From Solihull to the SkyDome: Coventry Blaze since ‘73

Formed less than a decade prior to the birth of The Boar, the Coventry Blaze has undergone numerous transformations over the last 50 years.

With the state of British Ice Hockey changing a great deal since the 1970s, most notably during the late ‘90s and early 2000s, it is unsurprising that the franchise has experienced a great deal of transition in that time frame, with the team having to constantly adapt to the shifting landscape.

With the team in as strong a shape as they have been in for quite some time now under Danny Stewart, entering the new year in a rich vein of form, and in commemoration of The Boar’s 50-year anniversary, let’s take a look back at the evolution of the team that began life in 1965 as the Solihull Barons.

The ‘70s were a crucial period for the Barons, as the 1977-78 season saw the Solihull-based franchise lift the Southern League – the first championship in the team’s 13-year history at that time. A dry patch followed, though the team did manage one more trophy in the form of the English League in 1992-93, following a great deal of league restructuring during the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Just three years later, in 1996, the team rebranded themselves as the Solihull Blaze, and in their first season under the new name, they finished second in the southern division of the British National League – a campaign of new beginnings it seemed, since this was also the inaugural BNL season.

Ludicrously enough, the franchise moved leagues again in the following year, joining the newly-formed “national division” of the English National Ice Hockey League. This year was one of the most successful in the Blaze’s history, as they went on to lift three trophies. The league system, ever complicated of course, meant that each team played two sets of fixtures: one set among themselves and a second among all teams within the ENIHL system. Following victory in both of these sets of fixtures, the Blaze then went on to conquer the playoff finals, smashing Chelmsford Chieftains by scoring nine goals in each leg of their finale clash.

The division became the English Premier League in the 1998-99 season – British Ice Hockey was still very much finding its feet in the late ‘90s – and the Blaze had another fantastic season, finishing as runners up in the English Cup, before being crowned league champions, once again following a victory over Chelmsford. The second trophy of the season was secured with a 5-3 aggregate victory over Milton Keynes Kings.

2002-03 finally saw Coventry turn their silver into gold, as they brought home an impressive double

In May 2000, the Solihull franchise announced that they would be moving the club to the relatively nearby city of Coventry, renaming themselves the Coventry Blaze and settling into a new 3,600-seater stadium, the SkyDome Arena, where they remain to this day.

Despite a string of brilliant seasons to end the ‘90s, the franchise was yet to garner a sizeable fanbase, and the move to Coventry was made in order to attract a greater crowd – and attract a greater crowd it did, as the Blaze began their charge towards the most successful period in their history.

Their first season in Coventry was a mixed bag, losing key players after the turn of the year to put the brakes on what was an otherwise impressive run. Despite this, the goal of growing the fanbase was achieved – where Solihull Blaze games drew in only a few hundred, Coventry now attracted crowds of over 2,000.

The next season was a big step in the right direction, with key changes to the playing staff leading to a strong run of form towards the end of 2001. Matching the pace of the Dundee Stars was no mean feat, but their rival’s consistency meant they edged the Blaze by the end of the season, with the Dragons losing key clashes and finishing runners up in the Challenge Cup. They also finished runners-up in the league, before the nearly-men lost out to league victors Dundee Stars by the finest of margins in the playoff final, with the Scottish franchise pipping the Blaze 8-7 over two legs.

2002-03 finally saw Coventry turn their silver into gold, as they brought home an impressive double, including a sweet revenge over the Dundee Stars as they wrapped up the league title on an away day in Scotland. They went on to complete an invincible run in the play-offs, hosting a capacity crowd of 2,750 at the SkyDome for the return leg of their playoff final clash with Cardiff Devils, which they won.

In 03-04, the league system finally settled with the formation of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) which still stands today as the sport’s top-flight in Britain. A strong start to the season fizzled out for the Blaze, though, and a demoralising loss in Cardiff to begin the playoff campaign set the tone, as the Blaze ended the post-season without a win.

Naturally, such bitter disappointment could only be followed by the most miraculous of highs.

The following season, 2004-05, is regarded as the finest season in the club’s history – and rightly so. Coach Paul Thompson made changes aplenty to his roster, including the steal that was the signing of defenceman Neal Martin, who was later named EIHL Player of the Year. Although new signing Andre Payette did all he could to rile up fans of the team by serving nearly 500 penalty minutes, the fresh-look first line worked wonders.

The season was going well for Coventry, but the signing of Wade Belak in November became iconic in Blaze history, as between his arrival and the end of the regular season, the team lost only once in regulation time. Dough Schueller sent Nottingham Panthers packing in the Challenge Cup semi-final, setting the Blaze up for yet another date with Cardiff Devils.

The first leg was a demolition job, with the West Midlands franchise pumping the Devils 6-1. A much tighter second leg followed, with Coventry edging it 5-4 to bag the first trophy of this magnificent season. After that, it was a face-off with Belfast Giants for the league title, and with three games remaining, Coventry wrapped up the championship title in front of a record SkyDome crowd, seeing off London Knights 5-1 to secure their place as the best in Britain.

It’s been an arduous journey for Coventry Blaze to be where it is now, but if Danny Stewart can replicate anything like their early 2000s success, Blaze fans will surely be ecstatic

The team remained a powerful force for the remainder of the ‘00s, winning further regular season titles in 2006-07, 07-08, and 09-10, also lifting the Challenge Cup in the 06-07 season, seeing the Blaze lift the double again, though they haven’t replicated the feat since.

The last piece of silverware lifted by Coventry was the playoff championship in 2014-15. Marc LeFebvre, still head coach following the team’s failure to reach the playoff semi-finals the year before, brought in a host of signings in the summer to revitalise the squad, many of whom would turn out to be crucial in the second half of the season.

Most notably, Brian Stewart, who put in some outstanding performances to see himself named as the league’s best netminder after a stunning turnaround from the franchise.

With LeFebvre given his marching orders in November after a rocky run that left them in the bottom two of the league, Chuck Weber – two-time ECHL champion – was brought in to steady the ship, and he did exactly that. Finishing sixth in the league seemed achievement enough given the state of the team when the American coach arrived, but a fantastic run to the playoff final concluded with the Blaze pumping reigning champions, Sheffield Steelers, sitting 4-0 up by the halfway point of the match. The Steelers fought back, but it was too little too late, and the Blaze finally had their hands on the playoff trophy once again, with captain Ashley Tait, the man to lift the same title ten years earlier, repeated his celebrations with the team.

Nearly eight years after that success, the Blaze are once again in the hunt for British ice hockey’s top accolades. At the time of writing, Coventry sit fifth in the EIHL, having also topped their Challenge Cup group, and after a dip in performances over December, the Blaze have come back swinging in January, winning all but one of their clashes thus far in 2023 – their only defeat a narrow 4-3 shootout loss to Dundee.

It’s been an arduous journey for Coventry Blaze to be where it is now, but if Danny Stewart can replicate anything like their early 2000s success, Blaze fans will surely be ecstatic. Here’s hoping for a thrilling end to the season!