The Flyers hosted the Coventry Blaze for the first meeting of the season between the sides. Flyers gave Christian Purboo the start in net which was their only change from the night before in Glasgow with Justin Ducharme still on injured reserve. The Blaze were at full strength and chose Dershahn Stewart as their starter over Mat Robson.
The opening 6 or so minutes of the match saw the teams trade chances although neither side were able to create any quality chances with the shots that the goalies faced all coming from the periphery. Jaka Sturm was in close at the side of the net in the 7th minute but Stewart was able to hang on to his effort whilst at the other end Grant Mismash went close with a shot that Purboo saved but Blaze recycled the puck and forced a giveaway below the Flyers goal line and Elijiah Barriga was able to feed the puck out into the slot where Mismash had all sorts of time to beat Purboo from close range with 7.12 played. The Blaze threatened again in the 9th minute following slick puck movement and Purboo had to be alert to deny Jack Hopkins with the visitors going on the first powerplay moments later as Jeremy Masella was assessed a slashing penalty. The best chance the Blaze generated fell to Alessio Luciani but Purboo blockered the puck away as the Flyers went on to complete the kill. In the 12th minute Josh Winquist went down the left wing and tried to beat Stewart on his short side but the goalie sealed the post and a minute later Winquist from the opposite wing saw his shot blocked over the net by the shoulder of Stewart. The Blaze had the final chance of the period in the 18th minute as Mismash received a nice give and go but once again Purboo looked solid to make the stop.
The Fife goalie was called into action within the opening 30 seconds of the second period as he had to make a couple of saves from close in shots as the Blaze crowded his net. I great tic tac toe move involving Winquist, Johan Porsberger and Vlastimil Dostalek ended with the latter tipping the puck just wide of the net. A minute later and Stewart just got a pad on a redirect from Garet Hunt. The Blaze were soon back on the powerplay as Ethan Hadden was binned for a hook. Luciani went close when he was wide open in front of the net but tipped over and a Mismash shot saw Purboo produce a reaction save and as the penalty was about to expire Winquist got a shot away that Stewart was forced to hold. Back at even strength a breakaway by Giordano Finoro saw him feather the puck to Dostalek but his attempted tip went wide of the net. The Flyers were penalised again with Hunt going to the box for a high stick on Barriga. Sam Ruffin fired a shot that caught the outside of the post but again the Flyers penalty kill was very effective. Winquist created space in the 34th minute and fed Hunt whose shot was gloved by Stewart. Ruffin was then denied by a pad save by Purboo and the Flyers went the other way and Ethan Somoza had Stewart at full stretch to make the save. In the 36th minute Finoro went in on goal but Stewart dealt with his backhand effort. The visitors struck metal with consecutive shots as Barriga and Jere Vertanen heard the ping. In the dying moments Keaton Jameson lead an odd man rush and his pass to Winquist was tipped on net but Stewart moved quickly to his right to make the stop.
The Blaze again made the better start to the period as the were back on the powerplay 30 seconds in to the third with Masella penalised for holding Kim Tallberg as the Blaze Captain skated around him and went in on net. The Flyers however on the penalty kill conjured up a leveller as Andrew McLean made a shot block in his own slot before the puck was picked up by Finoro who took it down ice and skipped past a defenceman before finding a gap between the legs of Stewart to score shorthanded at 42.26. The Flyers completed the kill but the game was settled by a couple of quick fire goals for the Blaze. Grayson Constable put the visitors in front at 43.47 with a shot from the slot that appeared to nick off a stick and beat Purboo five hole and less than 30 seconds later the Flyers were caught chasing the puck down below their goal line and Tallberg won the puck and found William Boysen who had the freedom of the slot to give Purboo no chance. Didrik Svendsen was the next Flyer to visit the penalty box in the 50th minute but the Flyers completed the kill without giving up a shot. The Blaze were however back on the man advantage when a huge hit by Jonas Emmerdahl along the boards on Ruffin was called as a boarding minor. The Blaze took advantage this time as Purboo made an initial save but Matthew Gleason was on the doorstep to clean up the rebound. There was further penalty trouble for the Flyers was Masella was given the gate for hooking and boarding meaning the final four minutes of the match would see the Blaze on the powerplay. In the final minute Mason Alderson lead a breakout and he played the puck into the slot for Porsberger whose tip was well dealt with by Stewart who then lost his helmet in the coincidental contact with the Flyers forward.
Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young
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