Steelers beat Blaze in 12-goal thriller

Photo: Dean Woolley

The Sheffield Steelers extended their lead at the top of the 2021 Elite Series, and completed a 4-0 sweep of the Coventry Blaze in the round-robin phase, with a 7-5 win at the Motorpoint Arena.

It was Brendan Connolly who got the Steelers rolling, scoring from a tight angle with just over 14 minutes played, followed by Tanner Eberle extending the lead 1:56 into period two.

Mike Hammond brought the Blaze back to within one at 26:10, but a Jérémy Beaudry goal 46 seconds later crushed the Blaze's hopes of a comeback - and when Josh Waller scored two minutes later, Danny Stewart's side found themselves three behind again. Eberle finished off a nice pass from Josef Mikyska to put Sheffield 5-1 up after 40 minutes.

Liam Kirk finished from close range during some 4-on-4 to make it six for the Steelers, but Coventry rallied and were back in things with two quick goals. Mac Howlett got his first of the series at 45:31, before Tristan Keck finished from the top of the crease 1:27 later to make it a three-goal game. 

Sam Duggan brought the Blaze back to two behind with 11 minutes to go, and then things got really interesting when Mike Hammond converted on a 6-on-4 to make it a one-goal game with 87 seconds left. A horrible giveaway in their own zone however saw the Blaze fall to an empty-net goal, Brendan Connolly the greatful recipient.