Steelers edge Devils in OT

Photo: James Assinder

Sheffield Steelers surrendered a two-goal lead but beat Cardiff Devils in overtime to move into second place in the Elite League standings on Saturday night.

“I thought it was a great game of hockey from both teams,” said Steelers captain Robert Dowd. “Cardiff came out really fast, we weathered the storm well.”

After strong early pressure from the Devils, the Steelers took the lead on the rush as Mikko Juusola set up Mitchell Balmas in the slot to open the scoring inside five minutes. Riley Brandt replied for the Devils when he finished neatly from a Ben Davies pass, but the period ended with Dowd restoring Sheffield’s lead with 82 seconds left.

Just 2:23 into period two, Derek Gentile banked a shot off Ben Bowns’ skate from behind the goal line. The puck looped up, hit the back bar and came out, but the goal was confirmed after video review to put Sheffield 3-1 ahead.

Cardiff thought they had pulled one back 37 seconds later, but Aaron Fox successfully challenged for goalie interference. The Devils did reduce the deficit when Jimmy Oligny’s shot from the point found its way through traffic at 34:28, and just over a minute later Krystoff Kontos tied the game.

“Cardiff came back to it in the second, and you expect that from a team like them,” continued Dowd. “On the road you’d take tied at three each going into the third. I think we bent but did not break, we were solid. Matt Greenfield was fantastic throughout that game - Cardiff had some great chances in all three periods. He was our best player.”

Period three ended scoreless, although a late powerplay gave Cardiff a big chance to win it, only for Greenfield to make two outstanding saves.

In overtime, Balmas followed up his own effort to score the winner for Sheffield.

The night also marked Dowd’s 900th game for the Steelers. “It’s pretty special,” he added. “It’s a long time to get to that number, but I could not do it without my family and the support I get from them.”