Steelers extend lead ahead of Devils double-header

Tuesday night’s victory provides them with a welcome cushion ahead of this weekend’s pivotal double-header against the Cardiff Devils, who sit in second but with two games in hand on the Steelers.

Neil Clark put the visitors ahead with a fifth-minute strike before the home side levelled through Jordan Krestanovitch three minutes later.

That’s how it stayed until seven minutes into the second period as the visitors gave themselves a two-goal cushion when a rare strike from defenceman Steve Munn was followed up by a 22nd goal of the season for player-coach Ben Simon.

Kyle Bruce made it a one-goal game again in the 34th-minute but, early in the third, the Steelers restored their two-goal advantage when impressive British forward Jason Hewitt struck for his 16th of the campaign at 41.48.

It proved to be enough on the night, despite a determined effort from sixth-placed Braehead, who had stunned Cardiff with a 7-1 triumph at the same venue last Friday.

Despite having far from ideal preparation for Tuesday night’s game in Braehead, Simon was delighted his players were able to put that to one side to produce another match-winning performance.

“We left at noon, hit some traffic and didn’t arrive until close to warm up,” said Simon. “It wasn’t the perfect preparation.

“But I was delighted with how we responded in that first period. We kept things simple and Neil Clark scored a nice goal to get us going. I was happy coming in 1-1 at the break.

“Braehead have proved they are a more than capable side - their powerplay is excellent - and I’d hoped we wouldn’t take too many penalties, unfortunately that wasn’t the case and we relied on our penalty killers again. They did an excellent job tonight.

“Jason Hewitt had another outstanding game. He has earned my trust as a player. He epitomises what Steelers hockey is all about. He works so hard, plays hard and doesn’t stray away from what he does well. His goal was an added bonus”

The Steelers will now begin preparations for their eagerly-anticipated double-header against the Devils, with the the first meeting taking place in South Wales on Saturday before the return match at the Motorpoint Arena on Sunday (5pm).