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Gresock hatty leads Blaze to OT victory

The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze secured a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory against the Guildford Flames, with Chase Gresock completing his hat-trick in the dying moments of 3-on-3 sudden death to seal the win at the Skydome Arena.

The game started with a setback for the home side as Matt Alvaro put the Flames ahead just 22 seconds in, assisted by Jack Jacome and Joshua Waller.

Despite the early deficit, the Blaze re-grouped, and Gresock notched his first of the night at 19.18, finishing a play set up by Alexander Kuqali and David Clements, sending the teams into the first intermission level at 1-1.

In the second period, Coventry grabbed the lead midway through when Gresock struck again on the powerplay at 32.45, with Terrance Amorosa providing the primary assist.

However, the Flames quickly responded just three minutes later, with Brett Welychka converting from Charlie Curti and Brett Ferguson to tie the game 2-2. A tightly contested period followed, with both teams failing to capitalise on further opportunities.

The third period remained a tight affair, but both sides were given powerplay chances to find a winner in the final ten minutes. With neither team able to find a winner in regulation, the hard-fought encounter headed into overtime.

The additional session was tense, but with just over a minute remaining, Gresock completed his hat-trick in style. Brandon Alderson’s drop pass set up the decisive goal, sparking celebrations among the home crowd.

Blaze goaltender Mat Robson was instrumental, turning aside 20 of 22 shots, while Guildford’s Jake Kupsky made an impressive 39 saves on 42 attempts.

The result meant Coventry were able to hold onto fifth place in the Elite League table, with Guildford one point behind but with a game in hand.

Photo credit, Scott Wiggins

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