COVENTRY Blaze suffered agonising 2-1 overtime defeats in both the Challenge Cup and the Elite League against Guildford Flames and Sheffield Steelers respectively.
Blaze took the lead in their Cup game against Guildford through Kobe Roth’s early goal only for Flames to level soon after and win the game in overtime at the Skydome Arena.
And Coventry then lost by the same scoreline to Sheffield in the Elite League as JD Dudek scored a late equaliser to take the game to overtime before the Steelers clinched victory at Utilita Arena Sheffield.
Blaze’s match with Guildford took place on Armistice Day with a period of remembrance before the face-off while Coventry wore special jerseys for the evening and paid special tribute to the lives lost on HMS Coventry (D118).
And the home side made a blistering start as Roth found the net at 3.25 only for Peter Crinella to level for Flames at 8.02 which proved to be the only goals in regulation time.
Blaze did everything but score in the third period while netminder Taran Kozun made a number of excellent saves to take the game to overtime.
However, Guildford won the game through a moment of magic as Brett Ferguson danced his way through the Blaze defenders before finishing superbly past Kozun at 61.01.
Against Sheffield, Blaze netminder Kozun made 34 saves in an inspired performance as Coventry claimed a valuable point from the fixture.
Blaze wasted a three-on-one opportunity early on as Roth shot narrowly wide before Brett Neumann put Steelers ahead at 7.45 from close range.
And Kozun pulled off a number of superb saves to keep Blaze in the contest which included a late powerplay chance.
After a goalless second period, Blaze eventually drew level at 50.37 as Dudek finished neatly from Alessio Luciani’s excellent pass.
However, Sheffield won the game in overtime as Robert Dowd struck at 62.43 to ensure Blaze remain bottom of the Elite League standings.
