Sheffield Stings Stun in Season Opener
Sheffield Stings get off to a flyer
Sheffield Steelkings-B, the Stings, faced the Peterborough Phantoms at iceSheffield, in the first game of the 2026 British Para Ice Hockey League game for either Sheffield team.
The Stings are a much changed squad from 2025, and this game saw six players make their British league debut with two playing their first ever full game of para ice hockey. After finishing the 2025 season without recording a win, they were looking to get 2026 off to a strong start.
The first period was a close affair, with only one goal being scored in the first fifteen minutes. Former Steelkings-A player Jake Oakley managed to find the back of the net after just a minute and a half, but despite further efforts from both teams that would be the only goal of the period.
With just one goal separating the teams going into the second period both teams were looking to get the next goal, the Phantoms trying to even up the game and Stings wanting to add to their lead. It was the Stings who would find the net again, when Jake Oakley scored for a second time in the fifth minute of period two. The Stings kept attacking, wanting to add more to their advantage, and in the final minutes of the period Stings debutant Jurrian Raa scored two more goals for the Sheffield side in less than a minute.
A four goal lead for the Stings meant that the game was theirs to lose going into the final period, but fortunes can change quickly in hockey. Just three minutes into the third period however, the Stings shored up their lead even further, when Raa completed his hattrick and gave his team a five goal lead. Another goal for Raa came a few minutes later, bringing the score to six nil, but the Phantoms were presented with an opportunity to get one back when the Stings captain Lucas Thomas was given a two minute penalty for elbowing.
The Stings' penalty kill unit proved to be more than up to the challenge though, with Jake Oakley completing his hattrick with a shorthanded goal. A few moments later though Oakley was ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct, after a coming together with the Phantoms captain. Being down a player didn't stop them though, and Jurrian Raa went on to score an eighth goal for the Stings. In the final minute the Phantoms managed a consolation goal, when D-Jay Hall broke into the Stings' defensive end and managed to fire home the only goal of the game for the visiting side.
Final Score: Sheffield Steelkings-B 8-1 Peterborough Phantoms