COVENTRY Blaze suffered a narrow 5-4 shootout defeat against title-chasing Guildford Flames despite two goals apiece from Colton Yellow Horn and Marly Quince.
Yellow Horn struck in both the first and second period to give Blaze the lead before a strike from Quince put Coventry in command ahead of the third period.
However, Guildford mounted a comeback to turn the game in their favour before Quince netted late on to take the game to a shootout in which the Flames triumphed at Guildford Spectrum.
The result means Blaze remain fifth in the Elite League table with the four teams above them having secured their places in the end of season play-offs.
And Yellow Horn put Blaze ahead at 11.51 only for Flames to level through Brett Ferguson at 13.06.
Yellow Horn scored his second of the game at 36.32 before Quince extended Blaze’s lead at 38.45.
However, Guildford showed their class to draw level as Ryan Tait scored on the powerplay at 40.53 and Daniel Tedesco netted at 44.08.
And Flames completed the turnaround at 46.10 through Logan Fredericks only for Quince’s second goal of the game at 56.33 to take the game to overtime.
Neither side was able to find a breakthrough in overtime which meant the game would be decided by a shootout.
Guildford’s Peter Crinella was the only player to find the net as he scored with the final shot of the game to deny Coventry an extra point.
Blaze Head Coach Danny Stewart said: “I think it took us a while to get into the game and we were a bit lucky to be level after the first period.
“The second was one of the best we have played all year and I feel for the guys in the third.
“They got a scrambled one on the powerplay and then the go ahead goal our guy is coming back hard and makes the right play but chips one into his own net.
“But the guys showed good character, as they could have easily dropped their heads after blowing the lead but we found a way to level it.
“We had some good looks in overtime, and in the shoot-out, they unfortunately got one and we didn’t.”
Coventry take on Sheffield Steelers in back-to-back matches this weekend with the face-off at 7pm at the Sheffield Arena on Saturday, February 25 and 5.30pm at the Skydome Arena on Sunday, February 26.
