14 Feb 2024, 19:30 | Regular season | Sheffield Arena |
Sheffield Steelers | 3-0 | Guildford Flames |
Periods: Shots: | 0-0 (18-10) | 2-0 (15-12) | 1-0 (7-9) | Total: 40-31 |
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Referees: Pering/Dalton  |  Spectators: 9003 |
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Goals and assists
Sheffield Steelers recorded their second straight three-goal, shutout
win with a victory over Guildford Flames in front of more than 9,000
fans at the Utilita Arena.
The early stages saw the Flames create
the better chances, and only a Dominic Cormier clearance off the line
stopped Brett Ferguson giving Guildford the lead. However, the hosts
built momentum after the visitors took two penalties to go 5-on-3 down,
and then a further minor towards the end of the period, which got both
the Steelers and the crowd going. No goals through 20 minutes, however.
Mitchell
Balmas got on the end of a loose puck in front of Eamon McAdam after an
initial Robert Dowd drive to the net to put the hosts ahead 4:30 into
period two, a deserved lead on the last 15 or so minutes of the game.
Some eight minutes later, a Colton Saucerman dump on net from the
neutral zone was spilled by McAdam straight into the path of Brandon
Whistle who neatly finished to put the hosts two up. Guildford had a
series of chances while Sam Jones sat for Charging but couldn't find a
way past the impressive Matt Greenfield, while a fine McAdam read to get
across his create on an odd-man rush kept the visitors only two behind.
The
Flames again went to work on the powerplay at the start of period three
but just couldn't find a way past Greenfield. To rub salt in their
wounds, Marc-Olivier Vallerand hit a powerplay goal for the hosts with
just under 10 minutes to play which defeated the visitors somewhat. The
Flames ended 0/3 on the powerplay after they couldn't find a goal on a
Kevin Tansey minor with 6:25 to play, and the Steelers held on for their
first home win over the Flames in five attempts.