Elite League: Giants hammered by pacesetting Steelers

A crunching challenge in Sheffield's victory over the Giants

Belfast Giants were thumped 7-1 by Elite League leaders Sheffield Steelers at the Utilita Arena on Saturday night.

The hosts led 5-1 after the first period with Evan Mosey scoring their opener before JJ Piccinich levelled.

Sheffield surged clear with goals from Anthony Deluca, Marc-Olivier Vallerand, Tanner Eberle and Kevin Schulze .

Matias Sointu and David Phillips increased the lead in the third period to leave the Giants with three defeats from their opening five league games.

The Steelers opened the scoring through Mosey from close range in the fourth minute of the game but the Giants responded within a minute through Piccinich.

However, the contest was as good as over by the first interval as three goals in the space of less than three minutes midway through the first period put the home side in early control.

JJ Piccinich netted Belfast's only goal in the heavy defeat in Sheffield

Deluca made it 2-1, blasting the puck past Tyler Beskorowany in the Giant' goal. Vallerand then added another with a fine wrist-shot on a Sheffield powerplay.

Eberle scored the Steelers' fourth, poking the puck home after it eluded Beskorowany. The Giants, understandably, called a timeout and attempted to regroup, only to concede a fifth goal, scored by Schulze on a three-on-one breakaway in the final minute before the break.

Jackson Whistle replaced Beskorowany as the Giants looked to salvage something from the game. He didn't concede in the second period which saw no further scoring by either side but Sheffield then added two more goals in the third.

Sointu scored on a power play, before former Giants player Phillips added a seventh, beating Whistle with a shot from the blue line with little over a minute remaining in the game.