Steelers win big in season opener

Sheffield 8-4 Nottingham

Fans at the FlyDSA Arena were treated to a goal-fest in Sheffield on opening night, as the Steelers came from three down to record an 8-4 win over rivals Nottingham Panthers.

The visitors led by three after the first period thanks to an opener from ex-Steeler Mark Matheson just after seven minutes, and then Alexis Loiseau and Sam Herr both scored shorthanded goals that Pavel Kantor would definitely want to avoid.

Period two however was all about the Steelers' comeback, which happened in a little under ten minutes. Michael Davies got the Steelers on the board at 27:14, with Rob Dowd's rocket making it 3-2 at 32:04, and then Eric Meland tied the game at 36:48. 

Herr put the Panthers back ahead early in the final period, but that was as good as it got for Tim Wallace's side. Martin St. Pierre, Aaron Johnson and Tanner Eberle all scored within three minutes of each other to put Sheffield 6-4 up with John Armstrong and James Bettauer adding the final two to secure the win.