Man of the Match for Lucas in Manchester
Lucas Brine is no stranger to facing a penalty shot.
But seven in one night?, That was a little different.
The Steelers goaltender produced one of the standout performances of pre-season in Manchester last Sunday, stopping a penalty shot during the game before denying six more attempts in the shootout as Sheffield completed a remarkable comeback victory at the AO Arena.
Brine entered the game at the start of the second period with the Steelers trailing 3-0.
By the end of the night, the score was 5-5, with the game going into overtime and a shoot out.
Speaking moments after leaving the ice, Brine admitted the emotions were still running high.
“It’s obviously a pretty big high,” he said.
“I know it was only pre-season, but that was a great character comeback and a big win for us.”
Keep Calm and Wait
Penalty shots can often look like a battle of nerves between shooter and goaltender.
For Brine, the approach is deliberately simple.
“I just try not to get ahead of myself,” he explained. “I remember to breathe and try to let the play come to me.
“You don’t want to bite too early. You wait for them to make the first move, and thankfully it worked tonight.
“You’re trying to force the shooter into making a decision. “If you can wait them out while cutting down the angle, you can sometimes leave them with only one real option.
“Then from there, you just try to meet the puck.”
Thrown Straight Into It
Brine had already faced a difficult challenge long before the shootout arrived.
With Manchester leading 3-0 after the opening period, Aaron Fox made the change between the pipes and Brine replaced Matt Greenfield for the second.
His priority was simply to settle the game down. “I just didn’t want it to get out of control,” he said.
“I wanted to make a couple of nice, clean saves early and then build from there.
“That first save is always important because it takes some of the nerves away and gets you into a rhythm.
“It doesn’t really matter whether you kick a rebound into the corner or freeze the puck and slow everything down.
“You just want that first touch and then you can settle into the game.”
The Steelers began their comeback in front of him, eventually fighting their way from three goals down to force overtime.
Brine then helped Sheffield kill a late major penalty before the game went to the shootout.
And that was when his night became particularly memorable.
“It Was All a Bit of a Blur”
After a succession of saves, Mitchell Balmas finally gave Sheffield the advantage in sudden death.
Brine then denied Manchester’s final attempt and suddenly the Steelers bench emptied towards him.
“Honestly, it was all a bit of a blur,” he laughed.
“I think it might have been Diff or Dom who got to me first.
“There was a lot of shouting and the guys were all pretty happy.
“It was just nice to know that I’d contributed to the win.”
Head Coach Aaron Fox was equally impressed.
“I thought Briner did a great job,” said Fox.
“Obviously everyone will talk about all the saves he made in the shootout, but he was really good during the game as well.
“He went in at a difficult time, reacted really well and made some important saves.
“He helped us stay in the game and contributed a lot to us finding a way to win.”
