COVENTRY Blaze responded to a heavy 5-0 defeat against Sheffield Steelers by thrashing Manchester Storm 5-1 on home ice.
Blaze conceded four goals in a disastrous second period against the Steelers at the Utilita Arena but responded with a stylish victory against the Storm at the Skydome Arena.
The results mean Blaze sit fifth in the Elite League table.
Against Manchester, Coventry broke the deadlock at 13.58 when Kim Tallberg pounced on a loose puck to beat Storm netminder Evan Weninger when shorthanded.
And Blaze doubled their lead at 18.24 as Alessio Luciani fired past Weninger to score his 15th goal of the season.
An incident-packed second period took nearly 40 minutes to complete due to a fight and several post-whistle altercations.
Blaze stretched their lead at 25.48 when Morten Jurgens spun and beat Weninger at his near post.
Tempers flared thereafter as Cam Critchlow and Jurgens received minor penalties for roughing.
This culminated in a fight between between Mike Kennedy and Jake Durflinger just past the half-hour mark.
Storm eventually troubled the scoreboard at 31.26 as Craig Martin redirected Alexis D’Aoust’s pass into the net.
However, Coventry restored their three-goal lead at 37.55 when Brandon Alderson converted Mike Regush’s feed unmarked at the back post.
And Blaze added some gloss to the scoreline at 58.01 as Chase Gresock completed the scoring from a five-on-three powerplay.
That came after Coventry suffered a disappointing defeat on the road against defending Grand Slam champions Sheffield.
After a goalless first period, Steelers defenceman Kevin Tansey eventually broke the deadlock at 30.06 with a shot past Blaze netminder Mat Robson.
And the home side struck again at 31.17 courtesy of Daniel Leavens before Luciani spurned a golden chance to halve the deficit as Matthew Greenfield made a crucial stop when one-on-one.
Sheffield extended their lead on the powerplay at 33.10 as Mitchell Balmas found the net while Sacha Guimond netted at 38.21 to take the game out of Blaze’s reach.
And Tansey scored his second of the game at 43.05 as Robson made a late save to prevent further damage.
Coventry are next in action against Nottingham Panthers on Saturday, January 18 with the face-off at 7pm at Motorpoint Arena.
Blaze then host Guildford Flames on Sunday, January 19 with the face-off at 5.30pm at the Skydome.
