Great Britain international Liam Kirk is now the 2021 Elite Series joint-leading goalscorer as Sheffield Steelers beat Coventry Blaze 7-2 at the National Ice Centre.
Kirk had a three-point night and joins Ciaran Long on four goals in three matches to head the early-tournament leading scorers.
GB forward Robert Dowd assisted on Tanner Eberle’s goal at 5:52 and then turned goalscorer as he reacted first to a loose puck (11:55).
Fellow GB forward Mike Hammond connected well with Tristan Keck as the latter reduced the deficit for the Blaze with 39 seconds remaining in the first period (19:21).
Kirk was involved in the build-up to Sheffield’s third goal at 22:04 with Sondre Olden on target, before Coventry’s Nick Jermain scored his first professional goal (28:21) with Hammond once again providing the assist.
Kirk then scored Sheffield’s fourth – and his fourth of the tournament – at 33:09 to restore their two-goal lead at the second intermission.
Eberle grabbed his second of the night (42:41) and Great Britain captain Jonathan Phillips set-up his former GB team-mate Jason Hewitt (54:58) as Sheffield took control.
There was still time for Eberle to complete his hat-trick (55:41) – assisted by Kirk – to round-off a comprehensive victory for the Steelers.
Four teams – Coventry Blaze, Manchester Storm, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers – are competing in the 2021 Elite Series at the National Ice Centre.
The event has been organised under the government’s Elite Sport Guidance, with regular testing and a full covid-19 protocol in place.
All games are available to watch on a live stream – click here for more details and to purchase the webcasts.
Photo credit: Karl Denham.