Sheffield Steelers became the first team to successfully challenge an offside decision in Elite League competition during Wednesday’s 5-2 Challenge Cup win over Manchester Storm. The decision came at 49:13, when Manchester appeared to cut Sheffield’s lead to 4-3. Tim McGauley had deflected Brendan Clavelle’s point shot into the net, but the Steelers bench challenged the play for offside.
After reviewing the video, officials ruled that Stephen Johnson had been offside as Manchester entered the attacking zone. The goal was overturned and the clock reset to the time of the offside. It was Sheffield’s first successful challenge after earlier unsuccessful attempts by head coach Aaron Fox and Tim Wallace, when the original on-ice decisions stood.
There had been one earlier successful offside challenge in the 2021 Elite Series. Wallace, then Nottingham Panthers head coach, challenged a goal scored by Coventry Blaze against his team, and a video review overturned it.