Steelers fans had been warned of a frantic opening 10 minutes by Aaron Fox in last night’s fixture against long standing rivals the Nottingham Panthers, and he wasn’t wrong.
In the opening minutes of the game Notts’ Duggie Lagrone who was knocked unconscious following an awkward collision with a Steelers player.
Thankfully though, he was seen talking with medical staff and gave a reassuring thumbs up to the applauding Steelers and Panthers fans.
Rivalry was put to one side as Steelers’ Danny Kristo brought the stretcher to the then-unconscious Notts defender, who thankfully did not require hospital treatment, and, reassuringly, travelled home with his Panthers teammates.
Lagrone has only just returned from a head injury following a game against Manchester Storm so concern from the sidelines was justifiable.
Steelers head coach Aaron Fox admitted after the game that the incident dampened proceedings in the opening exchanges.
He said: “It absolutely did suck the life out of the first period. But we were outstanding. We only gave up two shots and suffocated them defensively.”
The second period saw Steelers score two goals in quick succession. Danny Kristo, who spoke exclusively to Sheffield Wire before the match, was the first to put a puck in the back of the net before Piche doubled the lead for the Steelers.
Chances grew in number for Fox’s players but derbies are never straight forward.
After Corey Nielson’s appointment as new head coach for the Panthers, this fixture was never going to stick to script. So when Kelly Summers equalised with only five seconds of regulation time remaining, Notts fans may have been forgiven for thinking the same magic that Nielson wielded when he won 14 trophies for his team was at work in his first game back.
The stars appeared to be aligning as sudden death beckoned.
Both sides went close in a frenetic overtime and it was only penalties that could separate the two sides in the end. Brendan Connolly’s sudden death penalty was enough to ruin Nielson’s hope of a dream first game, much to the elation of the frenzied Steelers faithful.
Following the on rink celebrations, opening scorer Danny Kristo said afterwards it was a “good win for the team.”
Fox praised a “huge and awesome crowd” of more than 7,600 fans at the Utilita Sheffield Arena, as his side now look to chase down Guildford Flames. With two games in hand on the league leaders, the dream of bringing silverware back to Sheffield is still on very much alive.
