BROCK BARTHOLOMEW continued to underline his importance to Hull Seahawks when he fired a hat-trick to get them back to winning ways at the first time of asking.

His treble helped the Seahawks complete their six-game head-to-head regular season series against Sheffield Steeldogs 5-1 to the good, but they were made to fight all the way before prevailing 7-5 on the night.

The victory at Ice Sheffield - which also saw Bradford Bulldogs’ junior Rhys Edwards bag his first goal for the visitors - was the perfect response to Sunday night’s 8-2 defeat at Raiders and took Hull four points clear of Peterborough Phantoms as well as close the gap on third-placed Swindon Wildcats to five with 15 games remaining.

For the Steeldogs, it was a further blow to their hopes of making the post-season, leaving them seven adrift of Solway - the team currently occupying the eighth and final play-off spot - with just 13 games left.

TREBLE TOP: Hull Seahawks' Brock Bartholomew scored a hat-trick in Tuesday night's 7-5 win at Sheffield Steeldogs. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

The game was less than two minutes old when Bartholomew made his mark for the first time, but in a theme which was to dominate the night, the Steeldogs quickly got themselves level a minute later through Cam Brownley.

Bartholomew doubled his and his team’s tally only to then see Vladislav Vulkanovs level before the first intermission.

Edwards then introduced himself to NIHL National with a rocket of a shot to make it 3-2 to the Seahawks at 22.46, his first goal at this level, Declan Jones then doubling the lead in the 36th minute before Matt Bissonnette made it a one-goal game with just two seconds of the period remaining.

Vulkanovs got on the board for a second time in the third to restore parity but that man Bartholomew delivered again for the visitors to make it 5-4 with his hat-trick strike.

That looked like being the final word in what had been a pulsating derby until, with 121 seconds remaining, Jonathan Phillips popped up to pull the hosts level for a fifth time.

It would have been enough for a deserved point for the Steeldogs but they allowed Bobby Chamberlain to pounce with 69 seconds remaining to put Hull ahead yet again, former Steeldogs’ forward Sam Towner then ensuring both points went back to East Yorkshire when he made it 7-5 with 21 seconds left on the clock.

Sheffield Steeldogs 5 Hull Seahawks 7 - Brock Bartholomew delivers treble blast to keep Seahawks in mix for top-three finish