Fife Flyers:  Mikael Johansson -‘we can compete against anyone in a one-off game’

Mikael Johansson did just that with his penalty shot that clinched a place in the Challenge Cup for Fife Flyers - and sent Steelers spinning out of the competition.

The cheer which greeted video footage showing his moment ahead of Sunday’s game at Fife Ice Arena simply underlined what it meant to the fans.

It was a shot with a heart-stopping moment which saw the puck slip away from him as he skated wide - a point Steelers’ coach Aaron Fox tried to capitalise on claiming it had to be challenged. It. didn’t – there was no doubt in the minds of anyone on the Fife bench, it was good, and there is no appeal mechanism.

“We’d have protested as well had it happened to us,” Johansson said. “The puck jumped over my stick but I didn’t feel that it moved too far away.”

His goal sealed a remarkable comeback. A 3-2 first leg lead was obliterated by a 3-0 opening period wipeout - but what happened next wasn’t part of Sheffield’s script.

“We knew if we got one goal then they might start to get nervous - it was a one-goal game and we had plenty time to come back. We had two periods to chase them down.

“We knew it’d be close - one shot, one goal can change everything, whether that’s in the second period or the 59th minute.

“We found our strength and belief during the game.”The Swedish forward admitted it was a buzz playing in front of such a huge crowd.

“It’s always fun to play when there is a big crowd and it’s an important game. You get that extra percent into every shift.

“Our fans were great too - they travelled all the way and were there when we came out to the team bus.

The next stop is Belfast for the final, and Johansson is more than happy the team is sailing across the Irish Sea on Tuesday - “I get pretty seasick on that boat! I’ve sailed to games before in Sweden, but not for a journey that long.

“It’s great we can go the day before and get the right preparation and get ready to play,” he said “We feel we can win. Giants are a very good team, but so are Sheffield and we put them out - our last few games against Steelers have all been really, really tight.

“We had two league games at the weekend, then recharged our batteries and got new energy for the final - everyone is looking forward to it.“We are in a good position, we have momentum which has been building, and it’s getting better and better.

“We can compete against any team in a one off game.”