Sheffield Steelers: Ryan Finnerty leaves club

Sheffield Steelers head coach Ryan Finnerty has left the club after two seasons.

The 32-year-old Canadian, who was in his third stint with the Steelers, departs the club after defeat in the Challenge Cup by Nottingham Panthers.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "It's a tough situation for me and my family but we expected it.

"We assembled a good group of guys but for whatever reason we were just a bit inconsistent."

He added: "It's time to move on and I'll walk away with my head held high, having picked up a lot of experience.

"I'm excited that I'm going to be moving back to Canada and looking at some job opportunities over there."

Finnerty re-joined the Steelers from Cardiff Devils before last season as player/coach.

He retired from playing to concentrate solely on the role of head coach but was unable to guide the team to the play-offs this season.