Elite League leaders Coventry Blaze suffered their biggest defeat of the season as they crashed 6-2 at Nottingham Panthers.

Johan Molin opened the scoring with with only 26 seconds on the clock before Kevin Bergin and Sean McAslan, with two, gave the home team a 4-0 lead.

Adam Calder and Curtis Huppe cut the deficit to two after the restart but Bergin grabbed a second and McAslan sealed his hat-trick to ensure a comfortable win.

Sheffield Steelers earned a first clean sheet of the season to beat Hull Stingrays 3-0. Jeff Legue, Ryan Finnerty and Dan Tessier were all on target for the hosts.

Belfast Giants ran out 5-1 winners over Edinburgh Capitals to take advantage of Coventry's slip and move within three points of Blaze.

Leigh Jamieson, Trevor Johnson, Ed Courtenay and Mark Dutiaume scored four unanswered goals before the Scots hit back through Mark Wires but Peter Campbell restored the four-goal cushion before the end.

Elsewhere, Newcastle Vipers romped to a 4-1 win over Basingstoke Bison and Manchester Phoenix beat Cardiff Devils 5-2.

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