Blaze get past Giants in shootout
Photo: Scott Wiggins
Coventry Blaze raced into a two-goal lead, were pegged back, and then won in a shootout to pick up two points against Belfast Giants on Sunday night. 2,041 fans saw them win at the Skydome.
"We started off really well, got up by two, and it's never good to blow a lead like that but we showed great resilience to stick with it," said Mat Robson, who stopped 30 shots for the Blaze. "That's the mentality of our group, we never get too high or too low no matter what's going on or if we're on a streak. We stayed dialled in, it was a good game and I saw the puck well.
"It's a long hockey season. Every team in every league will have ups and downs. We hadn't won in four before but we are resilient and work hard."
It took only 65 seconds for the game's first goal. Alessio Luciani played a give-and-go with Nick Seitz on a 2-on-1 rush, with Seitz dragging Whistle to one side for Luciani to slot into the open cage. It was an excellent start for the hosts who were deservedly two ahead through Greyson Constable off another Seitz feed at 7:25.
Adam Keefe called his timeout after seeing his side slip two behind, and whatever he said had the desired effect - though not before Constable was denied by Whistle on a breakaway. With 10:56 on the board, JJ Piccinich showed some excellent quick hands, after the Blaze turned the puck over in their own end, to make it a one-goal game. Some four minutes later, Jeff Baum fired through traffic off a faceoff win by Ben Lake to tie the game. Mark Cooper almost put the visitors ahead shorthanded before the period was out, but it ended tied at two each.
Period two saw both teams with powerplay chances in the early stages, but neither able to convert. Constable saw a shot come back off the pipes at 33:37 following a period of Giants pressure. Period two ended with no further scoring.
The third was equally as tight as the second, , but got more so as the game went on. Belfast had two man-advantages but came up short, while a Scott Conway minor gave the Blaze a short chance to find a winner around the mid-point of the period but to no avail.
Overtime was cagey for the opeing few minutes as teams opted to reset in the neutral zone rather than risk a pass. Josh Roach had the best chance to win it but Robson stopped his breakaway attempt when he tried to go five-hole. The Blaze drew Whistle into a good save in the final 30 seconds but the game was to be decided in a shootout.
"I love shootouts!" said Robson. "Something my dad drilled into me since I was a kid is that 'pressure creates diamonds', and you have to live for those big moments. I get excited when I have the chance to make saves and win games."
In the final round of the shootout, it fell to captain Kim Tallberg to fire in the winning shot and get the Blaze the extra point.
"I wanted to make the last save and end it on a save, but Kim is clutch in the shootout, never in doubt!" he addded.
