Steelers had won their first game against hosts Grenoble
Sheffield Steelers suffered their first defeat of the Continental Cup finals by Austrian side Salzburg Red Bull.
Steelers had hope when Matt Hubbauer levelled, but Salzburg were emphatic on the powerplay for the second game in a row, scoring three times.
The two sides played out a scoreless third period, but the Steelers suffered ill-discipline and were short-handed for eight minutes at one stage.
Steelers need to beat Minsk on Sunday to win the silver medal.
Steelers head coach Dave Matsos told BBC Radio Sheffield the better side won but he was unhappy with the some of the decisions that went against his side.
I don't think anybody would have thought the Steelers would have made it this far
Dave Matsos
He said: "It was frustrating, they are good hockey club and they had some good zip in the line-up tonight. I think a lot of momentum was taken from us because spent a lot of time in the penalty box.
"I don't know how to explain that because everything is meant to be tighter at these kind of events, but I thought the officials called a poor game.
"We had guys bleeding from high sticks, but no calls and then little taps on the pads were earning calls.
"We could have prevented some of the goals that we conceded, but I thought Andrew Verner played really well for us making some big saves.
"I don't think anybody would have thought the Steelers would have made it this far and I think for us to win the silver medal would be fantastic for us and for British hockey."
Bookmark with:
What are these?