REPORT: Glasgow Clan 2 Sheffield Steelers 5
Report by Sam Scouller; photos by Al Goold
Aspray Glasgow West sponsored Glasgow Clan saw their hopes of taking home points from league leader Sheffield Steelers dashed in a 5-2 loss at Braehead Arena.
The Clan started the game off strong as they maintained lots of sustained pressure in the Sheffield zone with shots from Matt Barry and Darien Craighead rattling the Steelers’ D-men.
The visitors were first to get on the boards nevertheless as Robert Dowd stole possession in the Clan zone and set up Mitchell Balmas for a first-time finish to put the Steelers in front.
Gary Haden responded for the Clan as he rebounded Reid Petryk’s shot with a backdoor tap in to level the scoreline and grab his 100th point in the EIHL.
Marc-Olivier Vallerand put the Steelers back in front though as he dragged the puck across the slot before sniping it past home netminder Jake Kielly in the dying minutes of the first period.
In the second period, Brien Diffley laid a nasty cross check on Matt Barry which forced him to go off with Cody Sol dropping his gloves in retribution for his team-mate.
On the resulting powerplay, the Clan bagged an equaliser through Luke Lynch as he smashed the puck bar down from deep in the slot.
Sheffield found their way back into the lead late on in the period though as Patrick Watling slid the puck through Kielly’s five-hole to bag a third Steelers goal of the night.
The Clan had a number of promising scoring chances in the third period, but failed to make any of them count as Sheffield sealed the two points.
Matthew Greenfield had a stellar performance in net for the visitors in the final period with his highlight coming in the opening minutes as he made a jaw dropping backdoor save on a Haden shot.
Mark Simpson bagged a shorthanded breakaway goal early in the period before Mikko Juusola scored on an empty net in the final minute to seal a 5-2 road win.
