Blaze Suffer Heartbreaking Challenge Cup Defeat in Guildford
The DPD Coventry Blaze suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat on the road against the Guildford Flames, as their hopes of progressing in the Challenge Cup took a hit.
The Blaze started the evening with renewed optimism as long-term injury absentees Tanner Kaspick and Sam Ruffin returned to the line-up.
The opening period was dominated by the Blaze, who created opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net. A goaltending masterclass from the Blaze’s Sisu Heikkeri and Guildford’s Justin Fazio kept the game scoreless after 20 minutes.
Halfway through the game, Heikkeri stood firm to deny Guildford on a breakaway after a fanned shot, keeping the Blaze in the contest.
At 34:52, Blaze Man of the Match Ryan Richardson broke the deadlock, firing a low shot glove-side past Fazio to give the Blaze a one goal lead.
However, the hosts responded just 80 seconds later. At 36:12, Cole Sanford capitalised on a rebound off Heikkeri to level the score at 1-1, leaving the sides all square heading into the second intermission.
A physical end to the second period carried into the third, with both teams battling hard for the advantage.
With six minutes remaining, Travis Brown threatened to put Guildford ahead on a breakaway, but Matthew Gleason defended brilliantly, applying pressure and taking away the shooting opportunity.
The decisive moment came at 57:05 when Guildford’s Alexandre Lavoie found the top corner over Heikkeri’s shoulder following a scramble behind the net, putting the Flames ahead 2-1.
With two minutes remaining, Blaze head coach Kevin Moore pulled Heikkeri for the extra skater in a final push for an equaliser. Despite creating several opportunities, Coventry were unable to beat Fazio again as the Flames secured a crucial two points in the battle to reach the semi-finals from Group A.