Sheffield Steeldogs were forced to dig deep in the closing stages but held on to secure a 4-3 victory over Bristol Pitbulls after a late surge from the visitors made for a tense finish at iceSheffield.
The Steeldogs started brightly and opened the scoring at 7:35 through Kyle Watson, who finished well with CJ Garcia providing the assist. Bristol responded midway through the period when Rhys Smetham levelled the scores, but Sheffield quickly regained control.
Watson struck again at 13:50 to restore the lead before Joonas Larinmaa extended the advantage late in the period, converting at 18:05 after good work from Michael Danečko, sending the Steeldogs into the first intermission with a 3-1 lead.
Sheffield continued to press in the second period and appeared firmly in command when Michael Danečko made it 4-1 at 26:02, assisted by Liam Steele and Oliver Knaggs.
The third period saw a dramatic shift in momentum. Bristol pulled a goal back at 51:17 through Smetham before Bayley Harewood scored just over a minute later to reduce the deficit to one. The visitors applied heavy pressure in the closing minutes, forcing Sheffield to call a timeout and defend through late penalties and an empty-net situation.
Despite the late scare, the Steeldogs showed resilience and composure to see out the win and take the points in front of the home crowd.
