The Flyers welcomed the Coventry Blaze for their second visit of the season. The home side welcomed the return to the lineup of Keaton Jameson with now only Jeremy Masella and Justin Ducharme on the walking wounded list and Shane Owen was given the start in net. For the visitors Grayson Constable, Artem Buzoberya and Mat Robson were all scratched with Dershahn Stewart between the pipes.
The Flyers had the first shot of the match in the opening minute as Garet Hunt saw his effort blockered away by Stewart. It was a fast paced start with the play going end to end in the opening minutes. Simon Despres set up Ethan Somoza in the slot and with Stewart out of position the Flyers forward was knocked off the puck before he could provide the finish. In the 5th minute the Flyers swarmed around the Blaze net with Ryan Nicholson and Logan Neilson just unable to get the puck to go. The home side did however break the deadlock that their start deserved when Anton Karlsson and Giordano Finoro combined in the Blaze zone before the puck was fired into the slot where Ian Scheid drove the net and he was able to deflect the puck past Stewart at 5:33. The play was reviewed but the call on the ice was upheld. The lead was short lived and the Blaze were back on terms at 7:03 when Jack Hopkins showed good hands to take the puck to the net and his shot flicked up over the shoulder of Owen to land in the net. In the 8th minute a Keaton Jameson snapshot from the slot went close but on the play William Boysen was called for a slash to put the Flyers on the first powerplay of the game. Scheid had a shot through traffic that Stewart saw late but reacted well as the Blaze successfully completed the kill. In the 12th minute Owen had to look sharp to stop an effort from Adam Robbins. A no look pass between his legs by Jameson in the 14th minute had Stewart out of position and Neilson was close to connecting with the puck with the net gaping. In the 17th minute the Flyers went back to the powerplay as Alessio Luciani was binned for hooking. Finoro had a one timer straight into the chest of Stewart as the Blaze again killed off the penalty.
In the opening 60 seconds of the middle period Owen had to look sharp again to make a pad save on a Colton Saucerman shot from the blueline. At the other end in the 23rd minute Stewart made a pad save to deny Jonas Emmerdahl from the high slot. Moments later the Flyers had the lead again as Scheid broke up a Blaze attack in his own end and his pass sprung Johan Porsberger who streaked in alone from the neutral zone and his deke had Stewart sprawling before he slipped the puck in at the post and under the pad at 23:02. The follow up shift the Blaze almost levelled as Owen made a right pad save on Robbins. A giveaway in the 27th in the Blaze zone presented Karlsson with a one on one opportunity but he couldn’t stuff the puck past Stewart. A minute later and the Flyers went close again as this time Emmerdahl took the puck to the net before falling over Stewart and the play was blown dead as both the Flyer and Jare Vertanen were sent to the cooler for offsetting roughing minors. The Flyers thought they had increased their lead moments later as the puck landed in the net but upon review it was clear to see that it had entered the net under the back apron as it lifted off the ice. In the 33rd minute Jameson saw his shot saved by the shoulder of Stewart before Scheid took the puck towards goal but his shot from the slot was deflected over by a stick. Owen was still having to be on alert and he made a huge shoulder save on Michael Pelech before Karlsson got the gate in the 37th minute for a hook in the neutral zone. The Flyers completed the kill with Owen making saves on a couple of one timers from Vertanen and Saucerman.
Into the third period and Finoro had a slapshot from the circles sticked away by Stewart and the Blaze went the other way to level the game. Saucerman had the shot from the blueline that crept in at the post with Owen screened by his own defenceman. In the 47th minute the Flyers survived a scramble around their crease as the Blaze crashed the net. In the 50th minute Owen squeezed the pads to stop a shot from Kim Tallberg from the circles. The Flyers had the man advantage again in the 50th minute as Saucerman slashed Josh Winquist’s stick with the evidence left lying on the ice in two pieces. Stewart made a stop from Karlsson from close range as he went full splits but the Blaze returned to full strength unscathed. Stewart made a highlight reel save in the 54th minute as Finoro set up Karlsson for a one timer that was labelled for the top corner before the Blaze keeper got a piece of it to deflect the puck over the bar. The visitors snatched the lead at 54:27 as Ivan Chukarov cut the Flyers defence open and drew Owen out of position for a slam dunk finish by Robbins. Luciani found himself back in the penalty box in the 56th minute for a slash and the Flyers made their man advantage count to level the game when Karlson found Finoro with a cross ice pass and from an angle he picked the bottom corner on Stewart at 56:14. 33 seconds later the home side had the lead as Neilson took off from his own zone down the right wing and fired a beauty into the bottom corner on the stick side of Stewart. Luciani made another trip to the box in the 57th minute when he tripped Finoro below the Blaze goal line in the 57th minute. The Blaze almost got the leveler with a shorthanded effort from Tallberg but Owen came up with a huge save. The Blaze returned to full strength and pulled Stewart for the extra skater. The Flyers won a puck battle below their goal line and when the puck fell to Scheid he aired the puck the length of the ice to find the empty net and ice the game.
Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young
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