WELL, it's nice to be back. Last week, of course, I was part of the GB team playing in Poland. Funnily enough we didn't play on Saturday night, having had games on Thursday and Friday and another one due on Sunday.
So the Steelers four - myself, Ashley Tait, Jason Hewitt and Robert Dowd - settled in for what they called a quality entertaining night out in Poland. This comprised of four halves of shandy and a mobile phone waiting for goal alerts to come in from
the Sheffield versus Manchester game.
On another table at the hotel was Tony Hand and Stephen Murphy, the two Manchester Phoenix players away with GB. With Tony and Stephen both being Scotsmen, they had just one half of shandy and two straws but the same mobile phone and waiting for the calls to come through!
Well done the Steelers' Canadians. Their 7-3 beating of Manchester ensured that we had the better night out in Poland. The Steelers with the two wins at the weekend have now moved us into second place.
Tomorrow we face the first placed team, the Coventry Blaze. That means the GB four will lock horns again with our GB coach, Paul Thompson and his Coventry side.
The Blaze have one loss in 14 and only two defeats all year. We have already beaten the Blaze at the Arena and quite simply have to do so again.
Coventry have played more games than any of the top sides so their six-point lead at the moment is slightly artificial. However, give me points on the boards any day of the week.
If we play with the determination and attributes that we showed against them last time out, then we'll beat them again. We have to work harder than we've worked before, pressure more than we have ever pressured before and compete more than we have ever competed before. But if we do that, we take Coventry to a place they're uncomfortable with. The Blaze like to dictate the pace of the game, dictate the tempo and the style of how the game is played. They don't like chasing, they're not used to it. So all in all, it's going to be one hell of a night out in Sheffield.
By the way, did you know that on Saturday night the Steelers v Coventry Blaze will be the biggest event going on in Sheffield? Wouldn't it be good if you were a part of that. If you've never been to a hockey game before spoil yourself and come and watch the first versus the second-placed team.
Remember, the fun starts at 7pm tomorrow night and you can buy tickets on the door or call 0114-2565656.
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The full article contains 481 words and appears in Sheffield Telegraph newspaper.
