Double-figures league lead for Sheffield Steelers

You have to be willing to compete harder than your opponent.

And, at the moment, Sheffield Steelers have that priceless asset - and nearest rivals Cardiff Devils don't.

The Devils coach Pete Russell said as much after the South Yorkshire side recorded an emphatic 5-1 victory from their rink.

The visitors are now ten points clear at the top of the table, having outworked Cardiff in every detail.

An emotional Russell criticised his team as "soft" and apologised to the fans who started leaving their seats after 40 minutes of play.

Sheffield boss Aaron Fox, in contrast, mentioned how his side's compete-level was "through the roof."

He said the depth of his squad meant they could continually put teams under pressure - and you can't argue with that after 16 straight away wins.

They have two games in hand over the Welsh too.

Yet Steelers fell victim to the famous first-shift onslaught, that has caught them out many times over the years, Marcus Crawford beating Matt Greenfield after just 36 seconds.

Sheffield made it clear they were not going to be overwhelmed though, and when Joey Martin was called for hooking, Marco Vallerand executed on the Power Play courtesy of man of the match Mitchell Balmas and defenceman Colton Saucerman.

That power play feature clicked again at the Vindico Arena when Josh Waller was penalised for elbowing, Vallarend and his unit putting Sheffield 2-1 to the good.

The middle period made every mile of the trip to South Wales worth it.

In a 13 minute spell, Steelers put three unanswered goals past Ben Bowns with Balmas, Mikko Juusola, and Scott Allen on the sheet.

There can't be many times Sheffield have dominated a period at Cardiff like that.

And there was no way back for the home side - their own fans recognising that with their early exits.

Afterwards, Steelers players spent the night in a Cardiff hotel before travelling to Glasgow Clan ahead of Friday’s game.