With Belfast Giants wrapping up a third straight regular season title on home ice on Saturday with a comprehensive 6-1 win over nearest challengers Guildford Flames, there remains just the one trophy up for grabs.

The Steelers last won the play-off trophy back in 2017 under Paul Thompson and with it being long-serving captain Jonathan Phillips final season before retirement, they will want to send him off in the perfect way.

Sunday saw the Steelers lose out 4-0 against hosts Cardiff Devils but they had already secured third spot and with it a two-legged first round tie with Manchester courtesy of a 5-4 win over Glasgow Clan on home ice on Saturday night.

DOUBLE DELIGHT: Brett Neumann scored twice in Saturday's 5-4 home win for Sheffield Steelers against Glasgow Clan. Picture courtesy of Dean Woolley/Steelers Media/EIHL.

Robert Dowd gave the Steelers a late first-period lead, but goals from Gary Haden, John Dunbar and Gabriel Chabot in just over three minutes put Clan 3-1 up by 26:39.

Brett Neumann made it a one-goal game at 28:56, before Danny Kristo levelled at 38:50.

Neumann scored again with 51 seconds left in the period to complete the turnaround before Dowd made it 5-3 at 43.51. Mitch Jones pulled a late one back for Clan, but it was as close as they got.

Steelers head to Manchester this Friday for the first leg before hosting Matt Ginn’s sixth-placed team at the Utilita Arena on Saturday (face-off 7pm).

ON SONG: Jonathan Kirk enjoyed a 2+1 night for Sheffield Steeldogs in their 9-4 win at Basingstoke Bison. Picture courtesy of Peter Best.

In NIHL National, league champions Leeds Knights rounded off their regular season campaign with an emphatic 9-1 home win over closest challengers Milton Keynes Lightning.

The Lightning had prevailed 7-5 in Buckinghamshire the previous night but had little answer to the Knights’ firepower at Elland Road.

Matt Haywood led the way for the hosts, adding two assists to his hat-trick of goals, captain Kieran Brown (2), Cole Shudra, Adam Barnes, Mac Howlett and Jake Wikowski all getting on the scoresheet.

Sheffield Steeldogs made it a weekend double over Leeds’ play-off quarter-final opponents Basingstoke Bison, following up a 4-3 home win with an impressive 9-4 win in Hampshire last night.

ON A ROLL: Andrej Themar posted three goals and four assists in Hull Seahawks' 8-7 overtime at Peterborough Phantoms. Picture courtesy of Hull Seahawks.

Jonathan Kirk, Vladislav Vulkanovs and Tom Palmer all bagged a brace, with Jason Hewitt, Matt Bissonnette and Brady Doxey also getting finding the net, too.

The previous night in Sheffield, Jordan Buesa, Hewitt and Vulkanovs beat Bison’s goaltender Jordan Lawday before Bissonnette fired a decisive third period winner.

Hull Seahawks finished their debut season with an 8-7 overtime win at Peterborough Phantoms.

Having lost 3-2 at home to Telford on Saturday, Matty Davies’s team came out flying in Cambridgeshire, establishing a 3-1 first-period lead through Andrej Themar (2) and Emil Svec.

The lead was 6-3 after another 20 minutes thanks to further strikes from Themar, Svec and Chris Wilcox.

Declan Balmer struck at 50.51 to make it 7-4 and, with just under three minutes remaining, the Seahawks looked home and dry.

But they allowed the Phantoms to tie the game inside 60 minutes, although their blushes were spared when Nathan Salem scored with 38 seconds of overtime remaining.

How Sheffield Steelers, Leeds Knights and Sheffield Steeldogs got ready for their play-off campaigns