Aaron Fox frustrated by Sheffield Steelers game management in defeat to Manchester Storm
Sheffield Steelers lost 3-1 to Manchester Storm at the Utilita Arena on Saturday night
Sheffield Steelers head coach Aaron Fox was left frustrated by his side’s game management after Saturday night’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester Storm at the Utilita Arena.
Fox felt the Steelers’ effort levels were good enough, but pointed to costly mistakes at key moments after his side had taken a 1-0 lead.
“It was one of those nights,” said Fox. “In the grand scheme of things, we probably deserved two points on the weekend.
“I thought we actually competed harder tonight early than we did last night, but our game management tonight wasn’t great.”
The Steelers were leading through Olivier Archambault before Storm levelled late in the second period and then moved ahead in the third.
Fox was particularly disappointed with the manner in which those goals were conceded.
“We had two opportunities in the D-zone to make a play,” he said. “We made a soft play on the first one and didn’t absorb the pressure on the second one. Those are two things that we can’t do.”
The Steelers coach also felt his side’s positional discipline deserted them at important moments, leaving goaltender Matt Greenfield exposed.
“We don’t track and then we jump and slide at the line,” Fox explained. “We let them walk right down Main Street, don’t put any pressure on it and leave Greener out to dry.
“So, discipline. Those are things we have to be better at.”
Despite the defeat, Fox’s comments suggested he had few complaints about the Steelers’ willingness to compete — rather, it was their decision-making at crucial moments that ultimately proved costly.