Steelers claim hard-fought victory in first Continental Cup game

Photo: Dean Woolley

The Sheffield Steelers were victorious in their opening 2022 IIHF Continental Cup game, beating hosts Aalborg Pirates 3-1 at the Gigantium. 

Sheffield survived just over seconds of 5-on-3 for the hosts early on as they took penalties during the opening phase of the game, but the period ended with the Yorkshire side ahead, despite being outshot 11-6, thanks to Anthony DeLuca's snipe through some traffic with 17:31 played.

The Steelers went into the game missing Tanner Eberle, Robert Dowd and Marc-Olivier Vallerand, and were then down Brendan Connolly after the middle period in which the hosts had the lion's share of the chances and the shot count by 9-2.

Aalborg's pressure eventually got them a breakthrough - Nikolaj Carstensen's shot from the point was deflected past Barry Brust by Kirill Kabanov in front of the net for the tying goal at 49:36.

Sheffield had to absorb more pressure from the hosts before a touch of fortune helped them restore their lead - Martin Látal snapped into the net with 5:01 left on the clock. Aalborg challenged the play for a high stick, but lost the review and took a bench minor for their troubles.

With 0.9 seconds left in the game, Matias Sointu found the empty net after the hosts pushed for the equaliser to confirm the Steelers win.

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