The Sheffield Steelers star keen on keeping up his red-hot goal streak

The super-fast forward has potted four goals in the last five games for Aaron Fox's team.

Included in that haul was the game-winner against Belfast Giants on Saturday.

Sadly for him, his goal the following night against the same opposition couldn't spark a revival in a game they lost.

He said it had been satisfying to contribute on the scoreboard in the win. He would have liked the Sunday goal "to be a factor in a comeback" but ultimately it did not mean as much to him, as the team was defeated.

As for his recent goals, he said: "Most guys score in bunches like that. For me, I generate a lot of chances, sometimes it feels like it is not going my way, and I am not getting the bounces and sometimes it just goes your way. So it is nice to see them going in right now."

Coach Fox has relied heavily on Neumann's first line with Scott Allen and Daniel Ciampini, which he constructed three games into the new EIHL season.

"It is a strong line, I think I am happy with the chemistry we have got going now and obviously when Allen is healthy he is a great player and wins battles," said Neumann.

"Ciampini is a goalscorer and playmaker, I think we click off each other and read off each other and we just continue to play better."

Allen was an absentee on Sunday, through injury, which meant Danny Kristo was selected for that unit.

"Unfortunately Allen has been out, Kristo has stepped right in there and I felt we had some chances right away," said the 23-year-old Canadian, who played in the Czech Republic last season.

"He (Kristo) is a great player and it is good that we have such a deep team.

"He is a highly offensive player, can make great passes, can score, and plays the right way so there is not much negative I can say about him. He is awesome; a pleasure to play with."

Neumann admitted it had been "upsetting" to lose to Belfast on Sunday, a game which he said Sheffield had started poorly but had finished strongly.

"We have to look at what we did wrong," he said.

For Belfast, it was a character win, given the fact they were icing without Kevin Raine, Mark Cooper, Sam Ruopp, Tyler Soy, and Chad Butcher.

The Irish - who travel to leaders Guildford Flames on Saturday - have now strengthened their ranks with the return of Great Britain forward Lewis Hook for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.

If Giants can win there in regulation time and Steelers beat Nottingham Panthers, at home, Sheffield will cut Flames' lead at the top of the table to four points, with two games in hand.