The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze staged an impressive third-period comeback to secure a hard-earned point from a 4-3 overtime defeat to the Dundee Stars in the Elite League.
Both teams entered the game riding high on confidence, and Coventry thought they had taken an early lead through Kim Tallberg. However, the captain’s effort was ruled out with Richard Sabol, assessed to have stopped the puck crossing the line.
The Stars quickly regrouped, taking control of the game. Their pressure paid off at 19.39 when forward Keanu Yamamoto opened the scoring from a tight angle, assisted by Kris Inglis and Ben O’Connor.
Dundee’s solid defence, backed by netminder Sabol, controlled Coventry’s offensive efforts, ensuring the home side maintained a 1-0 lead as the first period concluded.
In the second period, Dundee doubled their lead midway through. At 35.04, Jake Elmer capitalised on a deflection to make it 2-0, with assists from Brendan Harms and Craig Moore.
Coventry managed to keep Sabol busy but struggled to find offensive cohesion, hindered by penalties. They faced five penalties in total, including infractions by Kim Tallberg and Morten Jurgens, but showed resilience by successfully killing off all of them.
The third period marked a spirited comeback from the Blaze, starting with a goal from Alessio Luciani at 41.37, assisted by Archie Hazeldine. Minutes later, Hazeldine, named Man of the Match, found the net himself at 44.11, levelling the score at 2-2 with assists from Alexander Kuqali and Tallberg.
Coventry briefly seized the momentum at 49.30 when Nick Seitz scored from in-close, assisted by Grayson Constable, putting them ahead 2-3.
However, Dundee responded quickly with Philippe Sanche equalising at 3-3 on his return to the Stars at 56.47, with O’Connor claiming his second assist of the game.
With just over a minute left in regulation, Dundee faced a tense moment as Cole MacDonald received a two-minute penalty for delay of game at 58.55. Despite this, they successfully fended off Coventry’s last-ditch efforts, forcing the game into overtime at 3-3.
Both sides had powerplay opportunities in the extra period, but it was Dundee who ultimately capitalised.
At 63.01, and while short-handed Drydn Dow’s lobbed pass found Zachary Tsekos, who beat Coventry netminder Mat Robson in a one-on-one showdown to secure the 4-3 victory for the Stars.
Photo credit: Derek Black
