24 Nov 2024, 17:30 | Regular season | SkyDome Arena |
Coventry Blaze | 9-2 | Fife Flyers |
Periods: Shots: | 4-0 (15-9) | 1-1 (20-11) | 4-1 (16-7) | Total: 51-27 |
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Referees: #11 Matt Rose, #52 Stephen Matthews  |  Spectators: 1907 |
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Goals and assists
Four goals in the opening period helped Coventry Blaze cruise past Fife Flyers on Sunday evening at the Skydome.
Nick
Seitz hit a hat trick to put himself on five goals for the weekend in
which the Blaze picked up maximum points for the second week in a row.
"I
feel pretty good! I think it was a good weekend for our team," said
Seitz. "Credit to Michael Regush for the last two goals, he made two
good passes, and our line with Alessio Luciani we played very well
5-on-5, we had our feet moving. "
Coventry had a dream start as
the Flyers’ road trip turned into somewhat of a nightmare, finding
themselves three down after seven minutes.
Just 18 seconds in, Jacob Stridsberg opened the scoring on a
rebound. Flyers captain Olivier LeBlanc took a tripping minor 59 seconds
into things, and 45 seconds later Chase Gresock had doubled the home
side's lead.
That excellent opening from the Blaze saw them go three up at 6:51 when Alessio Luciani wrapped around on Shane Owen.
Three became four off a Michael Regush powerplay goal at 8:54 as
the Blaze were in full control. Luckily for the visitors, that’s where
the scoring ended in the opening period.
Fife started better in period two and got themselves on the board
with a Michael Cichy powerplay shot that got behind Mat Robson 7:24
into the second.
Coventry re-gained their four-goal advantage with 3:54 left in
the period when Nick Seitz got the final touch after a barrage of shots
in front of Owen. Tom Coolen challenged the play for goaltender
interference after protests from his goalie, but lost out and the goal
stood.
Noah Delmas got the Flyers' second of the night 1:25 into period
three while Stridsberg sat for cross-checking. When Jack Hopkins made it
6-2 at 50:15, the fight somewhat went out of the visitors, but the home
side didn't relent. Seitz scored on the powerplay at 53:39 to make it
7-2, and then deflected Regush's shot past Owen to grab his hat trick at
54:26.
Youngster Brynley Capps should have scored his first
professional goal but didn't hit the target in the final minute, but he
did log his first professional point with an assist on the Blaze's ninth
goal scored with 15 seconds to play by Zach Heintz.
"It was a
great overall team effort tonight. I thought guys like Zaine McKenzie
and Brynley Capps were awesome which is important for our team," added
Seitz, whose Blaze team now sit second. "I think it’s exciting to be
challenging for the top spot in the league. As the season is going
along, our confidence is rising and I think first place is definitely
attainable for us."