By Calan Yule
The Sheffield Steelers travelled to Cardiff, Wales to play the Cardiff Devils in a preseason game on the 31st of August 2024. One team barely changed from the previous year retaining 15 key players against a team who changed roughly half the roster and only kept 11 original guys. The Cardiff Devils looked strong however, were missing key players and their head coach due to Team GB however, the Sheffield Steelers were missing players too including their captain Robert Dowd.
The Sheffield Steelers were coming off a grand slam season and were now getting ready for one of the biggest challenges in their history the Champions Hockey League (CHL) so it was crucial for Aaron Fox to learn what lines he can use and how to play these lines.Cardiff Devils were the Steelers one true contender last season and they had just improved their squad big time and many fans thought they could possibly be the ones to win the league (which time will tell). This game was going to prove to be one of the best preseason games of the year.
The Cardiff Devils came out strong getting some early shots on Matthew Greenfield before finally beating him in the 13th minute of the game; Joey Martin used his good hockey IQ and good offensive awareness to find Hunter Shinkaruk who hits a solid one timer through the legs of Greenfield to make the game 1-0, it was very possible that shot hit a Steeler and caused a change in direction as the angling of the shot was a bit off from where the puck landed. Shinkaruk’s goal was the only goal in the first period as the Devils went into the first intermission with a one goal lead.
During the first intermission Aaron Fox made some adjustments and spoke his team through well as they came out flying in the second period tying the game within the first minute of the period after a bad turnover from the Cardiff defence Patrick Watling picks the puck up and hits a cross crease pass to Mikko Juusola who fried the puck pass Mac Carruth into the net. The Devils had a chance to go ahead after a Devils forward shoots the puck and Greenfield saves it however after hitting the Steelers defender it lands on the top of Greenfield’s net before the Steelers defence manages to hit it away and get the zone clear. Only seven minutes after the Steelers first goal Watling helped set up the go ahead goal on a well constructed play as he picked the puck up at centre ice before skating down to Carruth’s net and backhanding it for Saucerman to one time it glove high to make the game 2-1. Steelers kept their foot on the gas as Mark Simpson gets a chance to shoot and he hits a smooth wrist shot which is saved by Carruth however, Carruth lets the puck bounce and Simpson’s saw this and try to poke the puck through five hole however, carruth was one step ahead and the game remained 2-1. Tyler Busch clears the puck out of the zone and the Steelers player failed to bat it down and Bayley harewood picks it up and it is a 2 on 1 and he hits a sneaky cross crease pass to Ryan Barrow who like the last few goals one times it pass Matthew Greenfield who had been dragged out of his net on this play to make the game 2-2.
The 3rd period was all to play for as the game was back at square one, all equal and clearly it was Aaron Fox who made the correct tactics as the Steelers came out to fight. There’s a break in play as players were smacking the puck down and the Devils D-man hit it away from their defensive zone where Dominic Comier intercepted it at the blue line allowing to skate right into a wide over position where he had all the time in the world to shoot and he picks the right place as he fires a wrist shot below Carruth’s glove to score and make the game 3-2. Later on in the period the grand slam champions showed their smart thinking when a Steelers player hit what many thought was a clearance but it looks more like a long bank pass to Mikko Juusola who was at the blue line of the ozone, Juusola picked the puck up and skated in pon a breakaway where he used his swift hands and sharp skating to drag Carruth fully out his crease then quickly changes direction to go around him and tap the puck into the net. It was a beauty of a goal and not one you would expect to see in preseason. The Steelers later found themselves on the powerplay; the Steelers set out to put pressure on the Devils by playing what football fans would call Tika Taka (a style of football where a team keeps possession of the ball by making a series of short passes) and it worked as the Devils came a bit careless in their defensive formation which the Steelers used to their advantage when Colton Saucerman passed the puck from the blue line to Mikko Juusola who quickly passed it to the back of the net towards Dominic Comier who hits a one timer pass to Daniel Leavens in front of the net who one times it straight pass Carruth to score and seal the game at a score of 5-2.
With both teams missing players it would come with no surprise that the game won’t be representative of how the season will go and under new rules (the game was played under the CHL rules) it would be a bit more challenging for the teams to adapt too. The game looked fairly even all game until the 3rd period where the Devils sorta fell off and drifted away from their game plan which was why the Steelers were able to fire three goals in. The teams would meet again the next day where the Devils struggled again as the Steelers beat them 7-2. It will be good to see how these teams compete this year, will Steelers dominate again or could Devils find success? We will have to wait and see.
Photos By Rebecca Bain
More photos from the game (also by Rebecca Bain):
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