Five star Steelers march on

Steelers: Double hope: Credit - Mark Fuller

Sheffield Steelers kept their Elite League and Play-Off double hopes alive with a 5-2 win over Cardiff Devils in their semi-final clash at Nottingham Ice Arena.

Goals from captain Jonathan Phillips, Doug Sheppard, Jason Hewitt, Robert Dowd and Randy Dagenais proved decisive and the Steelers will play fierce rivals Nottingham Panthers in Sunday's final.

It was the third time in four seasons that Cardiff and Sheffield have met at this stage, and despite goals from Brad Voth and Matt Elich bringing the scores level at 2-2, Steelers rallied to keep the defence of their Play-Off title in tact.

The game started at a frenetic pace in front of a packed-out crowd in Nottingham, and Steelers skipper Jeff Legue nearly gave Dave Matsos' men a dream start when his thunderous shot skimmed the crossbar.

30-man brawl

Devils were reduced to four outfield players in the third minute when Phill Hill was sent to the bin for a high stick and Steelers snatched the lead on the powerplay when Phillips tapped home at 5.52.

A sensational double save from Devils netminder Peter Aubry kept the deficit at one and despite a Steelers onslaught for the remainder of the opening period the score stayed at 1-0.

Tensions were clearly running high at the hooter and a 30-man brawl broke out as both sets of players made their way down the tunnel.

Jason Hewitt was given two minutes in the bin for elbowing during the melee and Matt Towe missed a golden opportunity straight after the restart to bring the Devils level.

Towe's miss proved costly and at 23.28 Sheppard found himself in acres of space and he made no mistake with a well-placed finish past the out-stretched stick of Aubry.

Crucial

Things nearly got even worse for Devils less than a minute later when Wes Jarvis was caught dithering on the puck by Legue but Aubry bailed his team-mate out with a fine save.

The Devils gave their travelling army something to cheer at 25.20 when skipper Voth lashed home his 19th goal of the season.

Elich brought the scores level at 26.31 to complete a quick-fire turnaround, however once again Steelers edged ahead on the powerplay after a long-range strike from Hewitt at 31.22.

Only more inspired work in the Devils net from Aubry prevented Steelers from increasing their lead as the second period ended with Sheffield 3-2 ahead.

As the final period wore on the next goal was always going to be crucial, Aubry denied Joey Talbot, Phillips and Legue in the opening minutes as Steelers went in for the kill.

Their pressure eventually told when Scott Basiuk teed up Dowd for his fourth Play-Off goal.

Steelers then lost their discipline and Brad Cruikshank and Ryan Finnerty were sent to the bin for hooking and kneeing respectively, but Devils squandered their 5-on-3 powerplay chance to effectively end their hopes of getting back into the game.

And, with time running out, Devils pulled goaltender Aubry and Degenais found the empty net to seal Steelers place in the final at 58.40.