Coventry Blaze followed up Friday's away win at Manchester Storm with an equally convincing home performance on Saturday evening, beating Glasgow Clan 4-1 at the Skydome Arena to register back-to-back victories for the first time in several weeks. Four different scorers, a disallowed goal that went against them in the first period, and Glasgow's only response coming with the score already 4-0 — this was Coventry's most complete performance in recent memory.
For Glasgow, coming off Friday's encouraging 5-3 home win over Cardiff, this is a difficult away defeat. Their form over the last five is a mixed picture — two wins, two overtime losses, and now this — and they will face questions about why Liam Soulière was left with almost no cover across the opening forty minutes.
Coventry make their penalty count early — then have a goal ruled out
Chris McKay was penalised for slashing at 6:20 to give Coventry an early power play, and Mismash converted at 6:42 — Jere Vertanen and Adam Robbins assisting — to open the scoring. It was a sharp, confident start from the home side.
The first period then produced one of its stranger moments. Coventry appeared to score a second goal around 15:43, only for the officials to initiate a video review on their own accord, ruling the puck had been struck into the net with a high stick. No goal. Coventry led 1-0 at the break rather than 2-0, but their composure held.
Boysen had been penalised for tripping at 8:46 and Pelech for hooking at 9:30 during the period — both on Coventry — giving Glasgow two power play chances they couldn't convert. The pattern of Coventry giving away penalties while still controlling the match would become a recurring theme across the evening.
The second period saw Pelech — penalised just before the break — atone emphatically, scoring at 29:12 from Barriga and Saucerman's assists to make it 2-0. Pelech's hooking penalty at 26:52 had briefly threatened to gift Glasgow a chance, but they couldn't convert, and when Coventry hit back immediately after killing the box it underlined the home side's superiority.
Messner's delay-of-game violation at 38:39 handed Coventry another power play to close the second period, though they didn't score on it. Going into the final twenty minutes, Coventry led 2-0 with Glasgow yet to register a shot on target that genuinely threatened Robson.
Capps made it 3-0 at 48:54 from Kim Tallberg and Alessio Luciani, and McKay's cross-checking penalty at 50:45 — his second offence of the night — gifted Coventry a further power play that Saucerman converted at 51:42 from Boysen and Gleason to put the match completely beyond reach.
Lachowicz pulled one back for Glasgow at 54:41 — Joe Hazeldine and Félix Paré assisting — but it was pure consolation. Jordan Power's holding penalty at 59:56 meant the match ended with Coventry on a power play they didn't need, the result having been settled well before the final whistle.
Mat Robson was solid in the Coventry net, rarely seriously tested. Soulière had a difficult evening for Glasgow, conceding four goals in a match where his defence offered him very little protection.
Blaze momentum building
Two wins from two this weekend — 2-1 at Manchester on Friday, 4-1 at home to Glasgow on Saturday — is Coventry's best run of results in some time. After a spell of four defeats in five, including the 1-6 loss at Nottingham last Sunday, this weekend has the feel of a corner being turned. The question is whether they can maintain it.