Blaze win fifth game in six

Photo: Scott Stevens

Coventry Blaze got their 11th point from the last 12 on offer with a 4-1 home win over Glasgow Clan, drawing level with the Scottish side in the standings.

“I think we were all brilliant tonight,” said Blaze’s Jack Hopkins. “Mat Robson looked after us all game like he always does, but it was great for some of the guys who don’t always score to get a goal.”

After a back-and-forth opening period, Coventry struck first at 13:30 when Artem Buzoverov broke in alone and finished from close range. The Blaze doubled their lead late in the frame as Alessio Luciani wrapped the puck around the net, allowing Hopkins to fire home the rebound and make it 2-0.

“I thought we had a really good first 10 minutes, we were all over them, but they got the first bounce and the first goal,” said Clan’s Brett Neumann. “That shifted the momentum. We stepped off the gas and they capitalised. We had chances, but it’s not falling for us right now.”

Glasgow pulled one back on the power play at 26:08, Hugo Roy reacting quickest to a loose puck behind Robson. Coventry responded with a powerplay goal of their own as Grant Mismash blasted a one-timer into the top corner from the blue line to restore the two-goal advantage.

Any hopes of a Clan comeback were ended with 7:25 remaining when Grayson Constable finished off a Jack Hopkins feed on the rush to seal the result.

“It was about time I got a goal,” joked Hopkins. “I’ve been waiting a long time, but as long as the team is doing well I don’t mind. When we were on that bad run we weren’t losing by big margins, and now things are going our way and we’re enjoying ourselves.”