Matsos: Every second counts

Heading into Saturday night's showdown against Coventry, Dave Matsos has been focusing on thwarting the Blaze powerplay.

Of course the best way to stop the powerplay is to stay out of the box, but when the inevitable happens PK units need to step up.

And in an interview with skysports.com, Matsos revealed how the Steelers have been preparing.

“This week in practice we’ve emphasised the importance of making line changes on the penalty kill,” he said.

“If you’re on the ice for 15 seconds and you’re not tired, it doesn’t matter – you’re coming off the ice and we’re going to get fresh legs on. If we can make those quick changes and get through five units in a two-minute powerplay it will be a very positive thing for our team.“

The Steelers are one of only two teams to beat Coventry in the league this season, winning 5-1 at home on September 13.

However, Matsos is expecting a much closer game this time as he goes head-to-head with Paul Thompson.

“Everybody seems to raise their level of play when Coventry comes into town,” Matsos said.

“We know that we need to stay out of the box, but you’re never going to make it through the game without taking some minor penalties. The way that their powerplay is set up, I think our penalty kill has to be very active, very aggressive and very quick.”