Sheffield Steelers 5-3 Hull Stingrays
Challenge Cup Semi Final 1st Leg

Sheffield missing Phil Hill (broken foot), Hull missing Kevin Young (dislocated shoulder), Mark Florence (ankle).

Sheffield take a 2 goal advantage into the second leg on Weds Jan 24, which if this contest is anything to go by should be a high scoring affair. The scoreline may have been considerably higher had the visitors been more adventurous, instead restricting themselves to just 18 shots on goal. The 1891 fans saw Sheffield bag 2 goals in 82 seconds early in the game through Dan Tessier (00:47) and Regan Darby (02:09), which forced visiting coach Rick Strachan to call a time out.

Suitably settled, Hull patiently waited until their first powerplay when Nikolai Ladygin put away a rebound just as Shaun Sutter returned from his holding penalty (14:05). Anton Butochnov tied the game (15:52) with a short-handed breakway whilst Pavel Gomenyuk sat a delay of game penalty.

Warren Tait re-established the two goal margin with 2 powerplay strikes (32:39 and 43:59) with Hull rarely threatening any attack, before Sergiy Rublivsky's right wing shot sailed into the far top corner (46:19). Suitably chastened, Sutter sealed the two goal win (53:11) to set up an interesting second leg.

Sheffield netted with their opening 2 shots on the Hull goal. With warnings as to imminent player replacements ringing in their ears, the home side came out on fire and Dan tessier's bullet shot as he reached the edge of the Hull defensive zone screamed into the net. On the next attack a scramble around the Hull goal found Darby poking home at the left post and the visitors looked a little shell-shocked.

The home side kept up the pressure without getting any quality shots on Miroslav Bielik.

Lee Mitchell's charging penalty saw Sheffield fail to test the goalie and Sutter's holding penalty found Sergiy Kharchenko and Luke Boothroyd testing Jody Lehman.

Just before Mitchell returned Tessier chased a lost cause to emerge with the puck, but Bielik was equal to his backhanded shot at the right post.

As Sutter was getting ready to return a big right wing shot from Ladygin rebounded out to Gomenyuk, who fired it back in and Ladygin had pushed up to tap-in the rebound.

Just over a minute later Gomenyuk fired the puck over the plexi for a delay of game penalty, but again the home side struggled to test Bielik. A blind pass from Tessier sent Jeff Glowa racing up the ice and with Butochnov arriving to his left, Lehman was left with little chance when Glowa flicked the puck across to his team-mate.

The period ended with Sheffield on their third powerplay and again Bielik had no save to make. For Sheffield fans it seemed it was just one more game that was being thrown away...

Sutter took another holding penalty seconds into the middle period and Hull almost went ahead when Butochnov arrived beyond the far post but screwed his shot high and wide.

With Sutter returning Brett Clouthier drove the net, and Sutter had 2 stabs at the loose puck in the ensuing scramble, Stingrays clearing the puck as far as Shane Johnson who fired back in but Bielik made the save.

Darby's charging penalty saw Hull unable to maintain any possession at the Sheffield end whatsoever and after another 5 minutes without any chances, Boothroyd found himself sitting a hooking penalty.

Once again Sheffield patiently passed the puck around without testing the goalie, but Tessier's pass from the right found Tait on the far side within acres of space and he gleefully put Sheffield ahead.

Tessier burst down the right and another screamer skimmed past the far post, but the tempo had lowered a notch as still Hull failed to come out of their shells.

Once again Gomenyuk fired the puck out for another delay of game penalty. Sutter redirected Rod Sarich's shot and Bielik's block fell invitingly for Shawn Maltby, but the Sheffield skipper lashed his shot wide.

Clouthier's shot was gloved and with Gomenyuk back, the big Sheffield enforcer tried his luck with a wrap-around at the left post but Bielik made a comfortable save.

The goal judge reckoned Hull had 4 shots during that middle session but this observer failed to record a single one!

Sheffield started the final period looking for more goals. Jonathan Phillips tried a wrap-around at the right post with Hewitt blasting in from the left.

Rublivsky took a hooking penalty and once again Tait made the man advantage count, this time re-directing Ian Manzano's right wing shot.

Once again Hull had time to re-group as play didn't re-commence for some minutes until a broken piece of plexi was replaced. When they did re-start they were much more positive.

Lee Mitchell tired to force the puck home at Lehman's left post, and after a routine save from Jon' Phillips at the other end Rublivsky burst up the right and looked a little surprised when his shot beat Lehman.

Gomenyuk forced a big pad save and but Darby did likewise at the other end and Stingrays were once again killing a powerplay, this time for high sticks against Cole Byers.

Phillips fired in from the right and Tait and Clouthier piled in, but Tait was denied his hat-trick.

Byers had just returned when a shot from the left was picked up at the back post by Sutter and rammed home for that 2 goal margin.

With another 60 minutes in store in a fortnight both sides might have tried to force one more goal, but both goalies had only routine saves to make in the closing minutes as neither side was prepared to risk enough for a more decisive margin.