Bracknell battle way through to last four

Bracknell Bees became the first team to qualify for the Sekonda Superleague play-off semi-finals thanks to a 4-2 victory over Ayr Scottish Eagles at the Beehive on Sunday night.

Bracknell Bees became the first team to qualify for the Sekonda Superleague play-off semi-finals thanks to a 4-2 victory over Ayr Scottish Eagles at the Beehive on Sunday night.

Bees, who finished third in defending their league title following a fantastic run-in to the regular season, claimed their third successive win to seal their place in the last four in Nottingham later this month.

Rhett Gordon put Ayr ahead inside four minutes but Dan Seman and Chris Brant gave Bees a first-period lead. Joe Cardarelli gave the Bees some breathing space, Mike Harding kept the Eagles in the game but Darren Hurley clinched victory 13 minutes from time.

Manchester Storm kept their season alive with a 3-2 home win over Cardiff Devils. Having claimed a crucial point from their overtime loss to Bracknell on Friday, their first victory of the post season has given them renewed hope of making the semi-finals.

The defending champions, London Knights, recorded their third successive victory with a 3-1 success over Nottingham Panthers at the Docklands Arena. The Knights shut out Belfast Giants 3-0 on their previous visit to Northern Ireland, prior to a 4-2 play-off in London. A repeat win in Belfast tonight, in either regulation time or overtime, would take Knights into the play-off semi-finals. For the Giants, defeat would not spell the end, with a number of permutations available from the remaining fixtures.