Posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
The Sheffield Steelers are probably still having nightmares of last weekend after the two games and four points we snatched from them on Friday and Saturday Night.
Friday’s game at the Odyssey had to be the most exciting comeback in our ten year history and although we didn’t make it easy on ourselves in the first two periods, there is something to be said about the heart and pure guts it took to battle back from 4-1 down in the final ten minutes of the game.
The two goals by Evan Cheverie will be etched in my mind for a long, long time and probably in the mind of the Steelers defenceman who Evan outmuscled with nine seconds left to get to the net and tip in George Awada’s pass for the game winner. The atmosphere was simply amazing throughout the night, with just over 5000 people packed into the Odyssey for one of the most memorable games of the season.
Our two wins, along with the loss on Saturday for the Coventry Blaze has brought us right back into the thick of things for the Elite League title, making Saturday’s battle with the Capitals even bigger than usual. I have to tip my hat to the Scottish side and in particular to their coach Doug Christiansen who has done a tremendous job this season in bringing a team that has historically been near the bottom of the league to a top five team in the Elite League. These guys definitely have some fire power, so keep an eye on guys like Simon Lambert, Dan Welch, former Giant Jeff Hutchins and Owen Fussey, all who can put the puck in the net. So we will need our big guns like Shields, Szwez, Bateman and Cheverie to outplay their big guns, which is easier said than done with this year’s Capitals squad.
Last weekend, Steve Thornton was in the hospital with a very sick little daughter, who I am happy to report is back at home and doing well. I was on the texts with Steve from the hospital room throughout the game to keep him updated. Luckily, we have a very capable bench coach in Rob Stewart who is used to being back behind the bench by himself although on Friday night he had some help from the injured Shane Johnson who was running the defence for the night.
Finally, I just want to applaud our home support over the last few games, in particular the energy you all brought to the game on Friday Night. I always tell the guys that winning does not bring atmosphere, but atmosphere brings winning, so if we can give the fans plenty to get excited about, they will feed off of us and we will in turn feed off of their energy and enthusiasm. Well done to all of you in the stands last weekend, except for the group that walked out with ten minutes remaining to get out of the car park early, you missed the best ten minutes of the season so far, but at least you got home 20 minutes earlier, right?
Todd Kelman
General Manager
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