The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze ended their 2024/25 Elite League campaign in sensational fashion, defeating the Sheffield Steelers 4-3 at the Skydome Arena on Sunday.
With the Blaze celebrating their 25th Anniversary in Coventry, it was a memorable night and result that crushed the visitors’ hopes of back-to-back league championships.
Sheffield arrived in Coventry knowing that a win, combined with a slip-up by the Belfast Giants, could see them crowned champions once again. But Blaze had other ideas.
Coventry came flying out of the gates, stunning the Steelers with two goals inside the opening five minutes. Defenceman Brady Pouteau opened the scoring at 2.50, firing a blast from the blue line past Matt Greenfield.
Just 30 seconds later, Nick Seitz netted his 30th goal of an impressive rookie season, finishing a slick feed from Alessio Luciani to double the lead.
Sheffield responded quickly. Sam Tremblay cut the deficit to 2-1 at 3.56 after being set up by Daniel Leavens.
Then, at 8.35, Mitchell Balmas tied the game, finding space and beating Mat Robson with a pinpoint shot, much to the delight of the large travelling Steelers support.
After a wild opening 10 minutes, the game settled down, but the second period sparked back into life. At 26.16, Daniel Ciampini gave the Steelers the lead, assisted by the ever-dangerous Balmas, and with Belfast two goals down to Nottingham at the time, Sheffield’s title hopes were back on track.
But the Blaze weren’t done. A quick breakout led to Terrance Amorosa levelling the game at 28.20, his shot catching Greenfield off guard and once again throwing the title race into chaos.
As word filtered through that Belfast had closed the gap in Nottingham, the tension in both arenas ramped up. With ten minutes left in both games, the scorelines were locked at 3-3.
Then came the decisive moment.
With just 3.21 remaining, Mike Regush won a crucial face-off in the Steelers zone. The puck landed on Chase Gresock’s stick, and the sharpshooter wasted no time. A lightning-quick release flew past Greenfield before he could react, putting Blaze 4-3 ahead and dealing a devastating blow to Sheffield’s title dream.
The Steelers pulled their goalie in the final minute in a desperate bid to save their season, but Coventry stood firm to close out a memorable victory – and a perfect four-point weekend to end their campaign on a high.
Moments later, news of Coventry’s result reached Nottingham, where the Giants were able to celebrate their league title even before overtime began, which they fittingly went on to win 4-3.
Photo credit: Scott Wiggins
