Sheffield Steelers announce date for FlyDSA Arena return

The Covid 19 lockdown meant that the last game at the House of Steel was the 8-2 rout of Fife Flyers, a joyful occasion which saw Aaron Fox's men go three points clear at the top of the Elite League.

Steelers then had three more games on the road, including the Challenge Cup final win at Cardiff Devils, before the season was abandoned because of the pandemic.

Now Sheffield have released details of their return to Broughton Lane, with mini-series play off winners Nottingham Panthers the visitors on Sunday 19th September, in a pre-season exhibition game.

Panthers beat Steelers 5-3 and 5-2 in May, in the two-match conclusion.

The upcoming home date will be game-two of the weekend, with Panthers hosting Steelers the night before.

“It will be a proud moment leading the boys out at home once again,” said Sheffield captain Jonathan Phillips.

“There have been many times when I’m sure we have all wondered when this date would come.

"Now we can write it in the diary and have a great night to look forward to," said the winger.

“I think Nottingham will be the perfect opponents, fans and players alike will relish putting on a show against them.”

Steelers say they and the Arena will shortly provide ticketing and pricing information.

Nottingham will again have former Steelers' defenceman Mark Matheson in their ranks, he has re-joined them for the 2021-22 season.

“Mark is a big piece of what we want to build on that we’ve been able to put together in the past 24 months,” said Director of Hockey Gui Doucet.

“He’s a big part of our coaching set-up as well as being more than capable of being a big player in our league. The way he avoids pressure and exits the zone is exactly what we need in our defensive core. He’s also great at helping the younger guys in our team.”

Panthers have also signed six feet three inch forward Jeremy Welsh, who played 27 games in the NHL.

Sheffield's roster currently features the newly re-signed defenceman Adrian Saxrud-Danielsen, forwards Robert Dowd and Marco Vallerand along with goalie Ben Churchfield. Another player announcement is due next week.