Saturday night vs Hull Seahawks (h)
The return of League and Cup action began as we took on local rivals Hull Seahawks in the opening game of the 2025/2026 season. The game got of to a slow start for the Steeldogs. Just 53 seconds into the game and Owen Sobchak opened up his penalty account with a two minute high-sticking penalty. The Steeldogs couldn’t convert on the PowerPlay. But before the Seahawks returned to full strength Jonathan Phillips would make his way to the box for an Interferance call at 2:37. Nothing came from the penalty. Hull opened up the scoring at 14:43 eith a solo goal from Bobby Chamberlain. Hull lead the Steeldogs 1-0 after the first twenty minutes.
Heading into period two the Steeldogs knew they had some work to do being a goal down. Just over three minutes into the second period Liam Steele would net the Steeldogs’ first goal of the 2025/2026 campaign from a really well played pass from Kyle Watson who was lead out on the ice after losing his footing. Seahawks would soon answer back with another Bobby Chamberlain goal at 25:12 to put Hull in the lead 2-1. The Steeldogs didn’t take their foot of the gas. They applied tons of pressure on the Seahawks and finally the Steeldogs would be rewarded with Kyle Watson getting his first goal of the campaign. Kyle made the game tied at 2-2. The Steeldogs were buzzing and just minutes later Kyle Watson would go on to score the Steeldogs’ third goal of the evening to give the Dogs a 3-1 lead at the end of the second period.
Heading into the third period the Steeldogs knew Hull would come out hard which they did witha third goal of the night for Bobby Chamberlain who tied the game at 3-3. At 54:30 Slava Koulikov called a timeout giving the Steeldogs a chance to reset and work some different systems. At 57:41 the Dogs would be rewarded with the game winning goal from Bair Gendunov.
Man of the Match went to Kyle Watson who scored two on the night. The Steeldogs travel to Romford tomorrow to take on the Raiders for a 5:15pm faceoff.
Sunday night vs Romford Raiders (a)
On Sunday, the Steeldogs made the long trip down to Romford to take on the Raiders. With only one game on their schedule this weekend, Romford came in with fresh legs, while the Steeldogs were looking to finish strong after their Saturday fixture.
The opening period saw the visitors struggle to find their rhythm, and the Raiders capitalized on the PowerPlay. Import Jarret Baker ripped a shot over Dan Crowe’s shoulder and into the top shelf, giving Romford the 1-0 lead at the first intermission.
Early in the second, the Raiders doubled their advantage as Brandon Ayliffe converted another PowerPlay opportunity at 23:08. The Steeldogs, however, responded quickly. Big defenseman Liam Steele broke the deadlock for the visitors at 29:53, and just minutes later, veteran Jonathan Phillips tied the game at 2-2. The momentum swing didn’t last long, though Jake Sylvester struck back for Romford to restore their lead heading into the third.
Once again, the Steeldogs answered early in a period. This time it was captain Jonathan Kirk who found the back of the net, knotting the game at 3-3. Neither side could find a winner in regulation, sending the contest to overtime.
In the extra frame, the Steeldogs’ quality began to shine through, limiting Romford’s possession and controlling the play. The breakthrough came from the second line: Nathan Ripley showed patience on the puck, waited for his moment, and fired home the game-winning goal.
A dramatic 4-3 overtime victory capped off a perfect four-point opening weekend for the Steeldogs!