Sheffield Steeldogs 4 Hull Seahawks 2: Winless start continues for Seahawks after derby defeat

Both teams went into the Yorkshire derby with key bodies missing, but it was the hosts who had the legs in the end, running out deserved 4-2 winners after initially falling behind.

Pre-game tributes were paid to former Steeldogs’ player-coach Andre Payette who tragically died back home in his native Canada last month, aged 46.

Payette’s No 7 shirt - he was in charge from 2010-2015 - was raised to the rafters in the Bauer Arena rink in front of a sizeable, respectful crowd, as his time in South Yorkshire was fondly remembered.

A goalless first period followed the celebration of Payette, the deadlock only really coming close to being broken when Hull’s Declan Jones found himself alone on the edge of the crease on the power play with only Dimitri Zimozdra to beat in the 12th minute, but the Steeldogs goalie was equal to it.

The game opened up a touch more after the first intermission, Matt Bissonnette denied by Jordan McLaughlin when one-on-one while, down the other end, Lee Pollitt cannoned one off Zimozdra’s left-hand post.

The breakthrough came just after the halfway point, Alex Kent firing on net, where Zimozdra’s pad save saw the puck fall kindly to Thomas Stubley who forced it home.

It wasn’t long before the hosts were level, however, scoring in a similar vein to Hull’s opener with Warren Tait quickest to react to the rebound off McLaughlin’s outstretched left pad to fire home at 34.58.

A tripping call on Jones in the last minute of the period was to prove costly for the visitors, though, Bissonnette exchanging passes with Alex Graham who was stationed behind the net before firing past McLaughlin from the edge of the left circle at 39.53.

Conceding an early goal in the third was the last thing the Seahawks needed after such a late blow before the break, but that’s exactly what happened when Brady Doxey reacted quickest close in to beat McLaughlin at 43.08.

Both teams were understandably tired, playing their third game in four days and any hope of Hull staging a comeback was ended when Graham fired a bullet past McLaughlin from the left hash marks to make it 4-1 at 46.35.

Thereafter there was only one conclusion, but there was still time for 16-year-old Seahawks forward Owen Bruton to make it a night to remember for himself when he recorded his first goal at this level on the power play at 56.20 to cut the deficit to 4-2, adding deserved respectability to the scoreline.