A second-period breakaway goal by Mark Simpson was enough to lift the Sheffield Steelers over Skellefteå AIK 3-2 as the British side registered their third consecutive victory while the Swedes fell for the first time in regulation on the season.

Sheffield were off and running, as the hosts made good on two early chances and secured a two-goal lead with less than four minutes gone in the opening stanza.

Brandon Whistle got things going when he received a cross-ice feed from Angelo Miceli and completed a 2-on-1 opportunity, wristing one low, glove side to take the lead. The hosts extended their advantage with Joel Janatuinen finding twine when he beat Alexander Hellnemo in the exact same spot less than a minute later.

Skellefteå, however, eventually found their rhythm and erased their deficit nine and half minutes in when they lit the lamp twice in quick succession.

Andreas Johnson extended his goal-scoring streak to four consecutive contests when he got his stick on a loose puck in the slot and hammered it by Matthew Greenfield to cut Sheffield's lead in half at 9:38. Then Zeb Lindgren manufactured the equaliser from just outside the far circle a little over a minute later. Rickard Hugg found Lindgren from below the red line as the forward received the pass and picked his spot to level the game 2-2.

Settling into the second, an excellent transition play by Joona Huttula sprung Sheffield's Simpson in behind the Swedes' defence as he skated in on a breakaway and exploited Hellnemo's glove side once again to score the go-ahead goal with less than six minutes left in the stanza.

Following two periods of play, the home side maintained a healthy lead in shots, outpacing their opponents by double, 28-14.

Sheffield continued to hem Skellefteå in their own zone for long stretches as minutes waned in the third period.

The Swedish side were the recipients of some quality chances late in the period, but Greenfield maintained Sheffield's lead even as the visitors did their best to break through.

With less than two minutes left, the Swedes opted for an empty net, but the British side's tenacious defence made things difficult for Skellefteå as Sheffield would go on to earn the well-deserved win.