What more can be said about Steelers coach Dave Matsos. In his first year at the helm last season he guided the Steelers to the Playoff championship and followed it up this year with a league title, and then this weekend, another playoff crown. Surely it can only be a matter of time before a bigger team from a bigger league comes calling for this promising young coach.

Congratulations to the Steelers on dominating the major trophies this year.

It has been apparent for weeks now that the Steelers were going to win the league. Their huge lead a-top of the Elite League only needed mathematical confirmation before the trophy celebrations could begin in Sheffield and last night it finally happened. With Hull beating Coventry 4-1, the Steelers are officially now the Elite League Champions 2008-2009.

It is the clubs first championship since the 2003-2004 season but follows their playoff victory last year marking second year coach Dave Matsos as a young coach going places. In just two years with the club since retiring from the game through injury, Matsos has won the playoffs and now the league with Sheffield.

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Well, a 3-2 overtime defeat at the hands of the Steelers has pretty much eliminated the Giants chances of winning the Elite League title this season. I hate to make excuses and I rarely do, but there is little doubt that injuries have been the key reason to the Giants title charge falling apart. On paper they probably have the best squad but as people always say, ‘Hockey isn’t played on paper’ and when you shake out the injuries and eventually take to the ice with such short benches throughout the key times of the season you will inevitably come up short.

That is to take nothing away from Sheffield, who now baring a monumental collapse of proportions of which we haven’t seen before, will walk away Champions. It is a testament to the coaching ability of Dave Matsos, the best coach in the league. He lead his team to the Playoff title last year and now it looks like he has taken them to the league championship. How long such an up and coming young coach remains at the British level of hockey remains to be seen.

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After retiring from pro-hockey last season after a serious back injury Dave Matsos will return to the game as a coach – of the Sheffield Steelers.  After Dave Whistle announced he was quitting the club to take on a coaching role back in Canada before he had even started, the club where quick to appoint Matsos as their replacement. 

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Goodluck Matty, a second place finish would be just great!!

The Giants put on a superb display to take two points from the league leading Cardiff Devils in a thrilling game in Wales. The Giants who where outplayed for most of the game defended strongly and had some superb goal-tending from super-star Martin Klempa who turned aside 37 of 38 Cardiff shots.

It was the Giants who took the lead in a game that looked to be heading for a 0-0 tie after two periods of no scoring, when player-coach Tony Hand stepped up and scored his 8th goal of the season to make it 1-0 with a goal that looked to have sealed the points for the Giants.

But just as fans where thinking their team had grabbed the points and Klempa had got a magnificent shut-out they where stunned into silence when ex-Giant star Dave Matsos scored with only 22 seconds remaining.

With a guaranteed point on the board for both teams the Giants really needed to grab that extra point and keep in contention with the league leaders and that goal came only 24 seconds into the over-time period when Fredrik Nasval popped up to score his 14th goal in 21 games and win it for the Giants.

Cardiff Devils 1-2 Belfast Giants

Devils: Matsos 59:38.
Giants: Hand 52:22, Nasval 60:24.

Lines:
Huppe – Hand – Nasval
Kelly – C.Bowen – Awada
Morrison – Walton – Levers

J.Bowen – Johnson
Angelstad – Gavalier

On Tuesday night the Giants held their Anual end of season dinner and awards night. It was a buffet meal which was delicious with about 25 tables filled with players and fans.  Read More»