Cole Ully scored with 77 seconds left to give Guildford Flames a 4–3 road win over Coventry Blaze on Sunday night at the Skydome.
Coventry made an excellent start and led 2–0 inside seven minutes. William Boysen opened the scoring at five minutes with a shot into the top corner. Less than a minute later, Ivan Chukarov’s pass across the crease deflected off a Flames player and went in for a two goal Blaze lead. Guildford called their timeout after the second goal.
Coventry had two power plays later in the period but could not add to their advantage. Guildford came closest through Jamal Watson, who hit the post from in front after a review confirmed no goal.
“It does not feel good that we lost, but I thought we played pretty well,” said Boysen. “We created a lot of good chances and got up by two, and from there we need to find a way to close the game out so it does not go down to the wire and we let the other team back in. It feels like the same sort of story, where we manage to out play the other team but still lose. We have to be more clinical. If we had done that and scored more, the game would have been over.”
Guildford struck early in period two. After Robson denied a three on one, the Flames converted on the next rush when Nick Seitz set up Jack Jacome to finish at close range. Coventry restored their two goal cushion three seconds into a five on three when Jere Vertanen was left free in front to score at 22:25. Pressure continued at both ends and tensions rose after an altercation between Alvaro and Vertanen. Coventry finished the period with extended zone time but could not add a fourth.
“We started really slow, and the scoreboard showed that,” said Jacome. “But I really liked our response after that. For a good chunk of the second and the third period I thought we were really good and it felt great to get the win.”
Jacome got Guildford back within one just over a minute into the third. Mathieu Gosselin tied the game with a little more than six minutes left, setting up a dramatic finish. Ully completed the Flames’ comeback when he beat Robson with 58:43 on the clock to seal the win.
Photo: Scott Stevens