SHEFFIELD STEELDOGS gained swift revenge over Hull Seahawks as the Yorkshire rivals both tasted victory on the road in their double-header weekend.

Hull, desperately trying to cling to hope of making the NIHL National play-offs, struck the first blow when beating the Steeldogs 4-2 at Ice Sheffield on Saturday. But Greg Wood’s team were quick to respond, enjoying a comfortable 6-2 win in East Yorkshire just 24 hours later.

As a result, Sheffield remain comfortable in fourth, 10 points adrift of Milton Keynes Lightning and Peterborough Phantoms in second and third. But time looks to be running out for the Seahawks in terms of their play-off bid, sitting 12 points off the eighth and final spot with just 14 games remaining.

It was nip and tuck in the first encounter in South Yorkshire, with the teams going in at the end of the first tied at 2-2, Cam Brownley scoring twice against the club he iced for until November, only to see each of his markers cancelled out, first by Sam Towner and then Nathan Salem, both also scoring against their former club.

ON THE MARK: Cam Brownley scored three goals for Sheffield Steeldogs against former club Hull Seahawks at the weekend. Picture courtesy of Peter Best/Steeldogs Media.

A goalless second period followed and it was the visitors who made it count in the third, Emil Svec getting the go-ahead goal before Salem made it a night to remember with his second at 55.37.

No doubt fired up by the previous evening’s reverse, the Steeldogs started as they meant to go on in Hull the following night, going 2-0 up inside three minutes through Jordan Buesa and Jonathan Kirk.

Salem halved the deficit with 81 seconds of the first remaining but, thereafter, it was all Steeldogs, Ben Morgan pouncing just after the halfway mark before Buesa doubled his tally.

As Hull pushed hard for a way back, Jason Hewitt hit them with a fifth goal at 55.36 before Brownley crowned a productive weekend by making it 6-1 just over a minute later, Svec’s reply at 57.46 nothing more than a consolation.

FAMILIAR FACES: Nathan Salem struck twice at Ice Sheffield for Hull Seahawks, helping beat former club Sheffield Steeldogs 4-2. Picture courtesy of Tony King/Seahawks Media.

On Saturday, Leeds Knights went down 5-4 in overtime to Milton Keynes after Sean Norris took just seconds to earn the extra point when going coast-to-coast before beating Sam Gospel.

The hosts had been chasing the game all night, going behind to a 17th-minute effort from Sam Talbot, but getting on level terms when Kieran Brown fired past Jordan Hedley on the power play at 22.04.

Just four more minutes had passed before the Lightning were ahead again, though, Norris bagging his first of the night before – just after the halfway mark – Brown struck again on the man advantage.

Rio Grinell-Parke put his team in front again at 32.05 which is how it stayed until just 25 seconds into the third period when Cole Shudra wiped that advantage out.

DOUBLE TOP: Leeds Knights' captain Kieran Brown scored twice on the power play in his team's 5-4 overtime defeat at home to Milton Keynes Lightning. Picture courtesy of Oliver Portamento

Matt Haywood then got Leeds ahead for the first time on the night, but when he took a hooking call it was to prove costly, Talbot bagging his second of the night at 56.04 to allow Norris to become the overtime hero minutes later.

It allowed the Lightning to pull to within one point of Leeds at the top, but they were unable to put any further pressure on Ryan Aldridge’s team 24 hours later when suffering a surprise 7-5 home defeat to Basingstoke Bison.

Peterborough are now level on points with Milton Keynes having come from behind to win 4-3 in overtime at Raiders IHC. Leeds have three games in hand on both.

Sheffield Steeldogs and Hull Seahawks split weekend as beaten Leeds Knights stay ahead of NIHL National's chasing pack