Blaze stay top, but only just

COVENTRY, UK –

Despite being top of the Elite League, life as a Coventry blaze fan can often be frustrating and nerve racking. The Blaze went into the weekend with a 5 point lead on their closest rivals. However after two poor performances against the Cardiff Devils and Nottingham Panthers to go along with overtime win against the Edinburgh Capitals, the Blaze’s lead has been to cut to just three points with one game in hand.
Due to heavy snow fall in the Midlands area, the Blaze were made a wait an extra two hours before the puck was finally dropped against the Cardiff Devils. Paul Thompson and his side knew a win against the Devils would open up a seven point gap between the Blaze and the chasing pack. However it was not to be as the Devils got off the mark the quickest with a Matt Miller goal at 5.11 gave the Devils the early advantage. The Devils went on to double their advantage when Wes Jarvis scored a power play goal at 17.26.
Coming back out for the 2^nd period the Blaze were trailing 2-0 however this lead didn’t last long as Luke Fulghum continued his phenomenal goal scoring form with his 42^nd goal of the season to half the Devils to one. The Blaze continued their fight back when on their second 5 on 3 power play chance of the game the Blaze capitalised through Brian Lee at 27.20.
The score line stayed the same until the start of the third period when Mark Smith once again scored a power play goal at 42.39. The Devils regained their two goal lead when Phil Hill bagged his 20^th goal of the season at 50.59. The Blaze knew time was of the essence and they pulled goalie Peter Hirsch. However this just led to the Devils extending their lead to three goals with an empty net goal at 59.10 by   Jarvis.

However the final moments of this game didn’t pass without controversy as Derek Campbell received two for roughing as well as a match penalty for abuse and fellow team mate Brad Cruickshank also received two for roughing plus a game misconduct along with a match for travesty.
All in all a weird night at the Skydome as the Blaze were unable to capitalise on a Devils side that had been waiting on the coach for the best part of two hours. The Devils power play was a great asset tonight and was helped by the Blaze’s numerous penalties.
Moving onto Saturday and what was quite possibly a major chance to theoretically wrap up the title when the Coventry side took on the Nottingham Panthers at the National Ice Centre.
Due to Thursday night’s events the Blaze were short on numbers for their trip up to Nottingham and the final result showed this as the Blaze tired in the third. The first period was dominated by the Panthers, but the Blaze’s solid defence kept the Panthers lead to just one; a Sean McAslan goal on the power play at 17.19.
The Panthers wasted no time in the second period as Kevin Bergin scored only 50 seconds into the second and doubled the Panthers advantage. But the Blaze were not to be down hearted as Brian Lee bagged his second goal of the week at 23.02 to pull the score back to 2-1. The Panthers were awarded a penalty shot at 29.25 which Jade Galbraith successfully converted but once again the Blaze pegged back the panthers when who else but Luke Fulghum scored to drag the score back to 3-2.
Going into the final period nobody in the NIC would have guessed the final score. The Panthers made it 4-2 when David Clarke scored his 300^th Elite League point but the Panthers were not finished as Marc Levers and McAslan on the power play added to the Panthers lead. Once Blaze netminder Peter Hirsch had been replaced with back up Thomas Murdy, Ross Dalgleish netted to make the final score Panthers 7-2 Blaze.
The Blaze looked fatigued and had no complaints about the result in this game as the Panthers fire power finally showed what they can do in what can only be described as a rout.
After two disappointing results against the Devils and the Panthers the Blaze faced an improving Edinburgh Capitals side. If the Blaze didn’t get two points from this game the Belfast Giants would be only one point off the Blaze and it would wrap up a horrible weekend results wise. Luckily for the Blaze that didn’t happen.
Blaze fans did not have to wait long for their side to get into action as the Blaze scored twice in the first minute to give the Skydome a relaxed atmosphere. However all was not as easy as it seemed as this Edinburgh side is full of grit. They battled back to pull the score back to 2-2 with a goal from Simon Lambert.
Derek Campbell then bagged two goals to give the Blaze their two goal advantage back but once again the Capitals would not give up as they pegged back the Blaze to tie the game at 4-4.
This game was riddled with penalties, and it was the same in overtime as both teams took penalties with only 30 seconds gone in overtime so the teams skated three on three. This allowed Luke Fulghum to net the game winner with only 1.50 gone in overtime.
This game was a must win for the Blaze and they did that, despite how hard they made it for themselves. Next week the Blaze face the Hull Stingrays away before returning home to the Sky Dome to face a top of the table clash against the Belfast Giants. Also its ‘Tommy’s Testimonial’ on the 24^th of February when Tom Watkins gets his testimonial game for services to the Blaze.
Contact the author Daniel.Craggs@Prohockeynews.com