Wedding bells and 'Steelermania' as Sheffield Steelers close in on new campaign

And none more so than Woodhouse couple Emily and Joshua Hurst.

They got hitched on Saturday and six hours later were at Sheffield Arena for the match against Coventry Blaze.

Sounds like a crazy reception?

Not if you are a Steelers' supporter.

In their two 'friendly' home games, the new-look team has filled 12,390 seats.

At the club's shirt-launch on Friday, almost 2,000 people turned up - with no puck in sight.

It looks like there is a potential for the full-on 'Steelermania' of yesteryear to return.

Older fans will remember the hullabaloo which surrounded the birth of the Steelers in 1991.

Then, the arrival of players would pack out Orchard Square, fans desperate for a chat or an autograph.

Even back in the day, though, I can't remember any player riffing effortlessly on a guitar as Scott Allen did, at Friday's meet-the-players event.

There is a sense of that Steelermania commotion again, for this 2022-23 side, which wrapped up its pre-season campaign on Sunday night with a 4-2 slip up at Coventry.

The energy and will are there in the home stands - the team now has to mirror that, starting with Saturday's EIHL opener against Cardiff Devils.

Pre-season games are seldom a comprehensive insight into what is coming, on the ice.

In Saturday's home game against Blaze, Brendan Connolly was back in orange for the first time since his ACL injury in November and Matt Greenfield was starting goalie.

Both players made an impact, Connolly's line creating a Brett Neumann goal after just 24 seconds and Greenfield holding his nerve against a two-on-one breakaway.

It was a bruising start for Matt Petgrave, he was awkwardly clattered into the boards by David Clements and was hurt by the puck defending his zone.

Connolly showed the edgy attitude he is known for in the second period, getting a stick on

netminder Paavo Hölsä after the Finn had clashed with Evan Mosey.

If there was an early-season chemistry issue it was an apparent lack of understanding on the Ciampini-Raska-Latal line.

Coventry deserved something out of the game, gamely taking the game to Steelers.

All they did get was a bloody puck-in-the-face injury for Radek Veselý and an offensive shut out.

On Sunday, Steelers went behind early on, a not unusual occurrence in pre-season.

Centre Peyton Frantti scored after three minutes, and in the 18th minute, Alex Forbes embarrassed Steelers with a shorthanded goal.

Sheffield halved the deficit on a delayed penalty, Adam Raska scoring his fifth goal in four exhibition games.

Seven minutes later Brandon Whistle levelled, a goal that survived video review.

But Blaze were gunning for more and Jack Billings made it 3-2 for the home team, a five-on-three power play goal with Connolly and Sam Jones in the penalty box.

And they broke away to add another from Johnny Curran four minutes later.

Shefield have won three out of five exhibition games - now they need to improve on that ratio in the league.