NIHL National: Jonathan Phillips is hat-trick hero for Sheffield Steeldogs but Hull Seahawks are beaten

His treble was part of a 6-4 road win for the Steeldogs against in-form Bees IHC on Saturday night and signalled the biggest single-game goal-haul for Jason Hewitt’s team this season.

Phillips’s third strike came towards the end of the third period to establish a 5-2 lead for the visitors but it was to prove a somewhat nervy finish in Slough, the Bees fighting back in the third period to make it a one-goal game before Hewitt bagged an empty-netter with 37 seconds remaining to snap a three-game losing streak.

It was the Dogs’ player-coach who had earlier broken the deadlock with only 55 seconds gone, although his effort was cancelled out by an eighth-minute reply from Bees’ Marcel Balaz.

Phillips then opened his account at 24.33, the Bees again levelling, this time through player-coach Dominik Gabaj, just over two minutes later.

James Spurr gave the Steeldogs the lead for a third time just before the halfway point, one that was doubled five minutes later through a second from Phillips.

Once Phillips sealed his hat-trick at 38.41, the game looked done and dusted. But third-period strikes from Balaz and Vanya Antonov ensured the Steeldogs had to dig deep for the last 12 minutes or so before Hewitt applied the finishing touch.

Hull Seahawks slipped to a second straight defeat for the first time this season when they went down 4-2 at Solway Sharks. Matty Davies’s team were always chasing the game in Dumfries, only getting on the board in the last 10 minutes once they were 4-0 down.

Kieran Hair opened the scoring for the league newcomers at 4.04 before former Leeds Chiefs’ forward Lewis Houston doubled the home team’s advantage at 26.50.

It got worse for the visitors when Canadian import forward Nolan Gardiner made it 3-0 early in the third, the game effectively put to bed when Callum Boyd marked his return to the club in fine style with a 50th-minute strike.

Bobby Chamberlain finally got the visitors on the board at 51.01, before grabbing a further consolation with six seconds remaining.