Steelers come from behind to beat Flames
Photo: Olly Birth
Sheffield Steelers scored four goals in the final period to beat Guildford Flames 5-2 at a sold-out Spectrum, twice coming from behind en route to victory.
“I think we deserved to win that game. The first two periods were back and fourth and although Guildford had the lead, I didn’t think we were really out of it,” said Brandon Whistle, who hit the game winner in the third period. “Sticking with it was key. We’ve been up and down on the bench this season and this is one of those games where we didn’t feel out of it whereas in past games we maybe lacked a little bit of desperation when we needed it."
The home side led by one after 20 minutes but did well to come through the opening stages not behind. A Robert Dowd shot inside the opening minute stayed out off a combination of Jake Kupsky and the crossbar, while Mikko Juusola also found the Flames’ goalie when played in through the slot. The Flames’ best chances prior to scoring fell to Daniel Tedesco and Ryan Tait, both of whom fired over Matt Greenfield’s net.
Kupsky made a diving save to haul the puck off the line with his stick around the halfway mark of the period off a deflected Marc-Olivier Vallerand shot.
The game’s opening goal was a special finish from Matt Alvaro, who deked Greenfield and finished high with a backhanded shot into the roof of the net with 20 seconds left in the period.
Sheffield levelled the game early in period two with Mitchell Balmas given space in the slot to fire past Kupsky just 64 seconds after the break. The home side weren’t level for long, though, with Travis Brown taking his time and picking his spot past Greenfield at 23:38 while Daniel Leavens sat a high-sticking minor. Sheffield came again as they looked to equalise, but Kupsky wasn't to be beaten despite a few scrambles around the crease. However, the Flames should have been further ahead when they broke 3-on-1 but Daniel Tedesco opted for an extra pass instead of shooting, and the opportunity went begging.
The period ended with Charlie Dodero being ejected for slashing after video review, putting the Steelers on a five-minute advantage that would carry over to the third period.
That penalty, and the Flames not having increased their lead, came back to hurt the hosts. Juusola finished high 67 seconds into the period to level the game, and then Brandon Whistle put them ahead at 43:25.
“Sheffield are a really good team, and I thought we played well taking away a lot of their space on the ice. They got that five-minute powerplay, and when you give a team like that a five-minute advantage they have the players on their team to get the job done," said Flames' Travis Brown. "It was tough to come back from that, we gave it our all, but kudos to them."
The Flames survived being down to three skaters but were punished as they chased the game late - Robert Dowd wristing home on the rush at 52:50 to make it 4-2 to the Steelers. Kupsky was pulled with 2:15 to play, but Daniel Leavens' empty-netter settled the game with 97 seconds to go.
"When we lose a defenseman like that, which was unfortunate because Charlie is a big part of our d-core, the five of us just have to step up, We have to take quicker shifts and make sure we think defense first," added Brown.
"Sheffield defend very well. If you don't score they're very good in transition and will turn it around very quickly. You can't give them anything or they'll punish you for your mistakes."
