Slight Return

The biggest rivalry in European hockey? The claim has often seemed a little overblown, but the ongoing battle royale between the Sheffield Steelers and the Nottingham Panthers more than proved its worth the weekend before last.

Sheffield triumphed three goals to two in the first meeting of the season between the sides in a tumultuous encounter at the National Ice Centre that offered up no less than 64 shots and four fights. Quite the talking point, in a season which has already been filled with the closest of games up and down the Elite League, as well-stacked teams clash in game after game of physical, skilful, can’t-tear-your-eyes away hockey.

My excitement for the return fixture this Saturday home at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield was palpable – and not without cause. It was my first game of the season, and in addition to the feisty contest the previous weekend that gave rise to hopes of a similarly thrilling match-up, it was my first opportunity to see long-time Panthers Captain Danny Meyers in a Steelers uniform following probably the most controversial occurrence of the British hockey off-season. Oh, and there was the small matter of a REAL LIFE NHL PLAYER icing for the first time, Anthony Stewart of the Carolina Hurricanes having signed for the Panthers on a short-term contract earlier in the week.

A real life NHL-er! Be still my beating heart! In a season whose very existence is threatened by the NHL lockout and in which we have only the Elite League to keep us sane, it was a small but significant consolation and one which brightened up my already optimistic outlook on the evening ahead as I settled into my seat for my first slice of ice hockey action of the 2012/13 season.

I’d dearly love to tell you that the game lived up to my not insignificant expectations. But I’d telling you barefaced lies and that’s not my style. I’d love to give you a blow-by-blow account of the action as per my usual reporting style but as there really wasn’t a great deal, I, er, won’t. Is the neutral factor starting to wear a little thin? Well, yes – but that wasn’t the only problem.

So what can I tell you? I’m a bit out of practice to be quite honest with you, and the hockey I was presented with on my return to the Elite League fold did not have me spouting forth poetically. But let’s not exaggerate. It wasn’t ALL bad. The game started brightly: end to end, with a few tentative shots on goal but no real end product. The excitement of the appearance of Anthony Stewart had overshadowed all else for me, but he was something of an enigma, the period broken up excessively by short shifts, and every time I got a lock on him he was already on his way off of the ice (with consummate style and grace, it must be noted). There was a real lack of flow to the game and the atmosphere was distinctly muted, and despite a couple of powerplays the deadlock remained unbroken, penalty kill units strong for both sides.

Was it me? AGAIN? Was I destined to kill hockey for yet another season? My powers are seemingly boundless. But the second period was immediately more promising, in that it opened with a goal less than a minute in, scored by the visitors – Jordan Fox to be precise. Time to spark a spirited comeback from the home side? Er, sort of. Jeff Legue almost snatched an immediate reply for the Steelers, a great effort on the break saved by Craig Kowalski, who turned away a few more shots in the period of Steelers pressure that followed.

Defenceman Rod Sarich was the standout Steeler, purported star players such as Pecker and Limpright failing to grab headlines, Tylor Michel the most explosive of the forwards and his linemate Ashley Tait more of a threat than some of the import talent on display. A Panthers powerplay almost produced a second goal for the visitors, a puck drifting into John DeCaro’s crease and floating to a halt right on the line. It seemed to take an age for the home netminder to notice, as Panthers scrambled in slow motion towards the dormant puck but DeCaro finally turned around and pounced upon the errant little bugger, saving the Steelers from a two-goal deficit.

After that brief flurry of excitement everything deflated once more, until the Steelers scored their equaliser with just under five minutes to play in the second. A simple pass across goal from Pecker gifted Legue an easy tap-in. Despite a Steelers powerplay there was no further action to be had and we went into the third with the scores at stalemate.

The first thing of note in the third period was Panthers’ David Ling’s impressive stick-handling. The guy’s skill set is clearly in a different class and both he and Bruce Graham, along with the elusive NHL-er Stewart, proved themselves a cut above in brief flashes, but sadly for the Panthers their contributions to the game were inconsistent. The period ticked away, still with very little in the way of meaningful action. The Panthers had more of the possession in the first half of the period, but this changed around ten minutes in when Steelers put their foot on the gas and assaulted Kowalski’s goal for a frenetic couple of minutes of sustained attack, K-Wall pulling off some heroic saves to keep the scoreline at one apiece. Meanwhile, up in the stands, angry note-taking was occurring as my frustration built. Players weren’t finishing checks, there was no physicality, and no real heart being shown by any player outside of Michel and Kowalski. This was a serious disappointment. I will point out that the Steelers defence were still performing admirably, Matt Stephenson commanding in particular, and the Panthers didn’t seem to have the inclination to break them down.

Overtime came and went, the supposedly bitter rivals continuing to cancel each other out without so much of a sniff of conflict or a whiff or a game winner. The only hint of attrition between the sides came just moments before the final buzzer, Panther’s defenceman Jason Beckett taking exception to a scuffle in front of goal, but nothing materialised. The Steelers took a time out to scrape together whatever scrap of an idea they had left and they staged a vaguely spirited attack in the last moments of overtime but it was too little too late, and despite a last ditch effort by a couple of the players to start some trouble (even I had lost my appetite for it by that point) we were heading for penalties.

The last time I witnessed a shoot-out it was extremely exciting as it followed a fantastic game which could have gone either way. This felt like a grim inevitability playing out, and as such I could not get excited as the penalty takers stepped up and took their shots. As it goes, Panthers’ quality finally shone through; they took the extra point, David Ling’s the highlight of the three well-taken penalties, a beautiful faked sniper shot indicative of his vast experience at the top level of hockey. The Steelers could not convert a single shot, Kowalski equal to them all, and the Panthers were victorious.

So is the future orange? Or is it black and gold? I’m not sure based on this showing. Neither team look good for the title going purely on this performance, maybe not even the conference. Someone show me the Giants or the Blaze. Where was the battling, the tireless effort? In other barns, according to the scorelines coming in from around the league. I was disgruntled. In fact, I may never have been less gruntled.

I sloped dejectedly back to the pub for a wee tipple, the subject of conversation very swiftly moving on from game analysis. There was nothing to analyse. It was an ignominious return to Elite League Hockey for this nomad. I’m sorry. I promise to do better next time. Just so long as the teams give me something to work with. It’s not too much to ask, is it?