The Guildford Flames produced a remarkable third-period comeback to defeat the Genting Casino Coventry Blaze 3-6 at Skydome Arena in the Elite League on Wednesday.
Guildford were boosted by the return of Great Britain internationals Lewis Hook and Josh Waller, while Coventry had to call upon assistant coach Zach Vinnell to step into the line-up in place of the injured Jakob Stridsberg on the blue line.
The first major chance of the game came while the Blaze were shorthanded, as Nick Seitz was slashed while handling a golden opportunity following a fortunate bounce off the boards. His effort was denied by Jake Kupsky with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first period.

Canadian forward Grayson Constable set the tone with high intensity, and the Blaze’s strong start was rewarded when defenseman Archie Hazeldine flew down the ice, pulling off a slick move to earn a secondary assist on Jack Hopkins’ goal at 12.42.

Coventry appeared set to take Hopkins’ goal advantage into the intermission, but Hook had other ideas, using strong body positioning in tight to snap a shot past Mat Robson with 1.50 left in the period.

The Blaze restored their lead early in the second when Mike Regush was dragged down on a two-on-one breakaway, sending Charlie Dodero to the box for tripping.
Seitz capitalized on the powerplay, scoring his team-leading 18th goal of the season, assisted by Regush, who tops the Elite League with 26 assists.

Just 44 seconds before the midway point, Blaze thought they had a third goal, but Regush’s effort was ruled out due to a high stick.
Coventry continued to apply pressure, and Guildford had Kupsky to thank for keeping them within a goal.
However, the confident Blaze finally found a breakthrough, as Man of the Match Regush netted a deserved goal at 38.23, finishing off a slick play from Brandon Alderson.

The Flames clawed their way back into the game with 15.39 remaining, when Daniel Tedesco’s shot was deflected into the net by Brett Ferguson.
With a powerplay opportunity, the visitors tied the game 3-3 with 13.16 to go, thanks to Charlie Curti’s well-placed finish.

Robson made three crucial saves in quick succession to keep the Flames from taking the lead immediately after, but he was powerless at 50.52 when Ethan Stang found space and fired Guildford ahead, with Tedesco collecting his second assist.

Matt Alvaro added a fourth unanswered goal at 56.54 before Hook sealed Coventry’s miserable third period with an empty-netter at 58.30.
Photo credit: Scott Wiggins