The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze battled hard but fell 6-4 in their opening Challenge Cup game on the road against the Manchester Storm on Saturday.
Travelling to Altrincham without injured pair Artie Buzoverya (forward) and Connor Russell (defenceman), the Blaze endured a nightmare start, conceding three goals inside the opening ten minutes.
Brandon Cutler struck first on the powerplay at 5.23, beating Mat Robson in the Blaze net with Nick Welsh registering the assist. Cutler then turned provider, setting up Brady Gilmour for 2–0 at 7.51. Popular returnee Tyler Hinam added Storm’s third less than a minute later, finishing from Joseph Nardi at 8.38.
Head Coach Kevin Moore called a timeout to settle his side, and despite taking a penalty immediately afterwards, Coventry hit back shorthanded. Alessio Luciani, the Blaze Man of the Match, fired in the team’s first competitive goal of the campaign at 10.58, assisted by Sam Ruffin.
A delay-of-game call midway through the second proved costly, as Nardi restored Storm’s three-goal cushion at 27.37.
But penalties then swung the momentum Coventry’s way. Danish forward William Boysen capitalised on a 5-on-3 advantage to make it 4-2 at 30.24, before offensive defenceman Colton Saucerman hammered in a powerplay marker at 33.49 to pull the visitors within one.
With the physical intensity rising, the Blaze were forced to re-shuffle when Ivan Chukarov left the game, with Brit Zaine McKenzie dropping back to the blue line.
Coventry’s persistence paid off at 47.40 when Elijiah Barriga tied things up at 4-4, finishing a clever drop pass from Matthew Gleason. But Storm regained the lead late, as Loren Ulett slipped the puck through Robson’s pads with 4.28 remaining.
Pushing for another equaliser, the Blaze pulled their goaltender for the extra skater, but Storm’s pressure kept them pinned deep. Gary Haden sealed the result with an empty-netter at 58.31 to secure a 6-4 win for Manchester.
