Sheffield Steelers 8 Manchester Storm 2: Steelers thrash Storm to stay top of Challenge Cup group

In the final Cup Group game, Sheffield emphatically found their goal scoring touch, without the injured marksman Marco Vallerand.

Russian flyer Nikolai Lemtyugov notched his first hat-trick for the club.

Manchester are bottom of the regular EIHL league table and had been in need of a boost in the Cup.

And they had the better of the early exchanges, with Raymond Grewal and Kyle Hope going close.

Steelers wrestled control, though.

Anthony DeLuca was freakishly busy and Robert Dowd, who came into the evening on the back of 20 points in 19 games, was an ever-present danger.

But it was Jonathan Phillips who broke the deadlock, thrashing home the puck from between the circles at 12:14.

It was the skipper's first strike of the season and a severe blow for Storm, who had just defied a five-on-three power play with some pretty heroic shot-blocking.

Steelers had had a mixed Cup tournament so far, winning four and losing three and conceding more than they had scored, but they controlled most of the play.

Aaron Fox's side are a sight to see when they are in full flow.

And they showed that in a blistering four-minute spell where they scored three goals and secured the win.

Winger Lemtyugov started it off, with a power play goal at 22:25.

Then Eric Meland showed his undoubted class and creativity by putting a goal on a plate for Michael Davies.

John Armstrong wrapped up the sequence with a close range goal, potted while he was on one knee.

Sadly the period will probably be remembered most for an unpleasant incident at Steelers' net.

Davies hacked at Mathieu Gagnon, whose temper snapped and he virtually buried the smaller man into the ice, the blows cutting the Steeler.

Both were ejected and in Gagnon's absence and on the power play DeLuca snapped a recent personal barren period by wrapping around number five.

Storm coach Ryan Finnerty 'serenaded' the officials as they walked off the ice - he clearly felt his team had been harshly treated.

With the game lost, Finnerty exchanged goaltenders, Adam Long coming on only to be beaten by a scintillating solo goal from Lemtyugov at 47;43 - his second double in successive games.

Cody Thompson reversed the trend with a reply for Storm.

And they added a second from Tyson Fawcett with Marek Trončinský in the penalty box.

But Lemtyugov and young winger Kieran Brown had the final say.