Steelers' double blow after Devil of a start

STEELERS were clobbered by a double injury blow and suspension - ruining what promised to be an excellent start to the season.

Saturday's 5-1 home win over Cardiff Devils had everything the fans want to see ... goals, hits and a bonecrushing fight.

But the Sheffield Arena win came at a cost.

Jeff Legue was almost cut in half by a huge hit from Brad Voth and could be out for weeks. A short-term replacement, possibly Shane Johnson, is being considered.

"If Legue's injury isn't that bad but we de-register him he'll have to sit out six games," Dave Matsos explained. "We'll assess his condition tomorrow before making any decisions.

Rod Sarich also picked up a shoulder ligaments injury. And Ashley Tait was suspended from last night's trip to Coventry, which saw Sheffield unable to compete with a depleted roster.

On Saturday, a power play effort from Joe Talbot brought the first Elite League goal of the season.

Doug Sheppard's deflected shot embarrassed goalie Phil Osaer for 2-0 and the pick of the night's goals came when Jason Hewitt threw himself at a cross from Tait.

Tait got on the scoring act with a fine wrist shot before Talbot and Devils' Matus Patricko swapped goals.

While it was an offensive fiesta, no-one should overlook the part played by Jody Lehman: he made at least five big saves.

The entertainment was wrapped up by a punch-up between Jeremy Cornish and Voth. The Steeler got the early left hooks in but Voth recovered to drive his rival into the back of Lehman's goal stanchion. Honours even...but the real points went to Sheffield.

Last night, the game at the Skydome saw Coventry score all eight goals, with two ludicrous "own goals" accounting for the Sheffield tallies.

Ryan Finnerty looked to have put Steelers ahead early on but the linesman ruled that his shot hit the crossbar; the rest of the arena thought the shot had hit the back stanchion of the net.

Steelers did take the lead with a goal credited to penalty box bound Jeremy Cornish.

The delayed penalty called on the Sheffield forward resulted in a mix up between Coventry players Jonathan Weaver and James Cooke. With Blaze goalie Trevor Koenig pulled in favour of an extra skater the home goal was left unguarded, and the tangle of sticks ended with one of the most unlikely sights in hockey.

Despite the lapse, the rest of the game was Coventry's as Dan Carlson grabbed a hat-trick; Adam Calder, Weaver and Sylvain Cloutier added the other Blaze goals.

Cooke scored Sheffield's other goal, his second own goal, leaving the British forward the most dangerous 'Sheffield' player on the ice.