EIHL Game Summary: Sheffield Steelers 2 Belfast Giants 1
The Sheffield Steelers had to rely on two of their more seasoned faces at the Motorpoint Arena on Sunday night, as Jonathan Phillips and Jason Hewitt linked up for a third period goal to push the Steelers past the Belfast Giants by a final score of 2-1.
The Giants stole the lead early on, as Darryl Lloyd finished the game’s first real opportunity sublimely to give his side the early momentum. The Steelers though would level up before the close of the first period, with Stefan Meyer scoring from close in off a smart assist from Captain Steven Goertzen.
In the second, the Giants pressed and pressed, with only the very impressive Frank Doyle in the Sheffield net keeping the home side in the game. Doyle saved two penalty shots, as well as countless other Belfast efforts to keep the score at 1-1 going into the third period.
From there the Giants would be cursing Doyle’s heroics, as the Steelers stole the lead with just under ten minutes to play. Hewitt, playing in his 500th game for the club, worked his way into position behind the goal, unleashing a shot which, with a hint of fortune, was deflected into the path of Phillips who may not have known much about it but managed to guide the puck into the net to give the Steelers the 2-1 win.