Adam Rockwood keeps his cool to keep Sheffield Steelers' Cup semi-final bid on track

ADAM ROCKWOOD proved the shoot-out hero for Sheffield Steelers as they bounced back from defeat to Nottingham Panthers with victory over Guildford Flames to boost their chances of making the Challenge Cup semi-finals.

It was a night of high drama at the Utilita Arena as the Steelers were twice forced to come from two goals behind, the game being taken into overtime when Olivier Archambault levelled in the 53rd minute.

The Flames had established superiority earlier in the evening when Justin Ducharme’s strikes just past the halfway mark put the visitors 2-0 ahead following Jack Jacome’s 22nd-minute opener.

The Steelers halved the deficit through Tim Gettinger’s 46th-minute power play marker, only for Paul Dixon’s team to restore their two-goal advantage when Cole Sanford struck at 48.10.

But the Steelers produced a swift response of their own when Brandon Whistle beat Brad Arvanitis just 17 seconds later, setting the scene for Archambault’s leveller four minutes later.

Overtime still couldn’t separate the two teams – despite a tripping penalty being served by Steelers’ defenceman Brien Diffley – leaving Rockwood to apply the finishing touch and grab the extra point on offer in a 4-3 win, helping soothe the pain of losing 3-2 in regulation in Nottingham the previous evening.