GAME THREAD: Sheffield Steelers v Belfast Giants, Saturday 11th March 7:00pm

[steeler pete]

Good and quick clarification from the club here.

https://sheffieldsteelers.co.uk/steelers-statement-5/

That's the right thing to do, however if there is evidence of Keefe goading the fans behind the bench as has been stated on here, I would expect Belfast to make a statement also acknowledging some responsibility.

Feelings were running high in the building last night for obvious reasons and to add to that by goading fans is petty and unsportsmanlike.

Somehow I don't think anymore will be heard about it though.

[Clowne57]

Firstly regarding the incident many of us know the young man and are aware of his problems and temper tantrums and I think the club have handled this fairly and with a degree of empathy . I don't think a witch hunt regarding belfast and there staff is warranted the situation does not need blowing out of proportion. Regarding the team I don't know what to say they have totally fallen apart and I watch belfast with a degree of jealousy that is the sort of side I would love to watch every week. I have missed very few matches at home since season one but I am struggling to find any enthusiasm to purchase a cheap ticket for Wednesday . I have seen some poor steelers teams over the years but this team is probably at the moment the least entertaining I feel the energy being sucked out of the building nearly every game. I scratch my head because we do have some good players but something is dramatically wrong. Finally the power play is probably the worst I have ever seen.

Sadly I have to agree with this. ‘Getting up’ for the games as a support is feeling reminiscent of the Norton Lee era when attending had become a habit we couldn't break, almost a form of masochism. The difference then was the team was starved of an appropriate level of finance under an owner that could not care less about the on or off ice product and seemed hellbent on seeing its demise.
This will most likely be a season when we don’t make the playoff 4 again. Coventry’s star is rising whilst ours has imploded. I can’t see us facing any other team at the quarter final stage without a massive turnaround.

[smbmetal]

"The person you refer to as a knob head is an autistc supporter that Keefe had been turning round to, goading during the game, smirking at him & spraying the plexi in front of him when taking a drink & squirting it over his shoulder. He thrrw his clipboard that he keeps stats on. I sit at the back of that block."

If Keefe was behaving in this manner he should be ashamed of himself and reported to the league.

This I totally agree with. The cameras caught the act, so I am sure, if Keefe was doing this more than once, as you imply during the period of play up to the incident, they will have caught something. Also a lot to mobile phones around. No coach should ever do that, goad any fan.

In fact, I will email the giants org this morning and out your claim to them. It cant only have been you that seen it. Will let you know what response I get.
[/quote]

Email just sent to the Giants Org, for a response.
[/quote]

Thank you. Please keep us informed of the clubs response.
Kind Regards.
[/quote]
I didn’t see or are anywhere near that side of the arena so can’t comment from that side.

I would suggest sending your email to the EIHL rather than the Giants Org. I doubt Giants Org will provide you a response, unless you’re able to send them some evidence. If you do get a response, I would expect them to point you to our official club statement.

Isn’t Tony Smith the EIHL Chairman? Perhaps you could ask the EIHL to check the game footage to see if some evidence of Keefe goading is indeed correct.

Unfortunately, I believe with the Steelers statement over the matter, this is now put to bed.

Even if proven, Keefe at best, will get a warning for his future conduct etc.

[Gisland]

I hope its not..Baiting a person to the point of breaking their temper is not right. This fan now has a ban in place for the rest of the season... No response from the Giants, Sheffield Steelers or the EIHL. Cant understand why there is not more of a response to a Club coach being accused of baiting a fan to the point it reached last night.!!

[Shaun]

So the Steelers have suspended the fan for the rest of the season, I’m surprised they didn’t punish him!


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[ozzieparky]

Went to yesterday's game having not been for a couple of years for various reasons (where have the likes of Tanner Eberle, Jonas Westering, Duba etc, etc gone) but was disappointed that whilst the defense wasn't great (which seems like an ongoing Steelers trend) it felt like whenever we did get the puck in the Belfast end, instead of taking it as an attacking opportunity, the guys seemed to use it as an opportunity to get off the ice instead. Giants just looked fitter, keener and well drilled whereas we looked pretty haphazard throughout sadly. Did feel like the energy in the building was pretty muted too which was a shame as it was always a great show in the past...

[Nathan]

Westerling?

[smbmetal]

Went to yesterday's game having not been for a couple of years for various reasons (where have the likes of Tanner Eberle, Jonas Westering, Duba etc, etc gone) but was disappointed that whilst the defense wasn't great (which seems like an ongoing Steelers trend) it felt like whenever we did get the puck in the Belfast end, instead of taking it as an attacking opportunity, the guys seemed to use it as an opportunity to get off the ice instead. Giants just looked fitter, keener and well drilled whereas we looked pretty haphazard throughout sadly. Did feel like the energy in the building was pretty muted too which was a shame as it was always a great show in the past...

To be fair Belfast are a very good side this year and deserve to be where they are. It really frustrates me that we've not been the benchmark for UK hockey for a number of years.

Personally I wouldn't have Westerling anywhere near this current squad and Greenfield is a far better goalie than Duba was. Greenfield has been the best goalie the Steelers have had for years IMO. Eberle would still get in the current squad though and we certainly miss his energy. We also have the 2nd best defence in the league which was the best up until the recent Belfast game. It's the goal scoring department we're struggling with.

I would agree that the atmosphere was flat. That should have been the biggest game of the season so far and I expected 8,000+ in, especially considering how for other less important games we've got those crowd figures. Perhaps a mixture of the bad weather and that we were likely to lose anyway put a lot of people off.

[Shaun]

I think the Atmosphere was flat as a result of what was put in front of us on the ice.


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[ozzieparky]

Westerling?

Was he not regarded very highly? I seem to remember he had lots of energy about him (which the guys seemed to be missing last weekend). Maybe I've got the rose tinted glasses on...