Coach Aaron Fox fully aware of Belfast Giants' capabilities as Steelers head to Northern Ireland

Belfast Giants v Sheffield Steelers earlier this season

They have scored 100 goals - 49 less than Sheffield Steelers whom they meet on Friday and five less than Cardiff Devils, who also lie above then in the rankings.

In fact, three other teams below Belfast have scored more.

But they only need one goal to win a game, in theory, and Steelers' boss Aaron Fox is fully aware of their capabilities, ahead of the match at the SSE Arena (7pm.)

Coach Fox says it was hard to determine whether Belfast were any weaker than last year's championship-winning team.

"When I watch them play I like their style, I like how physical they are," he said.

"I don't think they have scored a lot of goals this year - they had a pretty big change-over (personnel) as well.

"They're still a really, really good hockey team."

Fox added Steelers could not "sleep" when Belfast had two games in hand on them, despite the fact the Irish have failed to score against his side twice this term.

Giants' hopes of staying in contention were impeded last Sunday.

While Steelers were winning 5-3 at Glasgow Clan, Giants were toppled 4-1 at home by Coventry Blaze.

More than 4,100 fans watched that defeat- and Belfast boss Adam Keefe will be wanting to make a good impression on the home fans this weekend.

Travelling and playing in Northern Ireland is one of the more enjoyable trips on the calendar for rivals teams like Sheffield, according to Anthony DeLuca.

"The whole process of going to Belfast, flying in and that, it is just a nice process, I guess you feel so much more professional," he said.

"I love playing there, I know it is the favourite place for a lot of guys in this league..it is a nice experience."

DeLuca said Belfast had a strong line-up: "They have been going through ups and downs - a lot of teams in this league have been going through ups and downs, you've just got to correct them as quickly as possible, it is a quick season.

“In the blink of an eye there are 10 games left, another blink and it's over, so you have to keep going every game and we are in a nice position right now but we just have got to keep rolling and see where it goes."