Sheffield led 4-2 early in the second period but Bristol were 6-5 up at the start of the third - and went to 9-7 and then 11-9 before Sheffield staged a very late recovery.
It was almost as close as Team Northumbria edged an 11-10 victory over Caledonia thanks to Zach White's fifth goal 1.48 from the end. Northumbria had led 8-4 and then 10-7 at the start of the last quarter before the Scots countered with goals from Alasdair Campbell, Matt Crighton and Darren Campbell.