COVENTRY Blaze suffered a 3-0 home defeat against early league leaders Cardiff Devils in a top-of-the-table clash.
A brace from Zach O’Brien either side of Reid Duke’s goal condemned Blaze to defeat at the Skydome Arena as Cardiff’s Mac Carruth recorded a 27-shot shutout.
The result means Coventry sit third in the Elite League table.
After a goalless first period, Blaze’s Terrance Amorosa took a delay of game penalty early in the second period.
Cardiff thought they had broken the deadlock soon after only for the officials to rule out the goal following a lengthy video review after the puck entered the net via a kicking motion.
However, the Devils eventually took the lead at 39.49 when O’Brien connected on a pinpoint pass from Cole Sanford just 11 seconds before the end of the second period.
And Cardiff doubled their lead at 42.47 as Duke received Evan Mosey’s perfectly-timed pass before beating Mat Robson when one-on-one.
O’Brien grabbed his second of the game at 51.41 to seal the points for the league leaders.
That came after Coventry lost 2-1 away at Guildford Flames at Guildford Spectrum the previous night.
Guildford netminder Jake Kupsky made crucial saves to deny both Mike Regush and Nick Seitz early on while Robson produced a fine save from a one-on-one opportunity at the other end.
Blaze spurned a powerplay opportunity at 14.15 with Guildford’s Kyle Locke serving time for interference.
Robson made another crucial save soon after although David Clements took a penalty for hooking as the first period somehow ended goalless.
Both teams failed to capitalise on powerplay opportunities in a scoreless second period as Guildford took a penalty for too many men on the ice while Coventry’s Chase Gresock was called for roughing.
Guildford eventually broke the deadlock at 43.20 as Flames captain Brett Ferguson took advantage of a Coventry turnover to fire the home side ahead.
However, Blaze drew level at 48.43 when Jackson Cressey finished from close range after good work from Archie Hazeldine.
The Flames reclaimed the lead just 25 seconds later as Josh Waller chased down a loose puck and found the top corner.
Coventry are next in action Sheffield Steelers in the Challenge Cup on Saturday, November 16 with the face-off at 7pm at Utilita Arena.
Blaze then host Nottingham Panthers in the Elite League on Sunday, November 17 with the face-off at 5.30pm at the Skydome.
