I liked our game for the majority of the evening.
“We had a great start. We got two on the power play and five-on-five I thought we were dominant in that first 20 minutes. “That came after what I thought was a really good performance in Cardiff where we just didn’t get rewarded.
“We did a lot of the same little things tonight that we did on Saturday, but this time we found the back of the net.”
Power Play Provides a Boost
One particularly encouraging aspect for Fox was Sheffield’s special teams.
The Steelers struck twice with the extra skater against Fife, something the head coach was pleased to see after a difficult start to the league campaign on the power play.
“It was great to get a couple on the power play because we’ve struggled with that a little bit in league play,” he said.
Sheffield’s explosive opening period appeared to have placed them in complete control at 4-0, but the game changed dramatically during the middle session.
Fife scored three unanswered goals to reduce the deficit to 4-3 and suddenly turn what had looked a comfortable evening into a very different contest.
Fox felt a couple of small moments gave the visitors the opportunity they needed.
“I actually liked the first few minutes of the second period,” he said.
“Then we hit the referee with a clearing attempt, it bounces straight onto their tape and they come down and score.
“After that we take a penalty that we don’t need to take. We’ve got to be smarter in those situations.
“They get the five-on-three shortly afterwards, score two really quickly and suddenly the game has been turned on its head.”
Fox could afford a smile afterwards when reflecting on how quickly the complexion of the contest changed.
“Those are the types of games that magnify the grey hairs on my head by a hundred in those moments,” he joked.
Steelers Respond in the Third
The response during the third period was what pleased Fox most.
Rather than allowing Fife’s comeback to continue, Sheffield rediscovered much of what had made them so dominant during the opening period.
Evan Jasper’s second goal of the night restored the two-goal cushion before Olivier Archambault added the sixth to put the game beyond the Flyers.
“I thought we dug deep and had a really good third,” said Fox.
“We got back to a lot of the positive things we had done in the first period.
“That fifth goal is a great example. We make a play, win a battle and get below the goal line from a lost draw.
“Those are the little details that you have to do.
“Then the sixth one was kind of the nail in the coffin.”
Performance Beginning to Match the Results
For Fox, there were positives to take from both nights.
Saturday in Cardiff produced one of those performances where the Steelers did plenty right but simply couldn’t find the goal their play deserved.
Sunday was different.
This time the opportunities were converted, the power play contributed and, when Fife threatened to completely change the momentum of the game, Sheffield found an answer.
The result was an important 6-3 league victory and another two points towards a campaign in which every result will matter.
And after a weekend containing plenty of good hockey, Fox will now be hoping the rewards continue to follow the performances.