COVENTRY Blaze put a Saturday night loss to Cardiff behind them as they bounced back to beat Sheffield Steelers 5-4 after penalty shots at the Skydome.
The victory proved to be Coventry’s fifth successive win against Sheffield – who are currently second in the Elite League table, just five points behind table toppers Cardiff.
Chuck Weber’s side immediately signalled their intent as Carl Lauzon scored just 99 seconds into the first period.
Sheffield equalised mid-way through the first period, however Coventry were controversially awarded a second goal as Jim Jorgensen found the back of Marek Pinc’s net.
Sheffield were due a penalty after Guillaume Desbiens was penalised for a push on Boris Valabik, referee Stefan Hogarth blew his whistle – only for Blaze to score at the same time.
Despite Sheffield’s protest, the goal stood and Coventry added a further goal through new signing Brenden Walker with seconds remaining in the first period.
Sheffield took advantage of a five on three powerplay with six minutes left in the second period, however two goals for the visitors and a fourth for the Blaze in the concluding period took the game to overtime.
Sheffield hit the post with just two minutes before the end of overtime and then Coventry’s Kevin Noble was tossed from the game following a fight with Ben O’Connor.
With the game still tied, Coventry’s Drew Fisher and Jordan Pietrus continued the Blaze’s fine penalty shot form – winning 2-0.
After the game, Blaze head coach Chuck Weber told The Observer: “It was a great response from us and we had chances to win the game.
“I liked our five on five game tonight, we blocked shots well in the third period and we got a lot of penalty kill practice.
“We took some silly penalties tonight, we have to do a better job in staying out of the box in future games.
“Drew Fisher’s move for his penalty shot was the fifth move I’ve seen him pull off, he has sensational hands and I’ve never seen a guy go back through a goaltender’s triangle.
“I told Drew to take a look at the slot and see how much snow there was so he could decide what move to pull off- fortunately it worked.
“Chris (Bruton) played well tonight, he didn’t get as much ice time as I’d like but we had to kill a lot of powerplay – overall I’m pleased with his performances this weekend.”
