The Flyers made their final trip of the regular season to play he Steelers looking to end a very long winless run in Yorkshire. The home side gave Eamon McAdam the start in net with Matt Greenfield sitting out and they were also without Kevin Tansey and Cole Shudra. The Flyers returned Shane Owen to the net and added David Booth to the injury list along with Josh Winquist with Mason Alderson also scratched.
Inside the opening 30 seconds Simon Despres fired a shot on net that McAdam couldn’t hold but the Steelers defence cleared the loose puck. In the 2nd minute a cross crease pass found Brett Ritchie at the backdoor but Owen got across his goal to make the stop. McAdam couldn’t hold a Logan Neilson shot in the 3rd minute but again the loose puck couldn’t be capitalised on. The Steelers opened the scoring at 3:16 when they transitioned and Samuel Tremblay with a centre lane drive dished the puck to Stephen Harper and his shot from the circles went through Owen. The Steelers passed up a great chance in the 5th minute as they broke in 3 on 1 following a neutral zone turnover but Evan Jasper couldn’t get a shot away. In the 6th minute Neilson in the high slot had his shot held this time by McAdam. The Steelers dominated the puck in the Flyers zone in the 10th minute and Owen had to shrug off a shot from Ryan Tait. The Flyers keeper did well a minute later as a Jordon Southern shot from the point was deflected as Jasper went through the slot but Owen reacted well. Owen gloved a shot from Mitchell Heard in the 12th minute and moments later at the other end McAdam did well to seal his near post to deny a tip by Ethan Somoza. Owen made a save with his chest in the 15th minute to stop a backhand effort from close range by Jack Dougherty. The Steelers then went on the first powerplay of the night as Jasper skated through the Fife defence and Ryan Nicholson was called for the hook. Owen had to shuffle across his goal to keep out Harper and he then blockered away a Ritchie shot from the circles as the Flyers completed the kill. Just moments later however at 17:34 the Steelers doubled their advantage as Brien Diffley was given lots of space to come in from the blueline and he beat Owen with a high shot. Good work by Justin Ducharme in the 18th minute created some space but again McAdam was solid in net. In the final minute Heard stickhandled his way through the entire Flyers team and thought he was hooked as he failed to get his shot away which resulted in him talking his way into the penalty box for another Flyers powerplay which carried over into the second period.
The Steelers had no difficulty returning to full strength at the start of the second period. A shot from Jeremy Masella in the 22nd minute went in and out of McAdam’s glove and a minute later Robert Dowd tried to beat Owen on the short side but he made the save before the Steelers captain was sent to the penalty box for a hook. The penalty proved pivotal in the game as the Flyers conceded two short handed goals. The first at 23:30 was from a face off which was drawn back to Southorn who put the puck on net and Mikko Juusola got a tip to deflect past Owen.. The Flyers then turned the puck over deep in the Steelers zone and that allowed Tait to break out and he found Mitchell Balmas streaking through the middle of the ice and he pulled a move to freeze Owen and lift the puck into the net at 24:20. Still with the man advantage the Flyers forced a couple of saves from McAdam as the Steelers returned to full strength. McAdam blockered away a shot from Karlsson in the 26th minute and the goalie then denied the Flyers again as Karlsson set up Justin Ducharme who got the puck behind the Steelers netminder but couldn’t beat the post as the puck bounced to safety. The Flyers were creating the better chances so far in the period and in the 28th minute Neilson set up Masella but McAdam was square to his shot. The Steelers continued to be clinical however as they added another at 29:02 as Heard from behind the net found Harper between the circles and he beat Owen on the blocker side with Tait providing the screen. Johan Porsberger kicked the puck out of mid air in the 32nd minute and directed it to Anton Karlsson but McAdam came up with another big save. Steelers had another 3 on 1 break moments later and Balmas tried to outwait Owen who made a huge save. In the 34th minute McAdam made another couple of stellar saves to deny Ducharme and Masella before Owen was forced into a left pad save to keep out Jasper from close range. In the final minute a Balmas snapshot came off the helmet of Owen.
In the opening minute of the third period Heard was wide open but Owen denied him but the Steelers recycled the puck and Tait showed a clean pair of heels to the Flyers defence as he went in on net and lifted the puck over the pad of Owen for a sixth goal at 41:07. Owen shut the door on Jasper from the slot in the 43rd minute and in the 46th minute McAdam still had to be in the game to stop a Masella backhand attempt. Jasper went close in the 50th minute when he rattled the Flyers crossbar and a minute later he tried a wraparound only to see the puck flash straight through the blue paint and out the other side. Owen then squeezed his arm to make a save on Diffley at the side of is net. The Steelers added another at 53:52 as they swept down the ice with a tic tac toe play and Ivan Bjorkly Nordstrom supplied the finish from close range. The Flyers broke 2 on 1 in the 55th minute but Porsberger saw his shot gloved by McAdam and at 55:14 the Steelers got the final goal of the night with a Jasper shot deflecting past Owen off Patrick Watling. In the final minutes the Flyers kept pressing but McAdam would not be denied his shutout as he made saves on Milan Lucic, Garet Hunt and Neilson.
Pic Credits – Sheffield Steelers
Fife Flyers are next at home on Sunday 8th February when they entertain the Cardiff Devils – tickets can be bought online here: Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.
