The Sheffield Steelers unbeaten start to the challenge cup campaign came to an abrupt end this past weekend suffering back to back defeats firstly a 4-3 loss away at Nottingham on Saturday night followed be a disappointing performance at home against the Cardiff Devils. The Steelers got off to a perfect star as John Armstrong put the puck past Ben Bowns after 26 seconds to give the Steelers the lead Mark Richardson equalised for the Devils at 4:11 however at 8:30 Armstrong would get his 2nd goal of the game to give the Steelers a 2-1 lead after the 1st period. However it would be all downhill for there as the Steelers poor defence would gift the Devils 3 goals in the 2nd period Layne Ulmer at 32;43, Gleason Fournier at 34:09 and Joey Martin at 38:24 would give the Devils a 4-2 lead going into the final period. Things went from bad to worse as Jake Morissette scored the Devils 5th at 42.33. Ben O'Connor would score at 50:25 but it would only be a consolation as the Devils took a 5-3 win and the 2 points.
Final thoughts - The Steelers defence seriously needs to sharpen up if we want any chance of winning any silverware this season. Once again the Devils look like serious contenders
My man of the match - John Armstrong
Up next - The Steelers will look for a winning start as we begin our campaign for a 3rd straight elite league title when we welcome a struggling Braehead Clan to the Sheffield arena followed by a trip across the Pennines to face the Storm in challenge cup action.
