Coventry Blaze edge Glasgow Clan to earn first league points of season

Coventry Blaze bounced back from a dreadful Saturday showing with a 2-1 win at home to Glasgow Clan on Sunday evening.

Goals from Grayson Constable and Grant Mismash gave the Blaze a cushion to defend heading into the final period, during which an early response from Brett Neumann just wasn’t enough to send the game into overtime for the visitors.

Colton Saucerman’s penalty concession in the opening exchanges hinted that Coventry were suffering from something of a hangover from Saturday’s 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Sheffield Steelers, but much to the relief of a crowded Skydome Arena, it was the hosts who set the ball rolling with the early go-ahead goal.

Glasgow continued their onslaught through much of the remainder of the game

Despite the one-skater deficit, Connor Russell applied pressure deep into Glasgow’s defensive zone. Stealing possession, he squared for Constable who skilfully rounded Clan goaltender Lucas Brine to caress into the now-empty net.

A second infraction of the evening from Saucerman gifted Glasgow an opportunity to respond midway through the frame, but once again, it was the hosts who looked the more likely to score even a man down. This time, though, Brine did well enough to deny Constable from point-blank range.

Glasgow soon strung together their best move of the game, but Blaze goalie Mat Robson pulled off a trademark save to deny Darien Kielb and preserve his side’s lead heading into the first interval.

Coventry survived one last goalmouth scramble to secure their first points of the new Elite League season

On a night where clear-cut chances were at a premium, the next goal was always going to be crucial. It took Coventry just two minutes of the new frame to find their second through Mismash, whose long-range effort found the net through a sea of bodies.

The visitors responded well to this setback, crafting a series of half-chances on Robson’s goal. The best of these fell to Tristin Langan, but the Canadian forward wasn’t quite able to redirect Jason Fram’s fierce pass on target.

Coventry were lucky to kill what was a fourth penalty concession of the game as the buzzer signalled an end to the second frame, but their two-goal advantage wasn’t to last much longer.

Kevin Moore’s side currently languish in eighth place after falling to defeat in their opening two outings

Just moments after the restart, Rylan Schwartz squared for the lively Neumann who made no mistake to half the deficit.

Glasgow continued their onslaught through much of the remainder of the game, but just couldn’t do enough to take a least a point back with them to Scotland. Brayden Burke was unlucky to only strike the goalframe from distance, before Richard Jarůšek’s effort was parried wide by Robson.

In one final roll of the dice, the visitors pulled Brine in favour of an extra skater, but Coventry survived one last goalmouth scramble to secure their first points of the new Elite League season.

Kevin Moore’s side currently languish in eighth place after falling to defeat in their opening two outings, but can take solace in their early-season Challenge Cup form which sees them in prime position to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition.

Coventry Blaze return to Elite League action this weekend with a trip to Kirkcaldy to face Fife Flyers, before welcoming Cardiff Devils to the Skydome Arena a day later.