The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze fell on the wrong side of a nine-goal Boxing Day thriller, losing 4-5 to the Cardiff Devils at Vindico Arena.
After a scoreless opening period, the contest burst into life in the second with seven goals and a major flashpoint.
Cardiff struck twice inside the opening minute of the middle frame. Cedric Lacroix forced the puck over the line just 21 seconds in, and 44 seconds later Gleason Fournier’s long-range effort found its way through traffic to double the lead.
Momentum then swung dramatically when Riley Brandt was ejected following an altercation with Grayson Constable, handing Coventry a five-minute major powerplay – which the Blaze ruthlessly capitalised on.
Sam Ruffin pulled one back at 23.37, before Elijah Barriga levelled the game at 26.38.
Just 14 seconds later, Alessio Luciani fired high glove to put the Blaze ahead, and the Man of the Match added his second only 18 seconds later to complete a stunning turnaround and give Coventry a 2-4 lead.
A Cardiff timeout steadied the hosts, and they reduced the deficit on their own powerplay when Josh MacDonald tipped home a Kristoff Kontos shot with just over seven minutes remaining in the period.
Kontos then levelled the game just 26 seconds into the third, again on the man advantage, firing into an open net after contact in front left Blaze netminder Mat Robson unable to recover.
With overtime looming, Cardiff found the winner inside the final four minutes as Joey Martin was picked out at the back post to slide home the decisive goal (56.04) to seal a memorable Boxing Day victory for the home side who went joint top of the Elite League table.
Photo credit: James Assinder
