Flames recovered from a 2 goal deficit with a late Ian McNulty equalizer followed by a Bradley Lalonde winner in overtime as Spectrum’s men collected a 4-3 win at Sheffield Steelers to remain on top of the Elite League table.
Scott Allen put Steelers in front just 59 seconds into the evening, but a McNulty goal 10 minutes later levelled it at a goal each by the end of the 1st.
A quick pair on either side of the halfway point by Matthew Petgrave and Tomáš Pitule opened their 2 goal margin and set the uphill climb for the visitors, but an immediate Ben O’Connor reply on the powerplay brought Flames within a single which is where they stood to start the final stanza.
Inside the back 5 minutes of the 3rd, McNulty's 2nd guaranteed Flames a table point when he squared it at 3, and Lalonde’s 2nd OT decider ensured the extra point would land in the Flames ledger.
“That’s a pretty exciting win for us,” exclaimed Paul Dixon.
“The guys showed a lot of character to stay with it. Down a couple over halfway through in their building, it would have been pretty easy to throw in the towel and mail in the rest of the game looking ahead to Saturday, but they really put their heads down and were a determined bunch.”
“We want to show we can compete with the top teams and this was certainly a good test.”
“At the end of the day it is one early game in a very long schedule to come, but we are thrilled to have been able to come back and get the win and tomorrow we will start to think about Saturday’s Cup visit by Cardiff Devils.”
