The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze handed Sheffield Steelers their heaviest home defeat in six years with a commanding 0-6 victory at the Utilita Arena.
The Blaze started strongly, nearly opening the scoring early when Nick Seitz was found at the far post, only for Matt Greenfield to make an excellent sliding save. However, Coventry’s persistence paid off when Jack Hopkins converted a Brandon Alderson feed to fire past Greenfield, giving the visitors a deserved lead at 10.38.
The second period began in perfect fashion for the Blaze. Just 23 seconds in, Mike Regush tipped a Chase Gresock shot past Greenfield short side to double the lead.
Coventry continued their dominance, and nine minutes later, Hopkins secured his second of the night, finishing five-hole on Greenfield after excellent forechecking.
Jackson Cressy then batted home a bouncing puck following a save on a Terrence Amorosa shot, making it 0-4 on the powerplay at the 35-minute mark. Seitz almost extended the lead further, hitting the crossbar before the period concluded.
The visitors came close again when Heintz broke in alone on Greenfield, and he beat the netminder but hit the post.
After absorbing some Steelers pressure early in the third period, the Blaze put the game beyond doubt with a Mike Kennedy goal on the rush at 44.32.
Seitz eventually got his reward with 7.16 to play with Alderson and Kim Tallberg each collecting a second assist of the night on the goal, rounding off a dominant road performance for Coventry.
The emphatic win lifted the Blaze back into fifth place in the standings, while the Steelers suffered their third consecutive defeat.
