Telford Tigers extend winning streak to seven games with 4-2 win over Sheffield Steeldogs

Jed Moreland, Jonathan Weaver, Dominik Florian and Brandon Whistle found the net for a Tigers side who had been knocked off top spot as a result of Swindon Wildcats' win over Sheffield on Friday evening.

Head coach Tom Watkins said: “We started very poorly, we were very slow out of the blocks. We mislaid passes and lost battles but thankfully our penalty kill and goaltending was very good.

"We could have easily been down two or three goals coming in at the end of the first period, but fortunately we were tied 1-1 after the young guys gave us a spark.

"We were much improved in the second and third period, with Jonathan Weaver a stand out player all night.

"He does everything at both ends of the rink from making plays, scoring goals at one end, then sacrifices his body by blocking shots and battling at the other end. It was another big two points for us and that keeps our winning streak alive.”

The opening period was a sluggish one for Tigers and almost started disastrously when a misplaced pass was intercepted by Sheffield’s Cole Shudra, who shot wide.

Thomas McKinnon took consecutive penalties early on, one for roughing and one for a cross check. Tigers killed off both penalties and had Brad Day to thank for it, with the Tigers netminder making a number of blocks and saves.

It was no surprise that the first goal of the contest would go to Sheffield, Kieron Brown opening the scoring in the 15th minute.

Tigers had the puck in the Sheffield defensive zone and a shot from Weaver was blocked, allowing Ben Morgan to send Brown clear on goal and score with a neat finish.

Tigers finally had some pressure on the Sheffield goal with Dominik Florian looking dangerous but unable to get past Dimitri Zimozdra.

Tigers drew level in the 18th minute when a shot from the blue line by Weaver was tipped past Zimozdra by Moreland on his first shift of the game.

The hosts started the second period much better and Andy McKinney was unlucky early on, forcing a pad save from Zimozdra.

Both teams took unnecessary penalties, with McKinnon taking a third trip to the penalty box and Sheffield’s Vladimir Luka and Reece Cochrane joining him.

Ricky Plant went close with a terrific break down the right hand side and a shot that Zimozdra just managed to block.

Florian was adjudged to have caught Nathan Salam with a high stick after it appeared that Salem was holding Florian, yet only the penalty against the Tigers player was called.

Despite the man advantage for Sheffield, it was Tigers who took the lead with a short handed goal. Weaver showed his years of experience when breaking up the play in the defensive zone, waiting for the right time to find Scott McKenzie with a pass and then timing his arrival in the Sheffield zone perfectly to hit a shot past Zimozdra from a tight angle.

Early in the third period, Fin Howells hit the post with Zimozdra beaten, but Sheffield scrambled the puck away. Alex Graham led a two-on-one breakaway for the Steeldogs but Day came up with another big save.

Tigers increased their lead in the 45th minute. A Sheffield attack was broken up, allowing Adam Taylor to send a puck up the ice to Weaver to hammer a shot at Zimozdra that went through the net minder but did not cross the line. Luckily for Telford, Florian was on hand to tap home.

Sheffield’s attempts to get back into the game were foiled when Tigers added a fourth goal in the 57th minute. Plant expertly handled the puck and sent a terrific pass to Whistle who was clear on goal. Whistle showed excellent stick handling to beat Zimozdra low to his right with a cool finish.

Sheffield had the final say on the scoresheet with a late goal from Lewis Bell.