A Brace for Salituro as the Steeldogs hit five without reply
Sheffield Steeldogs produced a dominant display at iceSheffield on Sunday, scoring five unanswered goals to beat Telford Tigers 5-1 in the NIHL National Division.
The visitors struck first, but the Steeldogs responded in style before taking complete control with a four-goal second period.
Telford opened the scoring after just 4:53 when Taylor Stanton found a way past Shane Owen to give the Tigers an early advantage.
Sheffield were level before the end of the opening period, though, with Emil Oksanen making it 1-1 at 10:30, assisted by Bailey Yates and Maks Maslak.
Tate Shudra clashed with Davey Phillips in the 16th minute with both players picking up a five minute penalty
That set the platform for a superb second period from the Steeldogs.
Jordan O’Brien put Sheffield ahead for the first time at 27:48, with Michael Pelech collecting the assist.
Just 21 seconds later the lead was doubled as David Phillips struck at 28:09, Ben Morgan and Pelech combining on the helpers.
With momentum firmly behind the home side, Dante Salituro then took centre stage.
Salituro made it 4-1 at 32:15 from Pelech and Nathan Ripley before adding his second of the game less than two minutes later.
His second came at 34:14, with Pelech again involved alongside Morgan, as Sheffield completed a devastating spell of four goals in just over six minutes.
There was no way back for Telford from there.
The Steeldogs continued to control proceedings and finished the game having fired 48 shots on the Tigers goal compared with Telford’s 26.
Owen played the opening 40 minutes between the pipes for Sheffield, conceding just the early Telford goal, before Alex Oldale took over for the final period and kept the Tigers scoreless.
It was an impressive all-round performance from the Steeldogs, with Salituro leading the scoring with two goals while Pelech enjoyed an outstanding night with four assists.
Most importantly, Sheffield turned an early deficit into a convincing victory with a second-period performance that Telford simply couldn’t live with.
Sheffield Steeldogs 5–1 Telford Tigers
Steeldogs scorers:
Emil Oksanen
Jordan O’Brien
David Phillips
Dante Salituro (2)
Attendance: 635