Steelers edge past Panthers to stay on top

Photo: Dean Woolley

Sheffield Steelers edged past rivals Nottingham Panthers to remain in pole position at the top of the Premier Sports elite League table in front of 8,379 fans on pride night at the Utilita arena.

The Steelers got off to a good start and went ahead just shy of six minutes in through Matias Sointu who correctly opted to shoot rather than pass on a 2-on-1 rush.

Matthew Lane tied things up at 10:33 on the powerplay after a nice pass from Jeremy Welsh set him up from the quick finish from a tight angle. Kevin Carr kept the Panthers level with an incredible save as he got back to his feet to deny Tanner Eberle.

Evan Mosey scored against his former team on the powerplay with 26:28 on the clock, but the Steelers were pegged back again by the Panthers with the extra man. This time, Matthew Myers tipped JC Brassard's shot through Rok Stojanovič's five-hole to level the scores at 30:44.

Marc-Olivier Vallerand slapped past Kevin Carr on a delayed penalty after excellent patience from Daine Todd to put the Steelers back ahead when Dowd backhanded home. The goal was checked for goalie interference but allowed to stand.

That was where the scoring ended as the Panthers did battle but were unable to find a way back into the game.