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2014
Veteran Steelers blue liner Mark Thomas is delighted at Rod Sarich’s return. But captain Steven Goertzen will not be returning to the club next season. On Sarich, Thomas said: “I could never understand why we didn’t re-sign Roddy last year. He is a player who makes a difference and a key on the power-play. I don’t think the year off will have effected him at all. He is super fit and now probably so motivated to come back better than ever before. All the players will be happy to see him back; he is a Steeler through and through.
Also Jonathan Philips agreed a two year deal and Rob Dowd extends his contract, Jason Hewitt signed and will take a testimonial next year, one year after Mark Thomas and he joins Phil Hill to make up a formidable Brit Pack.
Sheffield Steelers’ coach Gerad Adams has signed another former Cardiff Devils star, Jay Latulippe, succeeded in luring the 32-year-old American, who iced for Cardiff 2008-10.Speaking after making his first import forward signing of the Summer, Adams said: “He is my type of player. He competes every night and is hard to play against. He will bring us energy and is just the kind of players other teams don’t like against them.
Steelers also signed a two-way deal with Peterborough Phantoms for young forward Luke Ferrara
The signing of Mike Forney an American Centre was confirmed.
The Motorpoint Arena could be a little more entertaining next season after the Steelers confirmed the signing of 32 year old Canadian Pascal Morency. The 5’10 200lb winger is know to be an aggressive agitator who will be the heartbeat of the team.“I’ve known about and followed Pascal for many years” said head coach Gerad Adams “I knew one day I’d get the chance to sign him and when that chance came along I jumped“The one word everyone tells you about this man is “Enthusiasm”for the game, the his team mates, for team play. Pascal plays with an edge, he will bring us some “screw you”.
Sheffield Steelers today, on the 26th, made the most astonishing signing in their history- a spot-fixing cheat. Canadian Tyler Mosienko bet against his own team, in January this year. He and others were exposed and shown the door at Esbjerg, Denmark. The 30-year-old had joined in a plot to place bets that his own team would concede at least once in the first period of a specific game - they conceded three, ending up losing 7-4. Further “unethical” bets on other games were made by team-mates, according to Danish press. But, in a huge irony, the whistle was blown when goalie Ervin Muštukovs - a former Sheffield Steeler - was approached to take part and alerted the authorities. Other team-mates who were not in the know, including another ex-Sheffielder Shawn Limpright, were furious. Spot-fixing, where a specific part of a game is rigged for financial benefit, is outlawed. Mosienko was banned for five games and fined around Ł500. He left to play in Alaska, reportedly saying: “My life is in ruins.”
Mosienko told the Sheffield Star: "I bet on goals conceded on my own game. A guy (team-mate) had asked me to do something and I said OK, and went with it. I wish I could have that moment back. I shouldn’t have done it, it was a mistake and I never thought about the consequences. Now I have to rebuild my career and my life. At no point did I intend to fix the result or let anybody score against us. In the game (he was playing for Esbjerg v Rungsted Hockey; his team lost 7-4.) I was definitely not inviting a goal against; that was never in my mind, I am a fierce competitor and play to win. In fact, I think I got three points in that game and hit a post."
AUGUST: Steelers signed right handed shot, Darrel Hay early in the month and then filled their roster with forward Colton Fretter
SEPTEMBER:
Intro video:
Ice problems (as in not freezing) meant the home opener against Dundee was cancelled and the games against Fife Flyers and Belfast was moved to Ice Sheffield. This led to discussions about if season ticket holders would get a fair crack of the whip so Tony Smith issued a statement explaining the problem. However at the end of the month order was restored as Steelers took on Cardiff back at the Motorpoint Arena.
OCTOBER
ALL good things come to an end and – last night in Cardiff Devils’ notorious ‘Big Blue Tent’ – Sheffield Steelers saw their eight-match winning run ruthlessly halted. Never the easiest of places for any visiting team, the players returned home in the early hours of this morning having conceded five goals in South Wales for the second time this season. Domestically, Cardiff are the only team so far to have got the better of the Steelers. The Devils have made their building an imposing fortress in recent years, in part because the ice surface at their ‘temporary’ home is smaller than at most other UK top-flight rinks. Boisterous fans and teams not afraid to mix it up physically have also helped make life difficult for Elite League rivals when they make the trip down there. It had been the Steelers’ night 24 hours earlier in a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Nottingham Panthers in front of a near-7,000 crowd, going top of Group B in the Challenge Cup in the process.
ONE DIRECTION’S rescheduled concert has angered ice hockey team Sheffield Steelers, who hit out at the “unacceptable” late postponement of their fixture with Belfast Giants on Friday night to make way for the group’s gig. The chart-topping band - Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - pulled out of a concert at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Tuesday after Payne fell ill, and the rescheduled show will now take place on Friday, in place of the Elite League game.
NOVEMBER
Sheffield Steelers have been hit with a brace of injuries which threaten to derail their title hopes. Forward Jason Hewitt, who has been enjoying a super-charged season, appeared to injure his leg in Sunday’s win against Braehead Clan and that has now been confirmed as medial collateral ligament damage inside his knee, he could be out for six weeks. On top of that import defenceman Dustin Kohn has knee issues, also, and is out for between two and three weeks. Neither have missed a game this season, so far. Rob Dowd also looked as if he had injured his wrist again, against Clan, but should be OK. The injury news comes at a time when Steelers have just recorded three straight league wins, taking them to third position in the Elite League. They are a point behind joint leaders Braehead and Belfast but with three games in hand on both.
