The Bradfield Brewery Sheffield Steeldogs secured two important points on the road this evening in a 6-1 victory over the Solway Sharks at the Dumfries Ice Bowl.
After a narrow defeat the previous night to the Romford Raiders at iceSheffield, a big bounce back was needed over the Sharks, and a dominant performance with six different goalscorers ensued that.
The hosts lined up with a squad of 17+2 with Jordan Marr starting in net whilst Ben Morgan named an unchanged line-up. Ben Norton took his position in the pipes and Finlay Ulrick remained with the Sheffield Steelers. Ivan Björkly-Nordström was still sidelined with an injury sustained in pre-season.
Period one (0-1)
The first period began with early dominance of the puck for Sheffield, but they failed to register a shot on Marr giving the hosts time to settle into the game. Equal pressure ensued with early chances for both sides and both netminders making big saves to keep the score level. Stenton, Henderson and Anderson all tested Norton within the first five- minutes of the period, but the Steeldogs would be the ones to open up the scoring through Elmeri Hällfors at 6:46.
After collecting the puck in neutral ice, the Finnish forward utilised his speed, driving into the offensive zone and firing into the top corner over the shoulder of Marr to give the Dogs the lead in Dumfries.
Solway increased their pressure on the visiting side following Hällfors’ goal with a close chance for Joe Lynch before a three-on-two breakaway. Norton stood strong to deny the hosts with defenceman Ben Morgan working tirelessly to clear the puck before his side were able to break at nine-minutes through Brady Doxey who tried a backhanded shot, but Arseneau did well to make up the distance for the Sharks and make the block, keeping the score at 0-1.
Another spell of sustained pressure from Solway followed with Gardiner trying a wraparound, but Norton read the play well and made the save and the Dogs were then able to create an attack of their own: Henry Adams fired a shot towards Marr, but the loose puck couldn’t be collected by an orange jersey in the crease.
Nathan Ripley sat two-minutes for hooking at 15:52 sending the Sharks on their first powerplay of the night, but the player advantage still couldn’t help the hosts find the back of the net as the Dogs killed the penalty and created a few shorthanded chances to relieve the pressure on Norton at the back.
With one-minute of the period to play, Nolan Gardinder received a two-minute penalty for interference giving the Dogs a powerplay to start the second period.
Period two (0-2)
A strong first period performance from the visitors was carried into the second period with Walker Sommer looking to make his mark on the game immediately as he tried a wraparound. The puck fell loose in the crease with nobody there to capitalise. The Dogs continued to apply the pressure whilst on the powerplay but couldn’t convert their chances and the Sharks returned to full strength with no further damage done.
Intense Solway pressure at 27-minutes saw Norton pull off a huge save to deny a backhanded chance from the hosts. Play was end-to-end as the Steeldogs searched for a second goal to extend their lead with the Sharks still in search of an equaliser.
Ben Norton pulled o. a double save at 31-minutes before Ollie Turner cross-checked Kyle Carruth and received a two-minute penalty at 31:04 sending the hosts on another penalty kill.
It was another impressive penalty kill from Ben Morgan’s side with dominance of the puck despite being a player short and Hällfors and Tremblay trying to combine and break shorthanded. Good forecheck and possession in Solway’s defensive zone saw the Steeldogs return to full strength unharmed.
It wasn’t until 36:23 that a goal would be scored in the second period, this time courtesy of Brady Doxey who extended the Dogs’ lead to two. Ben Cutts played the puck to Doxey who unleashed a powerful shot that beat Marr in net for the Sharks, with the second assist awarded to Jack Brammer.
She.ield once again increased the tempo, and Marr was forced to stand strong to keep the score at 0-2.
Sam Tremblay received a two-minute penalty for tripping at 38:03 with the Dogs back on the penalty kill. Mason Alderson had a chance to reduce the deficit at the back door with just over a minute of the period to play, but Norton made the saves and his side took a two-goal lead into the third period.
Third period (1-6)
Back-to-back chances for Solway opened the third period at the Dumfries Ice Bowl, but it was Sheffield who would find the back of the net again. Elmeri Hällfors picked the puck up in his own zone before dancing through Solway jerseys and carrying it into the offensive zone. He played it across the ice to Morgan Clarke-Pizzo who fired into the roof of the net to round off Hällfors’ impressive skate from the defensive zone giving the Dogs a three-goal advantage.
The Sharks once again tried to fight back with a flurry of shots fired at Norton and lots of chances created, but the young netminder stayed alert and diffused the danger.
Tom Barry received a two-minute penalty for tripping at 43:59 with another penalty kill following suit for the visitors. Solway continued to create chances but strong defending from Sheffield prevented the Sharks from capitalising upon their player advantage once again.
A powerplay opportunity for the Dogs came at 50:43 as Torran Anderson sat two- minutes for slashing, but a strong penalty kill saw them return to full strength with the score still 0-3.
An impressive play from Tate Shudra set up a fourth goal for the visitors as he deked past the Sharks’ defence before taking a shot at Marr, the rebound of which was collected by Jack Brammer who slotted the puck into the net at 55:59. Kell Beattie received a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in the aftermath of the goal which gave the Dogs another powerplay opportunity and this time, they made the most of the extra skater. Tate Shudra extended the lead to five, assisted by Sam Tremblay and Jonathan Kirk with the goal timed at 56:38.
The goals didn’t stop there as the fourth goal of the period – Sheffield’s sixth of the game – was then scored by Nathan Ripley with a one-timer into the top corner with 45 seconds to play.
Solway scored a late consolation goal with 7 seconds of the period remaining with Kyle Carruth setting up the play and Lewis Young shooting the puck from behind the line to make it 1-6.
A dominant third period from the Steeldogs saw them earn a well-deserved two-points on the road with six different goalscores and two players scoring their first points of the season: Jack Brammer and Ben Cutts.
Man of the match for the Solway Sharks was awarded to Torran Anderson whilst Ben Norton received the accolade for the Steeldogs.
It’s a three-game week next week for the Steeldogs with two home games. The action starts on Friday night against the Telford Tigers.
By Emily Laycock