Steelers and Panthers face off on Rivalry Night Saturday

Photo: Panthers Images

The Sheffield Steelers play host to the Nottingham Panthers at the Motorpoint Arena this Saturday evening in a matchup that rarely needs any pre-billing.

Always tightly contest, and always with more than just points on the line, the two sides meet each other tonight at what has become an important early stage of the tournament.

Such has been the competitive nature of the Elite Series so far, only two points separate the teams after three rounds. However, were the Panthers to lose tonight they would find themselves two wins off the top places in the standings - conversely, a win would see all four teams separated by just a win ahead of Super Sunday.

The Steelers average the most goals scored per game in the tournament so far (4.67), while the Panthers have the lowest (2.00). Conversely, at 2.33 conceded per game, Nottingham average the lowest goals against. The Steelers have conceded an average of three per game thus far.

Both sides will be looking to get their special teams working better tonight, though: Sheffield have the better of the two at 14.29% on the powerplay (vs. 10.00%) and 84.62% on the kill (vs. 81.82%).

Team news
Ben Churchfield is again expected to start in net for the Steelers. In his midweek press conference, Head Coach Aaron Fox revealed that John Muse is still likely to be out for another week at best.

Aside from a few knocks, the Panthers are expected to be at full strength for tonight's game.