SHEFFIELD STEELDOGS took a significant step towards clinching a place at the NIHL National Final Four Weekend - but still have work to do before then.

Having lost all five regular season meetings, Slava Koulikov’s finally got the better of league champions Swindon Wildcats when the two met in Game 3 of the post-season at Ice Sheffield on Friday night.

It required top points-scorer Bair Gendunov to fire the winning shot in the shoot-out to clinch a come-from-behind 5-4 win.

The two teams met again the following night in Swindon where normal service was resumed when Swindon went top of Group A courtesy of a 3-2 win.

OPENING SALVO: Liam Steele opened the scoring for Sheffield Steeldogs at Swindon Wildcats on Saturday, but it couldn't prevent a 3-2 defeat. Picture: Tony Johnson.

placeholder image — OPENING SALVO: Liam Steele opened the scoring for Sheffield Steeldogs at Swindon Wildcats on Saturday, but it couldn't prevent a 3-2 defeat. Picture: Tony Johnson.

It leaves the Steeldogs second a point back off the Wildcats, knowing that a win from one of their final two group games against Romford Raiders next weekend will be enough to take them to Coventry and the semi-finals on April 18.

If so, it will give them an opportunity to repeat the National Cup and play-off double they enjoyed back in 2022.

On Saturday at the Link Centre - as had been the case the previous night in South Yorkshire - there was little to choose between the two teams.

The deadlock was broken early when Edgars Bebris put Swindon ahead against his former team with just 3.29 on the clock, although that was quickly cancelled out when defenceman Liam Steele equalised 90 seconds later.

It wasn’t until late in the second period that the next goal came - the trouble was for the Steeldogs was that two came along in quick succession.

Caden Villegas beat Brady Parker with a power play strike at 36.56 but less than two minutes later the hosts were two goals clear when Dylan Lipsey also found the net.

Again the Steeldogs rallied, making it a one-goal game through Bailey Yates at 47.08 and although they outshot the Wildcats two-to-one in the third period, they couldn’t find a way past Renny Marr for a third time.

Elsewhere in Group A, Peterborough Phantoms recovered from a blank weekend against the Steeldogs first time out by seeing off Romford Raiders 6-5 thanks to a third period fightback.

The two teams meet again on Sunday night. Regardless of who wins, either of them could still overtake the Steeldogs on the final weekend.