Late winner at annual Winter Blast  in Sheffield Steelkings Winter Blast

Rachel Paget scored a late winner as the blues edged out the greys in the Sheffield Steelkings inter-squad Winter Blast exhibition game at IceSheffield on Thursday.
By The Newsroom
Published 5th Dec 2019, 10:58 BST
Updated 27th Dec 2019, 12:26 BST
Jake Oakley and Mark Colquitt.Jake Oakley and Mark Colquitt.
Jake Oakley and Mark Colquitt.

The Greys, who had star-player Matt Clarkson unavailable at the last minute for the para ice hockey clash, were under-pressure from the start but dug in defensively.

They looked to have done enough to take the game to penalty shots until Paget’s close-range finish in the closing minutes of the third period, assisted by Steelkings chairman Jake Oakley.The Blues started strongly and looked like scoring early-on with Oakley and Matt Franklin having some good opportunities. The Greys had to work hard and looked to spring counter-attacks and had their best period of pressure in the middle of the second period.It was a team-shut out for the Blues goalies Matt Davis and Gary Whiteley – who is still yet to concede a goal in Steelkings colours.The game also saw several rookie players from the clubs new ‘Bee team’ take to the ice for their first taste of competitive action as they rotated with more experienced players on a strict two-minute shift pattern.Oakley said, “I was really pleased with everyone's effort tonight, it was a really competitive game for the fans to watch. It was a baptism of fire for the new Bee team players and they did really well, it's good experience for them ahead of their debut league season.”