COVENTRY, UK – Canadian forward Owen Fussey has warned Coventry Blaze must cut out their mistakes if they are to avoid further disappointment against Sheffield Steelers and Belfast Giants this weekend.
Blaze saw their eight-game winning run come to an end with a 5-2 home defeat by Cardiff Devils in the Challenge Cup last Sunday at the Skydome Arena, Coventry.
Blaze started the weekend well with a 7–2 road win against Cardiff. However, if the Blaze players thought that the return game at the Skydome Arena was going to be a stroll, the Devils had other ideas and after a determined, feisty performance they got sweet revenge with a 5–2 win over the Blaze.
Now, Coventry are preparing for another tough weekend as they first head to Sheffield in the challenge cup before taking on Elite League leaders Belfast Giants at the Skydome on Sunday.
“We made too many mistakes against Cardiff and they capitalised. We put ourselves in bad situations, we have to be more disciplined. We have to learn from our mistakes. We had a good little run there and were building some confidence but we will work on a few things in practice this week. We must keep striving to get better and if we do that then I am sure we will have a bright future ahead of us,” said Fussey, the former Washington Capitals player.
Fussey came to the UK last year and had a prolific season with Edinburgh Capitals, where he posted 38 goals and 35 assists in 57 games. Those figures along with his great skills that were evident when he played against Blaze, were enough to convince Blaze Head Coach Paul Thompson to get Fussey on the Blaze roster for this season and Fussey is enjoying his first year in Coventry.
He has registered 21 points in 14 games with his 13-goal haul the joint-best in all competitions alongside Jon Pelle (Cardiff Devils) and David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers).
However, he missed out on the chance of breaking two 10-year-old club records during the loss to Cardiff at the Skydome.
Fussey, 27, had netted in eight successive home games, tying the club record with Blaze legend Steve Chartrand, and had scored in nine in a row, matching the achievement of Swedish defenceman Mats Samuelsson when he wore the Coventry shirt.
Despite his impressive points return so far, Fussey is more concerned with the team’s success.
He said, “I don’t focus too much on the points. Yes, they are nice but the main thing is to make sure the team is winning. If that is by scoring goals, blocking shots, penalty killing, you just want to do your bit to help the team. With Luke Fulghum and Dan Carlson we have got a good combination going. We can all put the puck in the net but we also work hard. But our other two lines are strong too.”
Blaze have an injury worry following the home defeat last Sunday with Canadian blue liner Jeff Smith picking up a knee injury in the game during a fight with Justin Sawyer. This battle between the two big guys was pretty even until Smith twisted his knee and fell to the ice which saw his opponent claim victory. At the time Blaze were losing 5-1 so the loss of Smith was not a factor in the defeat but it has left Thompson with a big hole in the defence.
Blaze are hopeful that Rusell Cowley will be fit following his four week absence from the ice due a knee injury picked up in an exhibition game against Telford Tigers. Cowley skated this week for the first time since getting injured and he came through a hard training session well. He is versatile and can play D very effectively so he will replace Smith on the blue line for the next three weeks or so.
Blaze must win in Sheffield if they are to control their own destiny in the challenge cup and then they play Belfast Giants Sunday 24 Oct at the Skydome. Both games will be huge challenges and will provide great hockey for the fans lucky enough to be there. Thompson has demanded that his players bring their A game this coming weekend after complacency had set in on Sunday against the Devils.
If you cannot be at the Skydome for the Belfast game go to the Coventry Blaze website http://www.coventryblaze.co.uk/index.php to see how you can watch the game live on the internet.
Contact the author stephen@activcoventry.com
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