GAME THREAD: Steelers v Panthers: Thurs 26th Dec. SOLD OUT

[mark]

End P2

Steelers 2-4 Panthers

[Bryan]

At least we wont have to deal with the question of whether to play in the CHL next year!

[mark]

Result

Steelers 2-4 Panthers

Better but not good enough

[Rendo]

Well that was a waste of £16. I don't know where the team spirit has gone but that was like watching men against boys, sorry but Nottingham out played us from start to finish.
We're carrying too much dead wood I'm the top 3 lines and yet he didn't play the 4th line in the 3rd.

[Brian]

The game we played was poor enough but what made me even crosser was watching the team between periods in the tunnel laughing and joking with each other. This is Boxing Day , Panthers…Full house…!
I have never asked this before in 25 years, but , …do enough of them care ?

[Brian]

Oh, and not said this much either , but well done panthers.

[Nathan]

Way to stink the building out guys.

Someone pass the glade.

[greeny]

At least we wont have to deal with the question of whether to play in the CHL next year!

the good news is we will not have to compete in chl next season,,, cannot get my head around how a team that played so well earlier in season now plays like this,,,,,the only thing i can think of is half the team is playing injured. If i had not seen this team before and based on recent performances i would be saying foxy hasnt done a good recruitment job this season. But we know they can perform,,,,

[heathk01]

After one of the Chl games I think it was one we won, they interviewed Cormier and he said we are a 3rd period team . 20 mins not good enough they have to play for 60 minutes. Is that the mindset of the whole team we will turn up in the 3 rd and play we will just have a skate about in the first two.

[Doom]

Well that was rubbish, yet again.

I think Fox must have challenged the players to lose every faceoff until we were a couple of goals down, because Nottingham won them all and we found ourselves on the back foot for the first 5 to 10 minutes.

After Panthers got their second we were much better, but it's always difficult chasing a game from a couple behind.

Those two powerplays in the 3rd summed up where we are right now. None of the players were on the same page, the passing and puck control were atrocious. I mean, what has happened to Balmas? At the playoff weekend he was unplayable on the powerplay, tonight he miscontrolled pucks and looked like he was skating through treacle.

It all feels very much like the two seasons prior to the Grandslam, when we made a good start, but then fell apart.....only this time it's happened 5 or 6 weeks earlier.

I'm not sure where we go from here, because we can only bring in one new player. Somehow Fox needs to start getting a tune out of what he has, and that starts with winning a few more of the important faceoffs and getting special teams performing.

Regards

Doom