COACH Chuck Weber praised a ‘professional’ performance after watching his in-form Blaze team sweep aside Edinburgh Capitals 5-0 at the Skydome as the march to cement a play-off place continues.
Goals from Derek Lee and Jereme Tendler put Blaze, who were without forwards Steven Goertzen and Vladimir Nikiforov, two goals in front inside the first five minutes.
And further strikes from Mike Egener, Ben Arnt and Ryan O’Marra earned Blaze their sixth consecutive win in the league.
It continued their remarkable run of form with Blaze now taking 21 points from the last 22 and it was also the biggest victory since Weber took over in mid-December.
Blaze move into sixth place with five games remaining.
Weber said: “It is the first time since beating Sheffield at the end of November we have won by three or more goals which was nice.
“It was a very professional win by the team. We started the game business-like and capitalised on some early opportunities and we played the game the right way.
“Edinburgh is a team we have struggled to score against but I was very proud of the way we went about our business.
“When we went up two goals the boys didn’t cheat and they were rewarded with additional goals. To get goals from all three lines and a defenceman was fantastic and we are starting to get some balance.”
Weber was also thrilled to see goaltender Brian Stewart blank Edinburgh Capitals.
The Canadian has been in phenomenal form all season and made 29 saves to claim his third shut-out in the league, and his first since early September.
Weber added: “I was really happy for him. He works really hard and he gives the boys a chance to win every night.
“The boys on the bench really wanted him to get the shut-out, they were blocking shots and sacrificing themselves for the team.
“He will probably tell you it was one of his easiest nights, he did not have to make many Grade A saves.
“We only gave up two odd-man rushes and he made a couple of difficult saves look easy. It was an exceptional team effort.”
