Basiuk itching to get back into fray for Steelers

The 29-year-old has been out since the middle of September when he required surgery to a shoulder injury he sustained playing against Belfast in a 4-2 defeat at Sheffield Arena.

Basiuk returns to a Steelers side sitting second-from-bottom in the Elite League table without a win in five.

"I'm very excited about getting back out there," said Basiuk.

"It will be fun playing against another team. In terms of hockey I can pretty much do everything I could before, my shot's as hard as it was and I've been telling the guys in training not to hold back and give me a few hits because it needed to be tested."

Steelers' first trip to Belfast in September ended in victory after a thrilling 3-2 win in overtime, although they had less luck recently when they returned on the back of a 4-2 defeat at the end of December.

They will meet a Belfast side looking to bounce back from their biggest defeat of the season - a 7-1 thrashing at title favourites Coventry Blaze last Sunday.

Although Steelers looked to have turned a corner prior to Christmas with a run of 12 wins in 15, the slump since then has been particularly frustrating for Basiuk to watch stuck on the sidelines.

"I just want to go and play my natural game and help bring some stability to the side to try and turn things around," he said.

"It has been frustrating but I just just want to get back to doing my job."

Steelers will complete their preparations for next weekend's Continental Cup Super Final in Grenoble, France, by welcoming fellow strugglers Edinburgh Capitals to Ice Sheffield tomorrow night (6pm).

Edinburgh's previous visit to South Yorkshire ended in a 6-5 overtime victory.