CHANCES of Coventry Blaze advancing to the knockout stage of the Challenge Cup took a huge blow on Sunday night following a disappointing 3-2 loss to Cardiff.
Despite leading the game 2-1 with just 37 seconds remaining, the Blaze couldn’t end a miserable run of form at the Skydome as Joey Martin forced the game to overtime before Patrick Asselin slotted home a shock overtime winner.
Danny Stewart’s men may consider themselves a touch unfortunate as the decisive goal came following a shot from Blaze forward Robin Bergman, which missed the net and rolled around the boards allowing Cardiff to break with two men.
A stumped Brian Stewart was helpless in the two man situation as Asselin rescued two points for the Devils who can still qualify for the Challenge Cup final.
Blaze’s latest home loss came on the back of a mixed weekend in Belfast where they registered a surprise win in the capital on Friday night before losing 4-1 just 24 hours later.
Post game, Blaze head coach Danny Stewart admitted the lack of goals from his side is a major concern for him and has been for the past month.
He said: “The performance was there against Cardiff but unfortunately we came 40 seconds short.
“By no means are we accepting this loss, it’s demoralising that we lost and we’ve got to find a way to close the game out.
“Both games in Belfast were physical and the boys came out on Sunday night with energy and physicality which I have to give them credit for.
“Losing several players was not ideal, Godfrey, Noble, Boutin, Cowley and Clements all missed parts of the game – saying that we killed off some huge penalties.
“There are areas of our game that are really strong right now but I keep saying if we struggle to score goals it just puts pressure on the rest of our game.”
Blaze face another tough weekend starting on Saturday night as they face Sheffield on the road (7pm) for a Challenge Cup tie before the return EIHL fixture at the Skydome on Sunday (5.15pm).
