Mark Matheson says he is learning on the job, from Tom Barrasso at Sheffield Steelers

The defenceman was thrown into the deep end when Paul Thompson left, taking over the coaching reigns for a couple of games.

But when Barrasso was air-lifted in, the Canadian resumed duties as player-assistant coach.

Matheson said he was "not at all" disappointed to relinquish the head coaching role.

"At this level, you need somebody back there (on the bench)" he said.

"With his experience, it has been night and day. We are all buying into the system and starting to build."

Matheson said Barrasso's technique involved holding "people accountable."

The change in coaching had "grabbed players attention" and had the players saying to themselves:  'ok we've got to start playing better as a team. Start playing together.'

Matheson added: "That's been the result. We have to stick to the process and trust the system."

From a personal perspective, the 34-year-old player said he was learning from Barrasso.

"It would be silly not to gain some experience. It is extremely professional and for sure I am trying to absorb as much as I can."

Matheson scored a game-tying goal with 10 seconds left, against Coventry Blaze on Wednesday. They'd been 4-2 down at one point.

"We showed good team character to come back - it would be nice not to leave it until the last few seconds but we are definitely happy to get the two points," he said.

As for the goals from d-men: "I think the system we play - that's the nice thing about it - we can all contribute. It's always good to have some people chip in from the back end."