The new season of the Champions Hockey League has seen its fair share of surprises over the course of the first four Game Days of the Regular Season, but none have been as prominent as the form the EIHL's Sheffield Steelers have shown against some of the most established hockey teams of the continent.
With three wins and a sole loss, the British team sit eighth in the Regular Season Standings and are a proper contender for a spot in the Playoffs - something the Steelers are yet to experience in the CHL and a very rare feat for a club from a Challenger League. What's been their CHL journey so far this season and what's behind their success?
"We view this is an opportunity. If we play our best, we can be competitive."Aaron Fox, Sheffield Steelers Head Coach
Heading into the CHL as the 2024 Grand Slam team (winning all trophies on offer to them that season) was a sign that the Steelers meant business. They started their big return to the CHL with an away game in Switzerland against Fribourg-Gottéron and took a very surprising two-goal lead within the first five minutes of the game.
A six-goal first period left the game open but a third-period game-winner from Fribourg lost Sheffield the chance of picking up points on their big night. However, the EIHL team played a very solid game and put up a huge fight against a resilient Swiss opponent.
Just two days later came a memorable away trip to Sweden for the Brits where they clashed with the mighty Växjö Lakers - 2018 Finalists of the CHL. The Steelers scored first again but found themselves at 2-2 at the end of the third period and heading into OT.
The extra frame looked neck-and-neck, just like the whole game, but up stepped Marc-Olivier Vallerand to deliver the decider with just 17 seconds left on the clock. First win of the season for Sheffield and two crucial points in the bag.
Since then?
It's been one hell of a ride. The Steelers have gone on to open their season in front of their home fans who have shown us how passionate, loud and hockey crazy they are. Thousands turned up and pushed their team onto unimaginable performances against two of Europe's greats - Sparta Prague and Skellefteå AIK.
Joel Janatuinen leads the team in scoring with five points (2G,3A) over the opening four games while Daniel Leavens is the team's top goal scorer with three strikes. Matthew Greenfield has been spectacular in net for all four of Sheffield's games this season, making nearly 120 saves while letting only nine hit the back of his net, good for a solid 92.97% save percentage.
A look back into the CHL history books reveals that if the Sheffield Steelers pull off a spot in the Top 16, they would become only the second-ever EIHL team to qualify for the knockout rounds of Europe's biggest club ice hockey competition and the first to do so under the new competition format.
Sheffield have two big games coming in October - first against ZSC Lions Zurich away on Tuesday, 8 October, then against Dynamo Pardubice at home on Wednesday, 16 October. The reigning Swiss champions are above the EIHL team in the Regular Season Standings having lost just one game this season, their last against Red Bull Salzburg, while Czech side Dynamo Pardubice were the team to beat of Game Days 1 and 2 but have slipped slightly since then.
But make no mistake - these two games will decide if the Steelers have what it takes to play with Europe's very best in the knockout rounds and will be their two toughest games of the season so far. No points prediction model is certain given the multitude of possibilities in the combined CHL Regular Season Standings, but given last season's cut-off line of nine points, a win would be spectacular and would go a very long way in securing a place in the Playoffs, while two wins would make the Top 16 as certain as can be.
We can't wait to see what Sheffield have in them and you should follow them very closely as well!