Bob Westerdale's five questions about Sheffield Steelers' sudden wobble

Question marks about performance levels, injuries, and silverware potential have suddenly popped up.

And coach Aaron Fox knows his priority now is to avoid a continuation of this unwelcome dip.

This may all sound overly dramatic, given the fact Sheffield are two points clear at the top of the EIHL table with a game in hand over Belfast Giants.

But there are underlying facts here that cannot be dismissed.

After a sensational streak of one loss in 17 games, Fox's men have lost three of their last four outings.

Some had thought the title run-in would be a two-horse race between Steelers and Giants.

Yet Sheffield have now lost four times to third-place Cardiff, three of those reverses at home.

So if they struggle with Devils, how will they fare against Belfast when they play them twice in March and three times in April?

The questions that quickly need answering are:

1: What caused the complete loss of form and litany of mistakes in Wednesday's Challenge Cup semi-final exit - and was that merely a blip?

2: How long will their best player Marco Vallerand be out injured as he'd be vital to a revival.

3: Which of Steelers' two import netminders will be the go-to goalie when it comes to the really big games?

4: Will there be any fresh blood coming into the team before Tuesday's deadline?

5: Do Steelers possess the individual/team confidence to supercharge another winning streak that would see them first past the post?

Sheffield played well against Cardiff and lost last Sunday and then played poorly and were shut out 0-5 by them in the Cup, midweek.

Fox admitted watching his side felt like he was viewing two different hockey teams.

"That's the frustrating part, that's a side of the sport that sometimes you cannot understand and figure out."

The coach added: "I think mentally right now we need to get our game back to the way it was and find a way to put this (Wednesday's defeat) behind us.

"You lose a tough game like this you don't want to have it to send you into a downward spiral.

"We have got to make sure we stick together as a group, get back to work here, focus on our game and go from there.

He said Vallerand's situation is "still pretty questionable."

The player market was "pretty thin," but he continues to monitor it.

And he does lament the fact he is without his starting top line from the beginning of the season - Vallerand/Brendan Connolly/Anthony Deluca.

The team had lost 30 goals a year from Vallerand and DeLuca, he said.

"It is not what we started the year with - the guys we have replaced the with have come in and done a very good job. Missing Vally right now its a pretty big loss for us" he said.

Fox said he expected a big response from his team at Nottingham Panthers on Saturday night.

But he warned: "They are playing a lot better hockey now, too."

Meanwhile, away from the EIHL, it is good to see highly-promising Todwick student-athlete Ben Cutts being named as a captain of his Okanagan Hockey Europe outfit in Austria.

He has been selected for the Great Britain U16s to compete in a tournament in Latvia from April 22-24 along with Sheffielders Oliver Turner, Euan Williams, Sam Keeling, and Oliver Wagg.