Steelers take charge of cup Quarter-Final first leg

Photo: Dean Woolley

Sheffield Steelers made home-ice advantage count in emphatic style in their Viaplay Challenge Cup Quarter-Final first leg, thrashing Cardiff Devils 5-1 at Utilita Arena live on Viaplay Sports.

The Devils were dealt a late blow when starting goalie Ben Bowns was pulled after warm-up and Brodie Reid was also scratched.

Sheffield wasted little time in getting going and started strong. Brandon Whistle eventually opened the scoring, winning the faceoff in his own zone and going end-to-end before beating Tatan Kozun high at 12:56. 

Evan Mosey converted Matt Petgrave's pass to beat Kozun low on a 5-on-3 advantage 4:01 into period two, before a moment of magic from Petgrave put the hosts three up at 36:51. 

Josh Waller got the Devils on the board at 31:58 but a bottle-popper from distance from Whistle made it a 4-1 scoreline heading into period three. Danny Kristo made it 5-1 with just over eight minutes to go to put the Steelers in an excellent position ahead of the return leg in Wales next week.