16 Mar 2024, 19:00 | Regular season | Sheffield Arena |
Sheffield Steelers | 3-2 SO | Nottingham Panthers |
Periods: Shots: | 0-0 (15-5) | 1-1 (4-6) | 1-1 (9-3) | 0-0 (2-2) | Total: 30-16 |
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Referees: Miller/Good  |  Spectators: 8291 |
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Goals and assists
Sheffield Steelers moved back to 12 points clear at the top of the
Elite League thanks to a shootout win over Nottingham Panthers, and
results elsewhere.
The 8,291-strong crowd at the Utilita Arena had
to wait over half an hour for the game's first goal, and then got two
in as many minutes. Marc-Olivier Vallerand put the Steelers ahead at
33:49, only for Westin Michaud to tie things up at 35:23.
The
Panthers then took the lead 4:38 into period three with an Otto Nieminen
goal after the Steelers had been given a bench minor for Too Many Men.
That lead lasted less then two minutes, however, with Steelers captain
Robert Dowd making things all square again at 48:26.
With the
teams locked in at two each after regulation, overtime followed.
Mitchell Balmas had a swing and a miss with arguably the Steelers' best
chance, while in the final seconds of the bonus period Alexander Lunsjo
saw his shot come back off the iron.
It took all five rounds of
the shootout to finally separate the teams, as only Vallerand and Lunsjo
scored through the first two. Mikko Juusola and Hugo Roy both hit the
post on successive attempts, before Patrick Watling's goal in Round 3
was enough to earn the hosts the extra point.