Blaze end five-game skid with win over high-flying Stars

Photo: Scott Wiggins

Coventry Blaze snapped their own five-game skid, and ended Dundee's winning run at the same number, with a 4-2 win over the Stars at the Skydome.

Having created the better of the early chances, Dundee were deservedly ahead inside nine minutes - Carter Johnson down on one knee to fire Craig Garrigan's feed past Taran Kozun and open the scoring at 8:23. A defenseman's shinpad stopped Kobe Roth tying the game later in the period as the Stars left by one after 20 minutes.

Ian McNulty save a 1-on-0 denied by Kevin Carr and Danny Kristo rang a shot off the post as the Blaze pressed for an equaliser in the early stages of period two. The Blaze did find their leveller on a powerplay, wristing pass a screened Carr off a Brady Norrish pass into the middle of the Stars' zone. Patient passing led to the Blaze go ahead off an Ian McNulty shot re-directed in front of Carr by Tallberg for his second of the game at 34:36. The home side could have added a third on a powerplay towards the end of the period, but a combination of Carr and bodies in front of him kept things at a one-goal game.

Alessio Luciani was instrumental in denying the Stars an equaliser at one end, and then after a couple of attempts poked the puck past Kevin Carr to put the Blaze two ahead with 6:08 to play. Less than a minute later, Jake Elmer pulled one back for the Stars to set up a nervy finish. Carr was pulled with 1:44 to play but after some pressure the gamble backfired with Kobe Roth finding the empty net to settling things with 25 seconds remaining.