Clan take third win out of four against Steelers

Photo: Al Goold

Glasgow Clan extended their record against Sheffield Steelers this season to 3–1 with a 5-3 home win at Braehead Arena on Friday night.

“The boys knew this was going to be a huge game, we had a good week of practice and the fans really helped us out tonight,” began Clan’s Tristin Langan. “It was a sold-out barn, great to see, and it was great to grab the win! It should give us confidence heading to Cardiff on Sunday.”

Lucas Brine started in goal for Glasgow with Sami Aittokallio sidelined through injury, while Matthew Greenfield was between the pipes at the other end as the Steelers opened their Scottish triple-header.

Glasgow struck first when Joe Hazeldine finished a setup from Hugo Roy and Deven Sideroff, but Sheffield responded later in the period as Brien Diffley fired home from the slot.

It was a physical opening frame, highlighted by a shoving match in front of the benches that resulted in coincidental roughing penalties for Tristin Langan and Mitchell Heard.

The second period turned into an end-to-end affair, with Glasgow turning a 1-1 game into a 3-2 lead thanks to goals from Steven Seigo and Rylan Schwartz. Sheffield replied late in the frame as Kevin Tansey’s shot levelled the game at 3-3 heading into the second intermission.

“It was a back-and-forth game, but I think we had to stick with it,” added Langan. “The fans kept us in it, they were loud the entire time and really kept us going.”

Greenfield made a series of stellar saves as Clan began to build momentum going forward. However, it was a stop from Brine that proved crucial to deciding the game. An excellent pad save to deny Mitchell Balmas’ one-timer allowed Clan to rush up the ice, where Langan called a switch with Steven Seigo but shot top shelf himself to put Clan ahead with 7:03 remaining.

The Steelers pulled Greenfield with over two minutes to play while on the power play to create a 6-on-4 opportunity, but to no avail. Mitchell Heard had an excellent chance in front of Brine but couldn’t beat the Clan netminder. Langan then made the points safe with 23 seconds remaining, poking home Colton Poolman’s empty-net attempt which looked as though it might be drifting wide.

“I haven’t watched it back, but I wasn’t sure if that was going in or not!” joked Langan. “I’m sorry if it was, but when you get caught in that moment you just make sure it ends the game! If it was going in, I’ll owe him!”