McNulty the hero in Blaze win

Photo: Scott Wiggins

Ian McNulty scored both Coventry goals in regulation, and the final goal of the shootout, as the Blaze levelled late and and then beat Cardiff Devils on penalty shots at Skydome.

There were no goals in the opening period, but the remainder of the game was to more than make up for that. 

Just 21 seconds into period two, McNulty shot past Tyler Wall from the wing to put the Blaze ahead on the powerplay. Cardiff turned the game around with a pair of goals in the space of ten minutes - Riley Brandt levelling at 29:33 off an excellent Evan Mosey pass across the slot, and then Justin Crandall put the visitors ahead with 77 seconds left before the intermission.

Late in period three and with Taran Kozun pulled to give the home side six skaters, Jamie Arniel had two attempts on the empty net but missed the target both times and the Blaze stayed alive. It was something that the Devils would go on to regret as McNulty tied the game with 80 seconds left, getting on a rebound from a Danny Kristo shot that Wall was unable to cover.

Neither side manaded to win it in overtime, but in the shootout Kobe Roth, and JD Dudek scored in rounds one and three to put the Blaze up, and with no Devils goals it was left to McNulty to seal the win with his team's fourth shot.

The win is Coventry's third on the bounce, while the Devils come out of this weekend with two losses.