STEELERS’ coach Ryan Finnerty believes a roller coaster of emotion can see his team win three games in three nights.
Sheffield’s assault on the Elite League stands or falls on some good results this weekend - they play at leaders Nottingham Panthers, on Friday, Belfast Giants on Saturday and Dundee Stars on Sunday.
It will be tin-hat time, for Finnerty’s defensive-minded warriors.
But the coach says fatigue will not impact on the mission.
“Tiredness will be an issue. We have to go into Nottingham and win there, that will carry us to Belfast and hopefully a win there.
“If we win those games there isn’t a way we are coming away from Dundee without points five and six.
“Emotion will see us through that game. The big thing for us is not to look too far ahead.
“It is Friday first and foremost, the other games are irrelevant compared to those, at this stage.
“We have to take this form we have found, this great team defence ethos that has seen us concede one goal in three games.
“Matches with Nottingham have always been tense encounters, we expect the same on Friday. We expect a sold out rink, we expect hostility ofcourse, but we are ready for a war.”
One player who cannot wait to get into action is Shawn Limpright, who bagged a hat-trick against Hull Stingrays last Sunday.
The forward said: “It’s a strange thing to say but the season, especially the league season, comes down to this weekend.
“We can’t look at it as a block of three games, it has to be one at a time, Nottingham first on Friday, then Belfast and then Dundee.
“We have a winning record against both Nottingham and Belfast so we will go into those games confident.
“It took me a while to get my head around how big the league was here but every player knows the importance to the club and the fans.”
Nottingham lead second place Sheffield by three points, but have a game in hand. Finnerty’s men are looking for their eighth-straight win at the National Ice Centre.
n Steeldogs’ weekend game at Basingstoke is previewed in Grasssroots on Friday.
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