GENTING Casino Coventry Blaze romped to an 8-3 win against Manchester Storm after scoring six goals in the second period.
Alex Forbes, Evan Bloodoff and Dane Gibson all struck twice with David Clements and Nathanael Halbert also on target.
The result means Coventry now sit eighth in the Elite League table, having secured their sixth win within regulation time this season.
The Blaze had not played since December 27 after having to enter the Elite League’s COVID-19 protocol.
And the home side made the perfect start at the Skydome Arena when man of the match Forbes opened the scoring at 4.58.
However, the Giants hit back almost immediately through Curtis Hamilton with six minutes on the clock.
And Manchester then took the lead just 12 seconds into the second period when Adam Brady beat CJ Motte in the Blaze net.
That goal sparked Coventry into life as they scored six goals in the next 18 minutes.
Bloodoff registered twice at 21.34 and 39.16 whilst Clements struck on the powerplay at 23.28 and Halbert netted his third goal of the regular season at 30.46.
In the absence of top-scorer Luke Ferrara, Gibson moved from defence to forward and also scored in the second period blitz at 34.07.
Short-handed, Forbes scored his second of the match at 36.43 to end the second period with Blaze 7-2 ahead.
That prompted the Giants to replace Matt Ginn with James Downie in the Manchester goal to start the third period.
However, after Brady had scored his second to reduce the deficit at 43.26, Gibson doubled his goal tally for the Blaze at 44.26.
Coventry Head Coach Danny Stewart said: “It was always going to be tough coming out of protocol with a little bit of rust.
“Scoring six in a period was great to see. It was a good win for us.”
The Blaze are next in action against league leaders Sheffield Steelers on Friday, January 14 with the face off at 7.30pm at the Skydome Arena.
