Blaze win fifth game in six

The Genting Casino Coventry Blaze continued their impressive run of form by securing a four-point weekend, extending their streak to eight games unbeaten in regulation time with a 4-1 victory over Glasgow Clan at Skydome Arena on Sunday night.

Blaze made two changes from the line-up that travelled to Dundee, with Connor Russell and Artie Buzoverya coming in for Ivan Chukarov and Colton Saucerman.

It was Buzoverya who opened the scoring at 13.30, racing onto a perfectly weighted feed from Jordan Power. The Ukrainian forward showed great composure, deking past Lucas Brine before sliding the puck home to give Coventry a 1-0 lead.

The hosts doubled their advantage at 16.43 when Alessio Luciani delivered a wraparound pass into the slot, finding Jack Hopkins. The Brit, later named Man of the Match, made no mistake with a clinical finish to put Blaze 2-0 ahead.

Glasgow were handed the first powerplay of the game early in the second period and capitalised at 26.08. A shot from Daniel Tedesco created a rebound that Hugh Roy pounced on, pulling the Clan back to within one at 2-1.

Coventry were required to kill another penalty shortly after before enjoying a sustained spell of pressure on the man advantage late in the middle frame. That pressure paid off as Blaze restored their two-goal cushion on their second powerplay opportunity. Off a face-off, the in-form Grant Mismash rifled a one-timer past Brine to make it 3-1.

The Blaze thought they had added a fourth on a subsequent powerplay, but a video review ruled the puck had struck the post, keeping the Clan within touching distance heading into the final period.

Any hopes of a Glasgow comeback were hampered by penalty trouble in the third.

Coventry finally sealed the result at 52.35 when Grayson Constable netted his eighth goal of the season, finishing a well-worked play from Hopkins and Luciani to make it 4-1.

The win moves Coventry level on points with Glasgow in seventh place and leaves the Blaze just two points behind the Guildford Flames in sixth.

Blaze will look to maintain their strong form on the road on Friday as they travel to Glasgow, before returning to the Skydome on Sunday to face a rejuvenated Fife Flyers (5:30pm face-off).