Aaron Fox praises Sheffield Steelers' character after dramatic comeback victory
Sheffield Steelers came from behind to beat Guildford Flames on Sunday evening
Sheffield Steelers head coach Aaron Fox praised his side's character and determination after they twice fought back from behind to claim a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Guildford Flames at the Utilita Arena on Sunday.
Less than 24 hours after suffering a heartbreaking late defeat in Nottingham, the Steelers looked to be heading for another disappointing result when they trailed Guildford 2-0 after forty minutes.
But a spirited third-period performance saw goals from Tim Gettinger, Brandon Whistle and Olivier Archambault rescue the game before Adam Rockwood's shootout heroics secured two valuable Challenge Cup points.
Fox admitted he was relieved to see his team respond, particularly after another difficult second period threatened to derail their evening.
"I feel a little better about it right now than I did thirty minutes ago, that's for sure," said Fox.
"I actually liked our first period tonight. We gave up one shot in the first and I think we had eight and a half minutes of offensive-zone time.
"We were too perimeter for sure, weren't direct enough and passed up on some opportunities."
However, the Steelers coach was far less impressed with his team's response when Guildford took control during the middle period.
A turnover behind the Sheffield goal presented Jack Jacome with the opening goal before Justin Ducharme doubled the visitors' advantage.
Fox believes his players are currently allowing setbacks to affect their confidence too easily.
"You could kind of see the air let out of the building and our group a little bit," he explained.
"It feels almost like a balloon letting air out of it. It feels like the guys are deflated and feel like things are against them when things go wrong right now."
But whatever concerns Fox had at the second interval, he was delighted with the response that followed.
The Steelers returned for the final period with renewed intensity, Gettinger and Whistle bringing them level before Cole Sanford immediately restored Guildford's advantage.
Yet Sheffield refused to surrender, Archambault producing another equaliser before a successful overtime penalty kill and Rockwood's decisive shootout finish completed the comeback.
"Credit to them. In the third they came out and played to an identity," said Fox.
"They played fast, played physical and they played desperate.
"You could just feel, shift after shift, that they felt like it was coming.
"The power play got us one, which was good, and we tied that game up."
Fox admitted the manner in which Guildford regained the lead was frustrating, but felt his players deserved enormous credit for responding once again.
"Sanford's a goalscorer. Put it on his tape in that area of the ice and he's going to make you pay.
"But credit to our group. I think tonight we showed some character and some grit, and some desperation.
"To get that third one was huge, and then we had a big kill in overtime."
The victory also strengthened Sheffield's Challenge Cup ambitions, with Fox making it clear that progression to the semi-finals remains one of the club's major objectives.
"One of our goals was to make sure we're in the top two and advance to the semi-final to give ourselves a chance at this cup," he said.
"It was a good path forward for us tonight."
And while Fox knows improvements are still required, the character shown by his players in turning around a seemingly lost contest will provide encouragement as the Steelers look to build momentum.