As the Steelers and Aaron Fox look ahead to another EIHL game week, all heads are turned for the top of the table clash.
On Saturday night, the Steelers head down to Cardiff for what will be the Steelers fourth encounter with the Devils this campaign.
After losing their twelve game winning streak in Nottingham on Wednesday, the Devils will look to puncture the Steelers and try to catch up on the 14-point gap.
Some key players to this on form Devils team are forward Trevor Cox and defenceman Bode Wilde. Cox, who has scored and assisted 37 Devils goals in 33 games this season.
However, he will have tough competition in the scoring charts as Josh Nicholls is on a hot streak at the moment. With Nicholls putting up a stat line of 15 goals and 18 assists (33 GA) across 37 games in the league competition.
Now to look at Devils youngster Bode Wilde. Wilde has earned a stat line of five goals and 11 assists from the blue line across his short spell in Cardiff. Wilde signed midway through the campaign and has so far played nineteen games in Devils colours.
Overall, the Steelers will be in for a tough game vs Cardiff on Saturday night as Aaron Fox looks to remain unbeaten in the Vindico Arena this season.
Both teams have proven they can score well this season with Cardiff racking up a goal for average of 3.59 compared to the Steelers of 4.42 goals for on average.
However, on Sunday night the Steelers will have a completely different challenge as they take on the Coventry Blaze.
Coventry come to the arena knowing they have failed to beat the Steelers in six attempts this season including a demoralising 10-2 defeat on aggregate in the Challenge Cup semi-final.
Coventry, who have had a rocky season so far, have a win percentage of 0.553% which is significantly lower to the Steelers of 0.908%.
Coventry will need to lock down their defence like the way Steelers do with the West Midlands team conceding 3.58 goals on average this season. Compared to the Steelers who have a goal against average of 1.79.
If the Blaze are to do this their key player (or goalie should we say) will be Netminder Taran Kozun.
Kozun has collected a stat line of 0.901% save percentage and a goal against average of 3.15 across thirty league games.
These are numbers that may help the Blaze win this weekend but compared to those of Steelers netminder Matt Greenfield they fall short. Greenfield has earned seventeen shutouts in his Steelers career with this season’s stat line reading, 0.935% save percentage and a goal against average of 1.71 in 35 games played.
Kozun has impressed this season especially in the first game of the season against the Steelers where he made some blockbuster saves. The game that saw the Steelers clinch the win thanks to a Patrick Watling wonder goal in overtime.
Overall, The Steelers will need to fight hard for a win against Coventry after the last two home games against them have required over time before Patrick Watling and latterly Robert Dowd were called upon to be the Steelers heroes.
Written by Will Harris
Edited by George Barber
SteelThePuck 