COVENTRY Blaze returned to winning ways with a 5-2 victory against Fife Flyers following defeat by the same scoreline at Manchester Storm.
A final period burst helped Blaze to victory on home ice at the Skydome Arena against Fife as Chase Gresock netted a brace.
That came after Coventry lost 5-2 against Manchester at Planet Ice Altrincham.
The results mean Blaze sit fifth in the Elite League standings.
Against Fife, Coventry broke the deadlock at 9.59 after Kim Tallberg forced a turnover and Morten Jurgens fired a loose puck into the net.
However, the Flyers levelled the game at 16.01 as Tyler Heidt’s well-placed shot beat Blaze netminder Mat Robson.
Blaze reclaimed the lead at 24.27 when Alessio Luciani finished off a flowing move only for Michael Cichy to equalise for Fife at 28.17 on the powerplay.
The home side went in front for a third time at 47.40 as Gresock scored on the powerplay before defenceman Alexander Kuqali struck 35 seconds later to extend Blaze’s lead.
And Gresock completed the scoring at 59.17 when he finished into an empty net after Fife pulled netminder Shane Owen for an extra skater.
However, Blaze’s struggles on the road continued in Manchester against the Storm.
Coventry made the worst possible start with Mike Regush penalised for a face-off violation just 19 seconds into the game.
And Storm took full advantage as Tyler Hinam opened the scoring at 1.45 on the powerplay.
Manchester doubled their lead at 14.44 when Alexis D’Aoust finished a two-on-one opportunity with the goal allowed to stand following a brief review for a bump on netminder Robson.
Blaze halved the deficit at 25.06 as defenceman Terrance Amorosa fired a shot into the net from the blue line.
A big hit from Jurgens saw him challenged by Storm’s C.J. Garcia, with the game past the halfway mark, as a fight between the pair saw both players serve five-minute penalties.
And Manchester then had Hinam ejected for repeatedly trying to punch Coventry defenceman Mike Kennedy despite being restrained by two officials.
However, Storm thrived in the chaos as D’Aoust scored his second of the game at 33.57 and Stephen Johnson netted at 35.21 to take command of the game.
And Cameron Critchlow took the game out of Blaze’s reach at 48.04 in the third period.
Blaze scored a consolation goal at 57.06 as Brandon Alderson finished on the powerplay as Manchester’s Owen Griffiths served a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Coventry are next in action against Cardiff Devils on Saturday, February 8 with the face-off at 7pm at Vindico Arena.
Blaze then host Sheffield Steelers on Sunday, February 9 with the face-off at 5.30pm at the Skydome.
