The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze secured a four-point weekend and moved to within three points of sixth place with a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Cardiff Devils at a packed Skydome Arena on Sunday.
The game burst into life from the opening puck drop, with tensions boiling over early. Less than three minutes in, Colton Saucerman and Brett Ferguson dropped the gloves after a coming together behind the Coventry net, setting the tone for a high-intensity contest.
Coventry seized control in a dominant first period. Grayson Constable opened the scoring midway through the frame (10.05), finishing a well-worked backdoor play from Grant Mismash.
The Blaze then capitalised on the powerplay, with Mike Pelech striking twice at 13.08 and 16.44 – both goals set up by the impressive Mismash.
Jordan Power added a fourth at 18:47 to cap a blistering spell for the hosts, with Mismash’s three assists earning him Man of the Match honours.
Following the four-goal surge, Cardiff replaced Christian Stoever in net with Great Britain international Ben Bowns in an attempt to stem the tide.
The Devils responded in the second period. Brett Perlini got them on the board just past the halfway mark (29.34), before Josh MacDonald struck just over a minute later (30.55) to reduce the deficit to two and shift momentum.
Cardiff continued their push in the third period, with Perlini grabbing his second of the night at 47.36 to make it a one-goal game and set up a tense finale.
The visitors pressed hard in the closing stages and, on a late powerplay, pulled Bowns for a 6-on-4 advantage. Coventry thought they had sealed the win with an empty-net effort, only to be denied by the post. However, moments later a turnover allowed Saucerman to find the net with just 20 seconds remaining, completing a memorable Gordie Howe hat trick.
Brandon Estes pulled one back with five seconds left, but the Blaze held firm to secure a hard-fought victory.
The Blaze travel to Belfast on Wednesday to face the Belfast Giants, who were crowned Elite Ice Hockey League champions on Saturday.
They then head into the final weekend of the regular season with a trip to face the Cardiff Devils on Saturday, before returning home to host the Giants in their season finale at the Skydome Arena on Sunday (5.30pm).
Photo credit: Scott Stevens
