Match Preview - Devils Vs Steelers 18th Jan

16th Jan 2012 | Posted by Simon Rafferty

Wednesday night see’s the Devils play host to the Sheffield Steelers in Cardiff bays big blue tent. This will be the seventh meeting between the two sides so far this season with the Steelers currently having come off the better so far with four wins to the Devils one win, the other result being a draw in the Challenge cup. The Devils are coming off the back of a three game road trip which saw them take all six points on offer in Scotland.

Steelers come to Cardiff on a six game winning streak and will be keen to take the two points and keep their run going, Last weekend the Steelers had just one game taking on the Dundee Stars at home on Sunday, The opening period saw somewhat of a barrage on the visitors net with a shot count of 25 to 3 but all the Steelers had to show for this at the end of the period was a single goal scored on the  power play by Colt King.

Luke Fulghum doubled the lead after only 97 seconds of the 2nd period and it  looked like the Steelers scoring would go on from there but Stars stuck to their task doggedly and  were right back in the contest when Jeff Hutchins pulled one back near the end of the period.

It feel to Luke Fulghum to seal the game as he scored his 2nd of the night to ensure the points were staying within Steelers in the third period. Final Score Sheffield Steelers 3 - 1 Dundee Stars.

Steelers player coach Ryan Finnerty was pleased with his sides performance having this to say -

"It could have been a lot more than 3-1”

"I thought the score line didn't do us justice, I thought Whitley in goal for Dundee was incredible tonight and made some huge saves.”

“ I was pleased how we played and pleased how we kept at it. The power-play also was a lot better tonight. It was just one of those evenings where it ended up 3 but it could have been 7 or 8"

On the roster front Matt Stephenson was pulled out of the Steelers line up on Sunday after warm up though the clubs medical team think there is a good chance he will be back as early as Wednesday in Cardiff

Player Coach Ryan Finnerty said "It was a precaution, Stevie was out for warm up and took a shot, he realized something was wrong and came right off. The medical team have had a good look at him and we will see how he is after a day off on Monday"

"It’s an upper body strain, it’s not super serious but i didn't want to take the risk that we might make it a lot worse if he played against Dundee"

"We have the new guy coming in on Monday so we are covered if Matt is out a little longer but I don't think he will be too long on the side lines"

The Steelers have also today confirmed that they have signed a new defenseman Nick Duff who has been playing in the Central Hockey League for Dayton this season. previously he spent a season in Toledo in the East Coast League after four years in University Hockey and four more seasons in the IHL with Kitchener and Brampton.

Coach Ryan Finnerty says that Duff will give the Steelers blue line more of a presence

"He is a tough D man, he completes his hits, he is not afraid to drop the gloves and make himself known. He is something we don't have right now and I think he will be a great addition. His name has kept coming across my desk for a few weeks now and I always kept thinking that this could be the guy. "

"He is young and keen to impress. I love his attitude, when we agreed terms he was 15 hours away from home on a road trip with his existing team, he got up at 6 in the morning, walked to the car hire business, rented a car and drove the 15 hours to pick up his gear and made his way to the airport. I like that in a man"

"All being well the flight arrives this morning and he will skate with the boys on Tuesday. I expect him to be in the lineup for Wednesday in Cardiff"

The Steelers roster is packed with scoring threat currently lead by Jeff Legue on 53 points, recent addition Luke Fulghum on 44 points so far this season, Mike Ramsay 44 points, Ashley Tait 39 points, Ryan Finnerty 32 points and hard man Colt Kind on 27 points all more than capable of putting the puck in the net.

The Devils will need to play clever hockey against the Steelers to come away with a win here as they go into the game short benched missing key forwards Max Birbraer, who undergoes surgery today and Brad Voth who is out after an injury sustained in Belfast.

As always well be running the “Childish and amazingly Biased” Match Night Live service for this game, at the usual location of www.theinferno.co.uk/mnl if you'd like to help out or chip in with some comments on the night please contact us at matchnightlive@gmail.com. You can also follow on Twitter for updates on @InfernoMNL

And don’t forget if you’re looking for somewhere to have a pint and a bite to eat before the game or a few beers afterwards the Pilot in Penarth is a short trip away and will also be open afterwards for post-match drinks, directions to the pub can be found here - http://www.the-inferno.co.uk/where-to-eatdrink/