Genting Casino Coventry Blaze went down to a 4-1 defeat to Cardiff Devils at the Skydome in the first leg of their Challenge Cup semi-final.
It was the first time in eight games Blaze – who welcomed back Ryan O’ Marra but were without Jereme Tendler and Vladimir Nikiforov – had lost in regulation time.
Brent Walton gave Devils the lead at 17.31 and a Matt Myers powerplay marker at 33.39 made it 2-0 before Jakub Sindel (36.42) halved the deficit. 
But Markku Tahtinen restored Devils’ two-goal advantage 22 seconds later and Andrew Lord added another short-handed with just one second of the middle session remaining.
Coach Chuck Weber said: “We created a number of chances and got pucks to the net but just did not have enough traffic in front.
“The shots were 39-26 in our favour but they capitalised on their opportunities. We had a number of chances to change the momentum.
“Special teams were key, they scored a powerplay and short-handed goal. We made it 2-1 but they scored on the next shift through a defensive mistake.
“Then we had a five on three where we created chances but our awareness was not there and they broke and scored. It was a huge turning point.
“But I did not like our game in the middle. We made a good start and we had a couple of breakaways in the third period. If we take those moments and make it 4-2 or 4-3 then it is a difference-maker.”
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