Seitz hat trick as Blaze thrash Flyers

Photo: Scott Wiggins

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."