The Dynamic property services Solway Sharks returned back to home ice to face the Sheffield Steeldogs after a disappointing weekend against reigning Champions, Leeds Knights but fell agonisingly short to the visitors in a narrow 3-4 scoreline.

Solway iced a squad of 17+2 as #71 Craig Peacock made his debut following the announcement of his temporary signing to act as cover for the Great Britain u20s Sharks, #88 Kyle Carruth, #21 Torran Anderson and #17 Joe Lynch. Meanwhile, #15 Kieran Hair returned into the lineup after a sustained period out through injury. However, #25 Connor Henderson also remained on the injury list and #53 Kian Shevlin iced with his newly signed SNL team, Kirkcaldy Kestrels.

On the other hand, Sheffield also travelled with 17+2 missing their NIHL1 2-way players and additionally #11 Finlay Ulrick. Sharks once again opted for #33 Jordan Marr in between the pipes, matched up against #30 Ben Norton for Steeldogs.

1st period

Sharks claimed a man advantage in the opening as #18 Sam Tremblay sat for high sticks at 47 seconds, but Solway failed to punish the visitors early. Both sides struggled to get going quickly in the first period leading to consistent battles for possession in the neutral zone. Steeldogs’ first line fired multiple shots on Marr as the halfway mark approached but he matched their efforts to maintain a goal-less scoreline.

Sharks reversed the momentum of play, which allowed #9 Mason Alderson to deke and dangle past the Sheffield defence to slot the puck past Norton in the bottom corner, giving Solway the lead at 16:45. Norton then corrected his error and followed with arguably the best save of the period to deny Nolan Gardiner’s one-timer from the slot. The Steeldogs then found an equaliser as #72 Ivan Björkly-Nordström broke through the zones and fired wide of Marr’s catcher at 18:53. After a slow start, the scores remained tied at 1-1 heading into the middle frame.

2nd period

Solway were eager to re-claim their initial lead early in the 2nd period and did just that thanks to #89 Scott Henderson who capitalised on the rebound following #14 Lewis Young’s initial backhand shot at 22:30. The Sharks piled on the offensive pressure, but Norton coped well to prevent Solway extending the lead. Steeldogs were handed their first powerplay of the evening at 26:56 as #43 Nolan Gardiner sat for cross-checking, but a strong PK unit retained Solway’s advantage.

Sheffield created chances of their own following their PP opportunity, but Marr stood tall for Solway once more as the halfway mark of the game approached. Sheffield’s top goal-scorer #8 Walker Sommer let one rip from the left face-off circle which Marr got a piece of, but not enough to deny him another equaliser as the puck trickled over the line at 33:45.

The hosts gave up another penalty at 36:23 when #5 Olivier Arseneau was called for holding which resulted in #37 Elmeri Hällfors giving Sheffield the go-ahead goal at 37:25 on the rebound from #20 Jonathan Phillips’ initial strike. Despite Sharks returning to full strength, #8 Walker Sommer caught Solway lacking on the change and deked past Marr to send Steeldogs 2 goals clear at 38:52, allowing the visitors to carry the lead into the final frame.

3rd period

Sharks returned for the final period with clear intent as Captain #10 Liam Stenton led by example, firing top corner past Norton at 40:51 to reduce the deficit to just a single goal. Solway continued to make plays through all 3 lines, yet #30 Ben Norton arguably kept the Steeldogs ahead on various occasions with some stellar saves.

A moment of controversy hit the game at 47:59 as Sharks were adamant #22 John Dunbar put the puck past the line before the whistle, although the officials waved the equaliser off the scoreboard. Sheffield overturned the run of play multiple times, but the Sharks defence and Marr battled well in the Solway zone to prevent an additional marker for the Steeldogs.

Solway were awarded a man advantage in the final 4 seconds of play as #18 Sam Tremblay sat for embellishment, whilst also pulling Marr to force 6on4 play, but the Dogs tied up the face-off seeing them claim the full 2 points on a narrow 3-4 scoreline.

MVPs were awarded to #9 Mason Alderson for Solway after his impressive opener, whilst #20 Jonathan Phillips claimed the title for Sheffield following his consistent offensive pressure.