DECEMBER: On Boxing Day the largest EIHL crowd, 8000+ were disappointed as Steelers started a small 'blip' with defeat at the hands of Nottingham.
Jeff Legue returned to Sheffield Steelers this afternoon in the biggest match of the Elite League ice hockey calendar, but he will chose the forget this game and its result. Offensively Steelers were strangely subdued early on against a resolute Nottingham Panthers. Legue, who quit his three year contract at Sheffield Steeldogs a few days ago, was on the ‘third’ line with Danny Bois and Rod Sarich, which means on-form Phil Hill lost that slot.
JANUARY:
Former NHL forward Danny Bois paid the price for Sheffield Steelers’ inconsistent results yesterday - with his job. Coach Gerad Adams fired the 31-year-old Canadian winger after just 14 games with the club. It brings to an end a somewhat unusual spell which started with a severe beating on his debut, at Braehead Clan, on November 21, not long after he’d arrived jet-lagged into the country.
Sheffield Steelers yesterday pulled off a lightning move in the transfer market after an injury to their most important player, goaltender Frank Doyle. The club first flew in Josh Unice, an inexperienced but promising American goalie whose background has mainly been in University hockey. Unice, 25, is untried at a high level across the Atlantic, and so his signing is a qualified risk. But with Doyle suffering a hand injury that could keep him out for weeks, Sheffield coach Gerad Adams had to swoop fast. Adams explained: “Frank has a long standing hand and wrist issue - it was operated on a few years ago and has flared up again. We had three options and Josh was the strongest, so we welcome him to the team.” Meanwhile Steelers have agreed terms with Tomas Petruska, a 28-year-old, 5ft 11ins Slovakian left wing, who has parted company with Austrian side Graz, where he collected a point every other game. He takes Danny Bois’ slot in the roster.
WITH just over a third of the season still remaining ahead of the weekend, it was always going to be far too early to rule Sheffield Steelers out of the Elite League title race following a run of indifferent form. And so it proved as they followed up a dramatic last-gasp 2-1 win over Coventry Blaze on Saturday night with a 6-0 thumping on the road of title rivals Cardiff Devils 24 hours later. It was Sunday night’s stunning victory at a notoriously difficult rink to visit that will have made the Steelers’ title rivals sit up and take notice.
FEBRUARY:
Mark Thomas makes his 600th appearance for Sheffield Steelers against Belfast along with Jason Hewitt against Coventry Blaze.
Sam Gospel, having been brought into the side at midday helped Sheffield to a Challenge Cup semi-final win over Nottingham.
EMERGENCY netminder Sam Gospel proved the shoot-out hero for Sheffield Steelers to earn the South Yorkshire a place in the Challenge Cup Final – at the expense of his hometown club. The Telford Tigers goaltender was only signed yesterday morning on an ‘emergency deal’ after Steelers were left without a netminder due to injuries suffered by Frank Doyle, Josh Unice and Geoff Woolhouse. And the 20-year-old, who came through the East Midland city’s youth system, denied his hometown club Nottingham Panthers a chance to make it six Cup triumphs in a row when he kept out 25 of 29 shots and then made the crucial saves in a penalty shoot-out to send Steelers through to the final on Sunday, March 8 on their home ice at the Motorpoint Arena.
In the first stand alone final at the Motorpoint Arena this century, Cardiff Devils beat Sheffield Steelers 2-1 in the Challenge Cup Final.
MARCH:
Steelers top scoring forward Mathieu Roy signed a new two year deal.
Sheffield Steelers won the league title against Cardiff at the Arena on the 21st.
Jeff Legue’s League-title winning goal put the seal on an incredible, personal season for the Sheffield Steeler(video below). His roller-coaster regular season ended on a high, his strike against Cardiff Devils last Saturday won his side the season’s main silverware. Legue said it felt like a dream to have scored the title winning goal. “It was a great way to end the season. I came in half way through, it’s surreal right now. “I think things happen for a reason and sometimes you make good decisions and bad decisions and I think I made a great decision. It has paid off. It is exactly what I signed back for. As you get older you don’t get a chance to win very many and the days are marked off but the last game of the season...perfect!
APRIL:
Steelers made the play semi finals and beat Hull Stingrays by 3-2 but unfortunately fell to Coventry Blaze in the final.
The news came that Gerad Adams had been released by Sheffield Steelers. Adams told The Star: “I have officially cut all ties and connections with Steelers, I have moved on and encourage everybody else to do the same. Almost every day since the decision and announcement was made I’ve read comments that could be perceived as damaging or belittling about myself. I do not agree or like the decision to be released by Steelers but I have to respect it. wish to be shown the same level of respect and professionalism. Every day I brought a good attitude, approach and high level of professionalism towards my job. I shared my coaching philosophy with Steelers and it brought success. Two trophies in under 14 months. Steelers measure success differently” claimed Adams. “My short time with Steelers is over and I wish the new head coach good luck. I’ve earned the right for me and my family to be spoken about with respect and to be left alone. Thank you to all the players for the blood and sweat they put in and a big thank you to the Steelers fans.”
And then, just a fortnight later, came the news that Paul Thompson was to be Head Coach.