Blaze Hold Firm Against Panthers
The DPD Coventry Blaze continued their strong start to the Motorpoint Elite League campaign with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over rivals Nottingham Panthers at the Skydome Arena on Saturday night.
Puck drop followed a poignant Remembrance ceremony, with the fixture dedicated to honouring our veterans while also raising support for the Lord Leycester Hospital. Evan Fitzpatrick got the start in net for Coventry, going head-to-head with former Blaze fan favourite Mat Robson in the Nottingham goal.
The Blaze opened the scoring at 12:34 after good pressure forced a turnover in the Panthers' zone. Jaxson Ezman fed Hungarian defenceman Márkó Csollák, who made no mistake with a one-timer past Robson to give the home side the lead.
Nottingham responded four minutes later. Following sustained pressure in the Blaze zone, Zach O’Brien found space to score from a tight angle after Fitzpatrick had made an initial save.
O’Brien struck again at 16:34 to put the visitors ahead. Chase Pearson drove towards the net, and as the puck broke loose, the Panthers capitalised to make it 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
Coventry were handed an early opportunity to get back on level terms in the second period when Jaakko Niskala was penalised for slashing.
The Blaze made the most of the powerplay, with Man of the Match Boysen providing a neat finish in front of goal at 21:35 to bring the scores level at 2-2.
Under two minutes later, Coventry were in front. Ezman's effort created a rebound which Ryan Richardson was on hand to fire home. The goal was initially subject to video review after the net was dislodged during the play but was eventually awarded to send the Skydome crowd into celebration.
The Blaze extended their advantage at 26:04 with a spectacular strike from Carson Musser. Picking his moment from the blue-line, Musser unleashed a shot which flew past Robson to make it 4-2.
It was a decisive spell for Coventry, with three goals in just 4 minutes and 29 seconds turning a 1-2 deficit into a commanding two-goal lead.
The Panthers looked to fight their way back into the contest and were handed a powerplay opportunity following an interference penalty against Boysen. Nottingham made it count, with Benjamin Corbeil finding the net at 52:07 to reduce the deficit to 4-3.
There was controversy surrounding the penalty, which followed a collision involving a Panthers player and Robson, with Boysen subsequently becoming a target for the visitors as the game progressed.
With the game finely poised, Nottingham pushed hard for an equaliser and pulled Robson for the extra skater in the final minute.
However, the Blaze stood firm under pressure, protecting their one-goal advantage to secure an important 4-3 victory over their local rivals and continue their impressive start to the league campaign.