Sheffield Steelers' coach promises his side will finish higher up teh table

But the Elite ice hockey division isn’t telling the whole truth, according to Sheffield Steelers’ coach Paul Thompson.

His Sheffield team, having moved up to a modest fourth spot last Saturday night, then dropped down to sixth after defeat at Guildford Flames.

“We will finish a lot higher than that, definitely” says Thompson who is targeting six points from Wednesday’s visit of bottom of the league Edinburgh Capitals, followed by games against Guildford again (home) and Coventry Blaze (away) at the weekend.

“There is a quarter of a season to go and while it never rains but it pours in terms of injuries, we will keep going until we start getting bodies back.

“If we win the three coming up we could be back in fourth.

“Miika Franssila might be back against Edinburgh, we’re hoping that Colton Fretter is improving and Robert Dowd might be available in two or three weeks. Until we’re at full strength other guys will have to step up.

“It’s a grind, at this busiest part of the year, and the one thing we don’t want is any more injuries.”

Thompson says he wants “a bit more offence” out of a couple of unnamed players. “They know who they are - but they also know that we are all in this together. Nobody is panicking and - within the club - nobody is pointing fingers.”

Thompson, who says he has placed Levi Nelson and Andreas Valdix on separate lines to get “better balance,” has a lot of respect for 27 year old Canadian netminder Tyler Beskorowany, a former NHL draft pick, who arrived in Scotland in December.

Tyler played for Dusseldorfer and Nurnberg in Germany’s DEL.