15 Feb 2025, 18:00 | Regular season | Guildford Spectrum |
Guildford Flames | 2-5 | Sheffield Steelers |
Periods: Shots: | 1-0 (12-20) | 1-1 (10-20) | 0-4 (8-22) | Total: 30-62 |
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Referees: #50 James Ions, #11 Matt Rose  |  Spectators: 1956 |
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Goals and assists
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."