Wednesday: Huge night ahead for Steelers

Photo: Dean Woolley

Sheffield Steelers are set for one of the biggest nights in their history, and it’ll be played in front of the biggest crowd to see a Champions Hockey League game this season – by some margin.

The Utilita Arena in Sheffield is already near sold-out for the visit of Eisbären Berlin on Wednesday night in the Champions Hockey League Round of 16. No Elite League team has ever got further than this stage in Europe’s top domestic competition – Nottingham Panthers were beaten 6-1 over two legs by ZSC Lions in the same stage of the CHL in 2017/18.

If those facts weren’t enough, it’s also the return of Maltby-born Liam Kirk. Now skating with the German team, the 24-yearold made his debut in professional hockey with the Steelers in 2016/17, including playing one CHL game for the team in that season. He’s gone on to become the best export from the UK currently playing hockey, and one of the greatest ever.

Eisbären lead the DEL with 37 points from 16 games so far, collecting nine regulation and four OT/SO wins in that total. An eight-game winning run was brought to an end by Schwenningen on Sunday. They are the reigning DEL champions but have themselves never been past this stage of the CHL.