Sheffield Steelers coach offers honest appraisal after defeat to Guildford Flames
Sheffield Steelers fell to their first league defeat of the season at Guildford Flames on Wednesday night
Sheffield Steelers head coach Aaron Fox felt turnovers proved decisive as his side suffered a 7-4 defeat against Guildford Flames on Wednesday night.
The Steelers led three times during the opening two periods and were still level at 4-4 in the third, but Guildford eventually pulled away with three unanswered goals.
Fox believed the game was much closer than the final score suggested, but admitted Sheffield struggled to build any sustained momentum.
“I thought it was a pretty even hockey game for the majority of the night,” he said.
“But we just never really found any momentum.
“Every time we scored, it felt like a minute later we gave one back, and that just neutralised anything positive we had going.”
Sheffield went ahead through Sean Collins, Evan Jasper and Brandon Whistle before Brien Diffley later tied the game at 4-4.
Each time, however, Guildford found a response.
Fox said the Flames’ ability to punish mistakes in transition was ultimately the difference.
“I thought turnovers were the deciding factor,” he said. “They’re very good in transition and every time we made a mistake around the offensive blue line they punished us.
“We gave them too many opportunities to come back the other way with speed and they made us pay for it.”
The key spell came midway through the final period.
Chase Gresock scored twice in 80 seconds, turning a 4-4 game into a 6-4 Guildford lead and leaving the Steelers chasing the contest.
Fox also pointed to one fortunate bounce for the home side during a Sheffield penalty kill.
“They iced the puck, it hit the stanchion, died and landed perfectly on their tape,” he said. “That was one of those moments where things just seemed to go against us.
“But at the same time, we put ourselves in those positions because of the turnovers and the way we managed the puck.”
The result was Sheffield’s first league defeat of the season following Sunday’s 6-1 win in Glasgow.
The Steelers now turn their attention to Saturday night’s home fixture against Cardiff Devils at the Utilita Arena, where Fox will be looking for an immediate response.