Sirianni marks his Steelers’ arrival in style

SUDDEN IMPACT: Rob Sirriani scored a hat-trick on his Steelers' debut. Picture: Dean Woolley.

The 29-year-old Canadian only jetted into South Yorkshire on Saturday night while his team-mates were 340 miles away losing 4-2 at the Odyssey Arena against Belfast Giants.

But the Italian international, who like Steelers’ team-mate Nate DiCasmirro helped their adopted nation beat Great Britain 5-1 in April’s World Championships in Budapest, made an immediate on-ice impact to salvage the weekend for his new club, scoring a hat-trick in a 6-3 win over Cardiff Devils at the Motorpoint Arena.

He first pounced in the fifth minute with a powerplay strike to cancel out Mac Faulkner’s first-minute opener for the visitors.

Steelers then gained a 4-1 lead through strikes from Tim Spencer, DiCasmirro and Jeff Legue, only for Tyson Marsh to hit back with a powerplay strike for Cardiff at 33.36.

Step forward Sirianni once again to plunder two more goals in just 18 seconds to put the Steelers out of sight and up to sixth in the table.

“It was good that we were able to rebound from the result on Saturday,” said an exhausted Sirianni afterwards, “It’s a good group of guys here and they made me feel welcome right away – I was happy to be able to contribute and help get the win.

“Any time you can score or contribute early in a game, it really helps you throughout the rest of the game.

“It was just one of those nights where the puck was going my way and sometimes that happens - you shoot the puck and sometimes good things will happen.

“It’s a nice change from playing in Italy. When you’re made to feel as welcome as I have been by everybody here then you don’t feel as nervous when you have to play.”

Sunday night’s result may have helped return the smile to head coach Doug Christiansen’s face after a first return to former club Belfast had ended badly 24 hours earlier.

Just before the halfway mark Belfast were 2-0 ahead through Craig Peacock and Jeff Swez.

Legue pulled one back at 43.24, only for Adam Keefe to restore the two-goal lead just over a minute later. Steelers stormed back again through Rob Dowd at 46.46, but the points were sealed with an empty net strike by Belfast’s Dustin Whitecotton at 59.47.