Robert Dowd fight lifts opening night as Sheffield Steelers fall to Cardiff Devils
Sheffield Steelers were back on home ice in the second part of their double header with Cardiff Devils
Sheffield Steelers may have been beaten 3-1 by Cardiff Devils in their first home outing of the new season, but captain Robert Dowd ensured the night finished with the Utilita Arena on its feet.
A near sell-out crowd had seen the more game-ready Devils build a three-goal advantage through Panu Mieho, Kohen Olischefski and Riley Brandt, before Ryan Tait gave Sheffield hope with the first Steelers home goal of the campaign.
But it was Dowd who provided the biggest roar of the night in the closing seconds.
After delivering a heavy hit in the corner, the Steelers captain was challenged by Cardiff's Nolan Yaremko and the pair dropped the gloves at centre ice.
Dowd eventually got the takedown at the end of a spirited bout, providing a fiery finish to an opening night that had otherwise belonged largely to the visitors.
For a Steelers side featuring a host of new faces and still in the early stages of training camp, it was a moment that lifted both the bench and the home crowd.
Cardiff arrived in Sheffield with significantly more pre-season hockey already behind them and looked the more settled side during the opening two periods.
They took the lead when an unfortunate bounce beat Matt Greenfield, allowing Mieho to score his second goal of the weekend.
Sheffield responded with chances of their own, with Leevi Teissala, Dominic Cormier and Sean Collins all testing Cardiff's defence. Cormier came closest when his effort struck the post.
Greenfield was also called upon at the other end, denying Thomas Caron on a breakaway as Sheffield remained just one goal behind at the first intermission.
The Devils doubled their advantage at 29:50 through Olischefski before Steelers Head Coach Aaron Fox made a planned change in goal.
New signing Lucas Brine replaced Greenfield at the halfway point to make his first appearance on home ice, although he had barely settled into the crease before Cardiff struck again.
Just 28 seconds later, Brandt completed a well-worked move across goal to make it 3-0.
Sheffield finished the second period with a power-play opportunity after Jimmy Oligny was called for interference and carried the man advantage into the final period.
The Steelers showed far greater urgency in the third and finally received their reward with 6:46 remaining.
Mitchell Balmas found Tait in front of goal and the forward produced a composed finish low past Ben Bowns to score Sheffield's first home goal of the new season.
The goal gave the home side renewed momentum and, with Brine eventually withdrawn for an extra attacker, Sheffield continued to press for a route back into the game.
There was to be no second goal, but Dowd made sure the opening night finished with something for the home supporters to cheer.
His late confrontation with Yaremko brought the biggest reaction of the evening and gave the contest a suitably competitive ending despite its exhibition status.
Both players received five-minute fighting penalties, while Cardiff's Oligny was also assessed a game misconduct in the closing seconds.
For Fox, the result will matter considerably less than the opportunity to give his heavily revamped roster valuable competitive minutes together.
And while Cardiff deserved their victory, Tait's goal and Dowd's late show of fire ensured there were still positives for the Steelers to take from their first night back at the Utilita Arena.
Sheffield Steelers 1 Cardiff Devils 3.