09 Nov 2024, 18:00 | Regular season | Guildford Spectrum |
Guildford Flames | 2-1 | Coventry Blaze |
Periods: Shots: | 0-0 (14-10) | 0-0 (14-9) | 2-1 (10-12) | Total: 38-31 |
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Referees: Rose/Ions  |  Spectators: 1813 |
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Goals and assists
Guildford Flames moved level with Coventry in second, beating the
Blaze 2-1 in an excellent game at the Spectrum on Saturday night.
Fans
at the spectrum had to wait a long time to see an opening goal between
the teams who headed into the game in third and second respectively. The
Blaze had the best chances in the opening period, a Brett Ferguson drop
pass in his own zone backfiring but Jake Kupsky bailing his captain out
to keep the game level. Indeed, Kupsky was the difference between the
sides in the opening period as the visitors were unlucky not to be
ahead.
If Coventry were stronger in the first, Guildford were
certainly busier in the second. Amorosa got in a mix-up with Robson, but
thankfully for the visitors the netminder was able to get a glove on
the puck before the on-rushing Flames forward.
Robson made an
excellent right-pad save off Jacome in the final minute of the second
period to keep things scoreless through 40 minutes.
Ultimately it took a goaltending error to lead to the game’s
first goal. Robson mishandled the puck behind the net and put the puck
on the stick of Daniel Tedesco, and the Flames forward fed captain
Ferguson in front to slot into the unguarded net 3:20 into period three.
Kupsky
made a decent save off an Archie Hazeldine shot but Jackson Cressy saw
the rebound fall straight to him at the side of the net to tie things up
at 48:43. The shock of being back level didn't trouble the Flames -
Josh Waller broke 1-on-0 and finished high into Robson's top corner to
put the hosts back ahead just 24 seconds later.
"I don't think
anything changed between periods, but we were confident in ourselves,"
said Flames Kyle Locke. "A 0-0 game going into the third period, it's
fun at that point, you're playing with more on the line and guys like to
show up. Credit to Coventry, they did a great job but we were able to
get the two goals to secure the win."
Robson was pulled within the
final 90 seconds as the Blaze pressed for an equalizer, but it was the
final 15 seconds that almost saw an equalizer. Chaotic scenes in front
of Kupsky’s net saw Alessio Luciani hit a post just before the buzzer as
the Flames held on for the one-goal win.