Telford Tigers move on from cup exit with league success at Sheffield Steeldogs
Tom Watkins praised Telford Tigers for a "battling performance" after his side won 2-1 at Sheffield Steeldogs in the NIHL National Division.
Harry Ferguson scored both goals for Tigers, who managed to see out the win, after Ivan Bjorkly-Nordstrom had halved the deficit for the Steeldogs late in the third period.
A 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Hull Seahawks the previous evening had ruled Telford out of contention for a place in the semi-finals in their final group game of the NIHL National Cup.
But they returned to league action with a flourish, after registering back-to-back league wins either side of a trio of cup fixtures.
And Watkins was pleased with how well his team battled, and reserved special praise for net-minder Ben Norton, who played a crucial role in the win.
“That was a battling team performance. The whole team competed really hard and played with a ton of emotion which was great to see," head coach Watkins said.
"We managed the game off the puck in the neutral zone and defensive zone very well for the most part. and of course, Ben Norton played a very impressive performance, was square to a lot pucks and didn’t give up many rebounds.
"The team did a great job in front of him clearing up loose pucks. I also thought Nick Oliver was excellent on his return last night and tonight as well, he made some really assured plays on the puck and positionally was smart all game.”
Tigers were without key import defender Caelan McPhee, who will be unavailable for a significant period after sustaining a serious injury in a 4-3 defeat at Swindon Wildcats on November 8.
Watkins' charges have been guilty of being slow starters in recent weeks, but they flew out of the traps to take a fifth-minute lead through Ferguson.
The puck broke to Jake Price in the slot and his eventual shot was deflected into the net by Ferguson.
Sheffield responded well to falling behind and had Telford pinned back inside their own defensive zone for the majority of the first period.
Net-minder Ben Norton came to the fore with two excellent point-blank saves to prevent the Steeldogs from getting back on level terms.
Norton continued to prove important between the sticks in a goalless second period, as he produced a great pad save to thwart Michael Danecko.
It was very much back to the walls at times for Telford, who defended superbly, before doubling their advantage late in the third period.
Ferguson bagged his brace when he latched on to a pass by Eric Henderson to sweep the puck home from close-range.
Sheffield did eventually get past Norton with three minutes to go, after Ivan Bjorkly-Nordstrom scored with a long-range shot following a power play to set-up a thrilling finale.
Net-minder Alex Oldale was pulled from goal to add an extra attacker for Sheffield for the final minute of the game, but Telford held strong to see out the win.
