24:29	|	home	|	PPG	|	1-0	|	Mitchell Heard (Dominic Cormier, Derek Gentile)
29:30	|	home	|		|	2-0	|	Jack Dougherty (Evan Jasper, Robert Dowd)
32:14	|	home	|		|	3-0	|	Robert Dowd (Mitchell Balmas, Joona Huttula)
43:23	|	home	|		|	4-0	|	Mitchell Balmas (Stephen Harper, Clifford Pu)

Name		G		A		PIM		+/-
Mitchell Balmas	|	1	|	1	|		|
Ivan Björkly-Nordström	|		|		|		|
Dominic Cormier	|		|	1	|		|
Brien Diffley	|		|		|	2	|
Jack Dougherty	|	1	|		|		|
Robert Dowd	|	1	|	1	|		|
Derek Gentile	|		|	1	|		|
Stephen Harper	|		|	1	|	4	|
Mitchell Heard	|	1	|		|	2	|
Joona Huttula	|		|	1	|		|
Evan Jasper	|		|	1	|		|
Reece Kelly	|		|		|		|
Logan Neilson	|		|		|		|
Clifford Pu	|		|	1	|	2	|
Jordon Southorn	|		|		|		|
Ryan Tait	|		|		|		|
Kevin Tansey	|		|		|		|
Samuel Tremblay	|		|		|		|

Name		G		A		PIM		+/-
Ryan Barrow	|		|		|		|
Riley Brandt	|		|		|		|
Connor Caponi	|		|		|		|
Ben Davies	|		|		|		|
Samuel Duggan	|		|		|		|
Brandon Estes	|		|		|		|
Gleason Fournier	|		|		|		|
Bayley Harewood	|		|		|	2	|
Tyson Helgesen	|		|		|		|
Kristoff Kontos	|		|		|		|
Josh MacDonald	|		|		|		|
Steven MacLean	|		|		|		|
Joey Martin	|		|		|		|
Evan Mosey	|		|		|		|
Jimmy Oligny	|		|		|	4	|
Kohen Olischefski	|		|		|		|
Brett Perlini	|		|		|		|
Mark Richardson	|		|		|		|
Cole Sanford	|		|		|		|
Nolan Yaremko	|		|		|		|

 

Name		SA		GA		MIN		%
Matthew Greenfield	|	28	|	1	|	60:00	|	96.43
Curtis Warburton	|		|		|		|

Name		SA		GA		MIN		%
Ben Bowns	|		|		|		|
Christian Stoever	|	35	|	4	|	60:00	|	88.57

 

Sheffield Steelers booked their place in the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup with a 4-1 victory over Cardiff Devils at the Utilita Arena on Sunday afternoon.

“I feel great, the vibes in the room are awesome, everyone’s made me feel really welcome here,” said Mitch Heard, who’s in his first week with the Steelers. “This is a big building, you feed up the crowd and it’s such an empowering moment. I’m up for the challenge of playing here.”

The opening period was scoreless but far from dull, with heavy hits, chances at both ends, and a powerplay opportunity each. Both Matt Greenfield and Christian Stoever were called into action, while Stephen Harper came closest to breaking the deadlock when his tip deflected just wide in the final minute.

The second period belonged to the Steelers, who struck three times without reply. Mitchell Heard opened the scoring on the powerplay at 21:54, firing a wrist shot from the right circle past Stoever for his first goal in orange.

“It was important to come out with confidence and have everyone pulling the rope the same way,” said Heard. “The preparation off the ice is so good, we come into the game prepared, and there’s no thinking.”

Jack Dougherty doubled the advantage five minutes later when Evan Jasper found him from below the goal line, the defenseman blasting home from the point. Robert Dowd added a third soon after, wiring a shot from the left circle past Stoever at 31:43 to make it 3-0 and prompt a timeout from the Devils’ bench.

“We’re disappointed, I don’t think we played our best. We allowed Sheffield, who are a very good team, to play their game, rather than forcing them into our style of play,” admitted Devils Mark Richardson.

Trailing by three, Cardiff needed a big third period, but their hopes faded when Mitchell Balmas made it 4-0 for the hosts early in the frame. Joey Martin pulled one back for the Devils with just over 12 minutes to play, but it was only a consolation as Sheffield comfortably saw out the game.

The Steelers’ win confirmed their progression to the knockout stages and kept them on course to finish as the top seed overall in the Challenge Cup group phase.

“Our focus turns to the league now, but there’s no hiding from the fact that in the Cup we’ll now have to go to Guildford and win that game. All we can do now is focus and try to get better from this point” concluded Richardson.