Saucerman fires Blaze to OT win

Photo: Scott Stevens

Coventry Blaze survived a third-period equaliser from the Manchester Storm to secure an overtime win at the Skydome on Sunday.

The Blaze opened the scoring late in the first period. With 5:59 remaining, Mack Stewart received a pass from Colton Saucerman near the net and lifted the puck above Drew DeRidder’s pads to make it 1-0.

“I thought we played well. Manchester forecheck hard and are a tough team to play against,” commented Blaze defenceman Saucerman, who scored the game-winner. “We knew this was an important game in the standings. I thought we played a pretty solid 60 minutes and probably could have put a few more in during regulation.”

Both sides traded chances through the opening two periods. DeRidder produced several key saves for Manchester, including a big stop moving across his crease to deny Adam Robbins, while Elijah Barriga was unable to convert on a shorthanded breakaway for the Blaze. Physicality also ramped up, with Connor Russell and Chase Harrison dropping the gloves midway through the second period.

Despite pressure at both ends, the Storm remained within a goal and eventually found the equaliser. Brady Gilmour tied the game at 47:18 with what proved to be the final goal of regulation, forcing overtime.

“It was a good game, a big goalie battle tonight,” said Storm forward J.D. Dudek. “It was good for us to tie it up there and almost take the lead. I thought we got to our game in the second and third periods. We generated a lot of what we wanted to, but didn’t quite capitalise on our second opportunities.”

The extra period was settled 3:50 in when Saucerman combined with William Boysen on a one-two before firing past DeRidder to seal the win for Coventry.

“It was about time I did something!” joked Saucerman. “It’s a little relief - sometimes the net can feel small and you put pressure on yourself to contribute. Hopefully there’s more to come.”