Coventry Blaze 3 Nottingham Panthers 1
In a rare turn of events for EIHL hockey, a much-hyped contest between two of the top sides in the country turned out to be a thrilling affair, with the Coventry Blaze coming out on top 3-1 over the Nottingham Panthers in regulation time. If you missed it, then you certainly missed out!
An attendance of 2,895 made it the third largest crowd ever at the Skydome and the largest when silverware wasn’t involved. Was this the impact of the arrival of the Anaheim Ducks’ Matt Beleskey? Maybe, but it didn’t appear to be the main factor. Judging from the crowd massed in CV1, it was the excitement about the team assembled for the 2012-13 and how they had been playing coupled with the arrival of close rivals Nottingham for the first time this season that had drawn them in.
That meant a bumper pay-day for the Blaze bosses; the game was not on the season ticket which meant everyone in the arena had paid to be in there (some discounted tickets as part of schools promotion, but money changed hands). They were even happier when Greg Leeb opened the scoring with 7.45 gone in the first period, although it appeared to be more due to a Panthers mistake. Mike Egener and Gui Lepine fought soon after, and that was followed by a bout between Beleskey and Stephen Lee; only Lepine could truly claim a victory.
After an even first period, the Panthers took control of the second. Despite the pressure, it took 13 minutes before Anthony Stewart levelled for Nottingham, digging one in from close range. The main reason for the lack of goals was the eventual man of the match, Peter Hirsch, who stopped 16 of 17 shots in the second frame (and 37 of 38 overall). Hirsch was outstanding, particularly stopping two breakaways when he looked well and truly beaten before recovering at the last second. This was vintage Hirsch at his very best.
It was back to an even, fast-paced, aggressive contest in the third period and when Dustin Cameron put the Blaze back in front, the Blaze started to gain a stranglehold on the game. Nottingham threw everything at them in the closing stages but failed to make the breakthrough. Pulling Craig Kowalski only allowed Brad Leeb to put the icing on the victory cake and finish the game off with five seconds remaining, scoring his 8th goal of the season.
Nottingham fans were almost as quick in making excuses as they were in leaving the Skydome.
“It’s not important; it’s only the Challenge Cup.”
That’s the same Challenge Cup that also formed part of the highly regarded “double-double” then?
“We were short-benched ” Both teams iced 10 imports and gave a regular shift to a total of 14 outskaters.
Bodies, or a lack thereof, was not the issue for the Panthers. Coventry wanted the win more. The players were prepared to go to the boards, win the 50/50 battles and cover all areas of the ice.
Maybe that was partly due to the previous game between the two sides. Nottingham ran out comfortable winners in what was little more than a training exercise for the East Midlands side. Perhaps they expected to be presented with another two points and continue their good form in the Challenge Cup? I doubt that; Corey Neilson has come across the Blaze too many times to know that there are easy games in the Skydome.
It could be a turning point for the Coventry season, getting a big home win against a conference opponent. Next weekend could be the first time this season where the team have iced a full import quota. The team won’t be 100% healthy as Russ Cowley will still be on the sidelines but with a near-full team a good victory was secured against a very good Nottingham side who will be challenging for silverware at the business end of the season. But given their recent performances over the past six weeks, is anyone going to bet against the Blaze being up there as well?
