Sheffield Steeldogs gain the edge over Leeds Knights but National Cup final hangs in the balance

After the first 60 minutes – merely the halfway stage of this two-legged affair – it is the Steeldogs who hold the advantage, taking a 3-1 lead into the second leg at Ice Sheffield on Wednesday, March 11.

With 15 seconds remaining, it looked like it would be just a one-goal advantage they took home with them. That was until the Knights’ Oli Endicott threw his stick at Bair Gendunov as he was bearing down on goal, leaving the officials no choice but to award a penalty shot.

Gendunov subsequently showed the kind of hands and skill which has helped make him the league’s top goalscorer this year, out-witting Knights goalie Sam Gospel to give his team a little more to smile about heading back down the M1.

Both teams may be battered and bruised at this stage of the season, but there was no holding back all night from either side at Elland Road Ice Arena.

Deprived of captain Kieran Brown and influential forward Innes Gallacher due to injury, Knights’ head coach Ryan Aldridge was down to just the nine forwards for the tie.

By contrast, the Steeldogs – favourites to secure the runners-up spot in the league under head coach Slava Koulikov – were virtually at full strength, with Jonathan Phillips and Nathan Ripley restored to the line-up after being out for the weekend double-header with Romford Raiders.

Walker Sommer was the import to sit out, while Leeds were boosted by the inclusion of their import forward Owen Sobchak, who had been unable to play in the semi-final against Swindon Wildcats because it was assumed he was cup-tied.

But it seems a fresh interpretation of the rule that ‘each player must have appeared in at least one fixture in the qualifying round’ in order to play in the semi-finals and final, didn’t require that one game to be for their new club, Sobchak having played for previous club Hull Seahawks in the earlier stages of the competition.

Either way, it meant Leeds could field their permitted four imports, helping make for another competitive encounter between two teams who have matched up well all year along.

Strangely, it is the away team which has prevailed in every meeting between the two this season, something which didn’t change in front of a packed crowd on Thursday.

The Steeldogs got ahead early to put the hosts on their heels, Emil Oksanen carrying the puck out of the Steeldogs zone before laying off to Finnish forward Joonas Larinmaa who was perhaps too easily allowed to bear down on Gospel before beating the Knights’ netminder to his right with just 2.44 on the board.

Penalties were a recurring theme, particularly in a stop-start second period, but the Knights’ power play issues – they are second-worst in the league – continued to hamper them, including when they had 90 seconds of a 5-on-3 from which they failed to convert.

It was to prove costly when they took a penalty themselves just before the halfway mark when Sobchak was sent to the box on a slashing call, former Knights’ forward Cole Shudra finishing off a well-worked move from in front to make it 2-0 at 30.46.

The Knights had chances, but nothing clear-cut, or that seriously stretched Brady Parker in the Steeldogs’ net.

But – fielding a third line of teenagers Edgars Vengis, Daragh Spawforth and Danny Harrison – they remained in the hunt and got themselves back in the game with just under 10 minutes remaining.

A face-off win in the left circle by Finley Bradon, saw Sobchak feed the puck back to Jonas Bennett, who fired through traffic from out wide and past the unsighted Parker at 51.56 for his second goal in as many games.

For the next few minutes, the Knights applied further pressure but couldn’t get the leveller their fresh intensity possibly deserved.

And, heading into the closing moments, it looked like the one goal would be all that separated the two teams come the final buzzer.

But, with Gendunov breaking away down the right, Endicott lobbed his stick at the Steeldogs’ forward in a desperate attempt to put him off his stride. Gospel saved the shot which Gendunov managed to get off, but could do nothing to prevent the goal which came moments later from the same player.

Gospel's head sunk to the ice, Gendunov turned away towards the visitors’ bench to celebrate, both men perhaps understanding the importance of the moment tp the overall picture.

In 13 days’ time, we will discover how important.