Belfast break through

Belfast Giants chose the perfect stage to record a historic first victory as they seized a dramatic 6-5 success at Bracknell Bees on Sunday.

Belfast Giants chose the perfect stage to record a historic first victory as they seized a dramatic 6-5 success at Bracknell Bees on Sunday.

Coach Dave Whistle, along with six of his players, were in familiar surroundings, having guided the Bees to the Superleague title last season before quitting to join the expansion club during the summer.

The former Bracknell captain Rob Stewart put Giants ahead after only 18 seconds, before the Bees were stung into action and raced 3-1 ahead with goals from Mark Bultje, Jason Mansoff and Dan Ceman. The Giants' Colin Ward - another ex-Bee - traded goals with Joe Cardarelli before Stewart and Paxton Schulte restored parity with two powerplay markers.

Cardarelli added his second before Kory Karlander forced overtime, with the latter scoring the game-winning penalty.

Ed Courtenay and Teeder Wynne endured a miserable time against their former club Sheffield Steelers as Ayr Scottish Eagles were beaten 5-1 at the Centrum Arena.

Courtenay broke the Superleague points-scoring record and formed a lethal first-line partnership with Wynne last season, before both were surprisingly shown the door during the summer.

Jason Weaver, Jeff Sebastien and a Steve Roberts double put Steelers in control before Courtenay pulled a goal back for the hosts. The Steelers' captain Dennis Vial sealed a five-star display for his side, who are the early leaders in the league having won both their opening games.

Manchester Storm made a solid start in their quest to regain the title with a 2-0 victory over London Knights at the Docklands Arena.

Storm extended their unbeaten record on the road this season to four games, thanks to a double from Trevor Gallant, a summer signing from the United States' East Coast Hockey League outfit Arkansas Riverblades. He opened the scoring in the 15th minute and doubled his - and Storm's - tally just before the half-hour.

The Storm netminder Dave Trofimenkoff, pulled midway through the 5-4 Benson and Hedges Cup success over Bracknell 24 hours earlier, bounced back with a 28-shot shut-out in a man-of-the-match display.