Steeldogs beat Bison in OT thriller The Bradfield Brewery Sheffield Steeldogs played their only game of the weekend versus the Basingstoke Bison. Sheffield were without Coach Andre Payette but otherwise had a full bench. Dalibor Sedlar started in goal with Dean Skinns starting for the Bison. The final meeting at iceSheffield between the two teams this season got off at a level of pace and intensity that continued throughout the match. Both sides showed they could break with speed, finish their hits and provide a physical edge. Lee Haywood took a penalty for slashing and whilst the Dogs were killing the penalty, Duncombe tried clearing the zone and found Wood who sprang Ozolins. The little Latvian skinned two Bison and beat Skinns at 11.16. The niggle remained in the game and during a 4 on 4 Ozolins again beat Skinns but not the post. The Bison capitalised on the space and Sheppard spun in the slot and beat Sedlar. The Dogs regained the lead straight from the face off. A Hirst shot from the blue line hit the back of the net. The Steeldogs went into the break with a 2-1 lead. You couldn’t take your eyes off the game at all in the first few minutes of the second period; it only took Basingstoke 65 seconds to level the scores, good pressure in front of Sedlar led to Sheppard back handing the puck home. The Steeldogs struck straight back again, this time Korhon burying the puck. Minutes later, more magic from Ozolins put Sheffield 4-2 up; he dangled the puck and then fired it over the net minder. Real end to end action with both teams making the net minders produce the saves. The visitors were undaunted, Sheppard putting a shot wide and Watt hammering one into the cross bar. Sedlar faced 18 shots from the Bison in this period but kept the score at 4-2 to the home team. The final session seemed a little calmer than what had gone before as Basingstoke looked for the goals to get them back in whilst Sheffield looked for number five without over-committing. The chess game continued until 48:14 when Ciaran Long scored. The newly energised Bison kicked on and Connolly levelled the scores within a minute. Basingstoke really gained the momentum and soon took the lead at 52.53 when Morgan failed to clear the zone and Karpov powered the puck over Sedlar. The Steeldogs were not going quietly and when they got a power play opportunity in the final two minutes, Andy Hirst bagged his second of the night to send the game into OT. Both net minders faced some rubber in the sudden death 5 minute overtime. On 62:24 it was Sheffield’s Korhon was on the spot to rip it home after Haywood rampaged down the left wing. This sent the home team into raptures on the ice and Skinns to throw his stick over the plexi in frustration*. What can Sheffield take from this game? Keep the penalty minutes down, giving up just 4 minutes in the whole game and take the shots when they offer themselves, 38 SOG in the game. It certainly worked for them tonight. They will look to build on this next week when a trip to Swindon is followed by another Sunday night game at iceSheffield, with the MK Lightning in town, fighting over a play-off spot with the Steeldogs. Final score Sheffield Steeldogs 6 – 5 Basingstoke Bison OT *If you left at the end of the game with Skinns’ stick, would you please return it. Sticks are expensive and it was a brand new one he was using tonight. The Steeldogs would appreciate it if you would return it and we are sure Dean and the Bison would too. Please contact the club.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 22:09:56 +0000
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