SAD NEWS: Robert Dowd announced that his leaving Retro Hockey today due to….
Head coach Aaron Fox of the SheFFIELD STEELERS is still optimistic that captain Robert Dowd will recover in time to lead his team in the Elite League playoffs’ opening round.
After a thrilling regular season finale on Sunday, the Steelers will play the Fife Flyers in the quarterfinals.
With their 6-2 victory over Dundee Stars on Saturday, the Flyers had already guaranteed their post-season position. However, after their Scottish rivals exacted revenge on Sunday night with a 4-1 victory, and Coventry Blaze sealed their spot with four points over the weekend, the Flyers slid to ninth in the final standings.
The Cardiff Devils’ 8-5 victory over Glasgow on Sunday ensured that the Steelers’ championship-winning margin was 14 points, meaning that the Nottingham Panthers and Glasgow Clan were the two clubs that were eliminated.
Dowd, who has previously won the Challenge Cup in his first season with the “C,” participated in Friday night’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Belfast Giants but was forced to sit out Saturday’s season-ending 4-1 loss in the second game at the SSE Arena due to an injury.Although Marc-Olivier Vallerand is also seen to be questionable, Fox is optimistic that he will be ready for Friday’s home leg at Ice Sheffield (kickoff at 7 p.m.).
When questioned about Dowd’s availability on Friday, Fox responded, “I hope so.” “Until he puts a glove on it and is able to shoot and pass pucks, it’s difficult to predict how it will respond.
“But he’s also a guy about whom I’m not too concerned, and we’ll work with Dowdy to accommodate him if he can only have one complete skate on Thursday. We’ll proceed after a medical professional makes that determination.
Fox has switched up his lines in the following games after winning the regular season title, and he was happy with the way it worked in preparation for the postseason and his team’s attempt to win an iconic triple.
“We mixed some guys in; I feel like some guys really stepped up their play, and some guys were mentally tired,” Fox continued. “Over the past few weeks, Scotty Allen has been amazing. It’s wonderful to watch him play at such a high level, and he and Simmer (Mark Simpson) have been quite effective together.
“I enjoy how our group is playing when we’re all healthy and hopefully nothing too bad happens to Dowdy and Vally so we can have them back for the this weekend.
