Sheffield Steeldogs 3 Leeds Knights 7: Third period goal-blitz sees Knights blast their way back to top spot
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At 3-0 down inside 12 minutes at Ice Sheffield it looked like the hosts would finally end their near two-year wait for a victory over Ryan Aldridge's team.
But after slowly and methodically working their way back to within one goal over the course of the next 38 minutes, the Knights let rip in the third period, scoring five further goals in just over nine minutes to leave their opponents shell-shocked.
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At times it was ruthless, at times the Steeldogs contributed to their own downfall and they will hope to bounce back quickly when they face their second derby meeting on home ice this weekend when they host Hull Seahawks on Saturday (7.30pm).
As for Leeds, they get a Saturday night off ahead of Sunday’s battle against title rivals Swindon Wildcats, who will possibly have already gone back above them if, as expected, they beat bottom club Berkshire Bees at The Link Centre 24 hours earlier.
Milton Keynes could also be back at the top if they get the better of visitors Solway Sharks ahead of their Sunday trip to Hull.
The Steeldogs started the livelier on Friday night in front of an 800-strong crowd and were rewarded for their industry inside two minutes when Sam Tremblay redirected Jonathan Kirk’s shot from just inside the Knights zone, leaving Sam Gospel – back in net for the visitors – with little chance.
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Just over three minutes later, Tremblay doubled his and his team’s tally, picking up a lay-off from Finlay Ulrick and firing a speculative effort on net from the top of the right circle which Gospel seemed to lose in mid-air.
It was a similar shot from a similar area – this time from Jack Brammer – that got the hosts 3-0 ahead at 11.19, Gospel again deceived as the puck seemed to take a deflection before cannoning in off his glove.
Another effort – this time from the industrious Ulrick – almost crept in off Gospel before the puck was cleared to safety and it was a let-off Leeds made the most of, Mac Howlett playing in Oli Endicott who beat Dan Crowe down low to reduce the deficit to two in the 17th minute.
It was the foothold Leeds needed before the break, one they strengthened just over three minutes into the second when Kieran Brown’s fierce drive from the top of the right circle went through Crowe and crept over the line, with Brown applying a finishing tap just to make sure.
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Less than three minutes of the third period had gone before the Knights were ahead.
The game-tying goal came on the power play when patient build-up play resulted in Matt Barron cleverly diverting Noah McMullin’s throw on net at 42,32.
Just 24 more seconds had elapsed before the Knights struck again, Ethan Hehir teeing up Endicott to blast home into Crowe’s top left-hand corner.
Sheffield had a chance to hit back quickly when Brown was called for boarding, but the next goal came at the other end, Ethan Hehir chucking the puck towards Matt Bissonnette and into the Steeldogs zone.
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Hide AdCrowe felt compelled to race out of his net to deny Bissonnette possession, but the Knights forward just beat him to it, continuing on towards the back boards before rounding the net and backhanding through the netminder’s sprawling dive at 45.17.
Another second power play effort arrived just over five minutes later when Howlett ripped one through traffic from the left circle to make it 6-3, the lead increasing further just 87 seconds later when a nicely-weighted pass from Haywood just inside his own zone played in Brown on the right, from where he drove towards net and fired home low to Crowe’s right.
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