The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze suffered a 4-0 defeat to the Guildford Flames in the Elite League at the Spectrum on Sunday.
Blaze travelled to Surrey without forward Matthew Gleason for the second consecutive night, while star netminder Mat Robson was given a well-earned rest. Dershahn Stewart stepped in between the pipes for Coventry.
The visitors created the first major chance of the game when Alessio Luciani was denied by Flames goaltender Justin Fazio, with Elijiah Barriga unable to convert the rebound during a 3-on-2 rush. Blaze head coach Kevin Moore opted to challenge the play, believing the puck had crossed the line. However, the review ruled no goal, leaving Coventry to kill a penalty for the unsuccessful challenge.
Stewart was called into action repeatedly early on, making a string of important saves to keep the game level. Coventry then enjoyed their first powerplay opportunity inside the opening five minutes, but were unable to capitalise.
Despite an evenly contested opening period with chances at both ends, it was Guildford who broke the deadlock. Stewart made the initial save from Sam Talbot, but Josh Waller reacted quickest to the rebound to make it 1-0 at 16.08.
Both sides had early powerplay chances in the second period, but neither could add to the scoring. As the game passed its halfway mark, Blaze pushed for an equaliser. Top scorer Grant Mismash was denied on a breakaway by Fazio, who continued his Man of the Match performance by stopping further efforts from Luciani and Colton Saucerman.
At the other end, Stewart produced a spectacular double save late in the period to keep Coventry within one.
The Blaze started the third period on the powerplay, but a costly breakdown led to a 3-on-1 opportunity for the Flames. Tyler Busch finished clinically, assisted by Jamal Watson, to double the home side’s lead at 41.53.
Coventry’s hopes of a comeback were further dented midway through the period when penalties to Adam Robbins and David Clements handed Guildford an extended 5-on-3 powerplay. The Blaze penalty kill stood firm, but shortly afterwards Stewart was forced to leave the game through injury. Joel Bearman replaced him to make his senior debut.
With 2.29 remaining, Waller struck again for his second of the night to effectively seal the result.
Tempers flared in the closing stages as Jordan Power and Tyler Preziuso dropped the gloves. Guildford emerged from the altercation with a powerplay, and Jack Jacome added a buzzer-beating goal with just one second remaining to complete a 4-0 victory for the Flames.
Photo credit: John Uwins
