Sheffield Steelers 3-1 Hull Stingrays

Both sides at full strength.

3425 see an all too familiar pattern as Sheffield beat Hull more comfortably than the scoreline suggests.

A quick passing move saw Doug Sheppard draw keeper Ladislav Kudrna before passing inside to Joey Talbot and his shot nestled gently in the back of the net (7:11). With just 2 seconds remaining on Paul Cabana's interference penalty Ryan Finnerty found his captain at the back post and Jonathan Phillips doubled the lead (11:11). Finnerty was provider again, Shane Johnson allowed time and space in front of the net to kill the game (20:37).

Phillips broke away 4 on 4 in the final minute of the second period, went round Kudrna but couldn't squeeze the puck in. And that miss looked costly when Jeff Glowa fird home from the right (41:27) but Hull rarely created serious pressure on the home goal for the remainder of the game.

This one opened at a high tempo but with few quality chances. Luke Boothroyd's early high sticks penalty saw Kudrna making just one routine stop from Rod Sarich as Sheffield's powerplay struggled to get going.

With the sides skating 4 on 4, Jake Riddle tested Jody Lehman from the left wing but the home side took the play down the other end and Talbot angled the puck home.

A minute later Sarich was sitting a slashing penalty and from the face off Steve Lee's booming shot produced a big pad save. But Cabana took an interference penalty and Kudrna did well to blank Ashley Tait with Sheppard waiting to pounce on a loose puck. At the resulting face-off Finnerty won the draw, Sarich fed the puck into the advancing Finnerty and he passed across the goal for Phillips to net.

With Jeremy Cornish sitting an interference penalty Riddle diverted a pass on the doorstep and thought he'd scored, but Lehman had stopped the puck on the line. Sheffield then broke away up the right 2 on 1 with Finnerty electing to shoot and this time Kudrna somehow kept the puck out on the line.

Before Cornish returned Glowa jinked up the middle and fed Rob Rankin who lashed in a fierce shot padded away by Lehman. And as the Sheffield player emerged from the box Glowa forced a double stop from Lehman at his left post.

Brad Patterson dug the puck out of the corner and Lee arrived to rifle another fierce shot across Lehman, but the keeper made the save.

Sheffield opened the middle session on the attack and Johnson was soon extending the lead. He might have added another 2 minutes later after Phillips burst into the zone and circled to pick out his advancing linemate.

Johnson then took a high sticKs penalty which brought 2 saves from Lehman. Riddle shot from left of centre and then a long pass released Cole Byers down the left wing.

Hull continued to chip away, Riddle going on a mazey skate and almost squeezing a backhand shot home from close range. Then Nikolai Ladygin's shot was turned aside as Byers screened the goalie.

With Bryce Thoma sitting a high sticks penalty, Kudrna did well to deny Finnerty. Sarich fired wide but back at full strength he charged up the left and Kudrna was saving again.

Randy Dagenais's shot from distance lead to Finnerty and Kudrna clashing and both were assessed slashing penalties. The teams returned to full strength with Phillips storming up the ice but after doing the hard work his shot hit the side pipe and the chance was lost.

Early in the third Hull buzzed around the Sheffield goal. Digging the puck out of the corner, Rankin's pass found Glowa who fired home across the unsighted keeper.

Sheffield had lost their momentum but Hull failed to establish any real pressure either as both goalies made routine stops,

With 8 minutes remaining Finnerty took a hooking penalty and a trademark Ladygin shot forced another big pad save from Lehman, but with nobody on the end of the rebound the defence cleared the danger. Glowa tried for a carbon copy of his earlier goal, but this time Lehman made the save and the home side returned to full strength.

Sheppard and Cabana both forced saves from close range. Then with 4 minutes remaining Finnerty emerged from behind the goal to ping a shot off the goal frame.

Jason Hewitt's high sticks penalty might have given the home side an uneasy last few minutes, but Patterson was over-eager to gain advatage and took a holding penalty 8 seconds later, and the chance was lost.

The visitors never got the chance to lift their goalie as the game wound down.