SHEFFIELD STEELERS’ ability to show their “dirty” side helped them post a four-point weekend in the Challenge Cup, according to head coach Aaron Fox.

With barely a minute of the second period remaining in their Group A encounter with Manchester Storm at the Utilita Arena, the Steelers were coasting having gone 3-0 ahead through strikes from Robert Dowd - the only goal of the first period - Mikko Juusola and Derek Gentile.

But a power play marker from Stephen Johnson at 39.01 gave the Storm the lifeline they needed, capitalising on it further in the final 20 minutes when they drew level through a second strike at 41.03 for Johnson and a 49th-minute marker for Gary Hader.

But it was Gentile who came up trumps for the hosts, recording his second two-goal game of the campaign when he struck on the power play just over two minutes into overtime.

Combined with a 2-1 defeat for Cardiff Devils at Coventry Blaze, the 4-3 triumph was enough to send the Steelers top of the group standings with seven points from four games.

“We’re game four here, four weeks of hockey and so there are still some improvements we can make as a group,” said Fox. “But, at the end of the day, I’m not going to complain too much about a four-point weekend.

“Manchester are a good hockey team - they compete hard, they finish a lot of hits and so you’ve got to be ready to dig in and play dirty which I thought we managed for the most part.

“Overall, it was a good 60, we’ll watch the tape and learn from a few bits but we’ll be ready to go next weekend.”