Genting Casino Coventry Blaze Head Coach says his side can take positives from a weekend which saw them go toe-to-toe with the Elite League’s top two teams.
Despite not managing to collect points against the Cardiff Devils and Sheffield Steelers, Stewart said he was pleased with his sides compete and execution level, while also challenging his players to pick themselves up as the season heads towards an exciting final couple of months.
Stewart commented after the 3-6 defeat to Sheffield on Sunday at Skydome Arena, “We lost to two top teams this weekend, but there were a lot of positives. We had two lulls of 7-8 minutes and against these teams they kill you. We made 3-4 huge mistakes, and they ended up in the back of our net and I think that was the difference this weekend.
“But, I can’t fault our guys effort and we have to pick ourselves up and get the job done this week as that table, other than the top two, is getting tighter and tighter.”
The Blaze sit fifth in the Elite League table following the weekend’s games, and this week face-off against the Glasgow Clan twice, at home on Wednesday (7.30pm) and in Scotland on Friday (7.30pm).
Coventry will then return home for another crucial fixture against the Guildford Flames who sit just a place above them in fourth on Saturday (7pm).
Tickets for Blaze home games are available online, by calling 02476630693 or you can visit the Skydome Arena Box Office.
Blaze will welcome back defenceman David Clements and forward Johnny Curran back into the line-up on Wednesday after the pair helped Great Britain move onto the Final Qualifying stage for the Winter Olympics this weekend.
Assistant Captain Ian McNulty will be aiming to continue his strong form with the Canadian amassing 11 points in his last seven games (4 goals, 7 assists).
McNutly leads the Blaze for points with 35 (13 goals, 22 assists) in 35 games with Danny Kristo second (31; 11 goals, 20 assists).
Each had three points on Sunday against the league leading Sheffield Steelers and American forward Robe Roth took his team leading goal tally up to 20 which is joint third-best in the Elite League.
