COVENTRY Blaze returned to winning ways with victories against both Dundee Stars and Manchester Storm respectively.
Blaze triumphed 4-2 at Dundee Ice Arena as Alessio Luciani scored twice while Matthew Gleason and Jordan Power also found the net.
Coventry then claimed a 2-1 overtime win against Manchester at the Skydome Arena as Colton Saucerman won the points for Blaze after Mack Stewart opened the scoring.
The results mean Coventry sit sixth in the Elite League standings.
Blaze broke the deadlock against Dundee when short-handed at 3.40 as Gleason broke clear and produced a wraparound finish after Dundee spurned a powerplay chance.
And Gleason went close again after Blaze killed another penalty only for Emil Kruse to make a sharp save to keep out the former’s backhand attempt.
However, Dundee equalised at 26.41 as Spence Naas forced home a loose puck with Blaze’s William Boysen serving a minor penalty.
Blaze reclaimed the lead just 56 seconds later when Luciani reacted quickest to fire home a rebound at 27.37 and restore the away side’s advantage.
Luciani scored his second of the game at 34.16 when he found space in the slot to finish past Kruse.
Dundee reduced the deficit to a single goal less than a minute later at 35.12 as Jonathan McBean produced a smart finish to set up a tense final period.
The Stars conceded three penalties in the final period and withdrew Kruse for an extra skater with 74 seconds remaining.
And with less than a second left on the clock, defenceman Power fired into an empty net to seal the points for Blaze.
Coventry then battled to a hard-fought overtime victory against Manchester to close the gap on Storm to three points in the Elite League table.
Blaze were handed the first powerplay of the night at 4.46 when Zach Sullivan was assessed a two-minute minor for interference after a heavy hit on Zaine McKenzie.
Although Coventry applied early pressure, Manchester responded with an extended spell of offensive zone time which eventually saw David Clements called for slashing at 9.13.
However, Blaze struck first at 14.01 when Stewart lifted the puck over the pads of Drew DeRidder after good work from Saucerman.
The second period burst into life immediately with a spirited scrap at 21.24 between Storm’s Chase Harrison and Blaze’s Connor Russell as both players received fighting majors.
And Manchester took two further minors before the midway mark in a goalless second period although DeRidder kept Blaze at bay.
Coventry had both Clements and Russell sent to the box early in the third period.
And the Storm capitalised on the five-on-three advantage at 47.18 when Brady Gilmour scored on the powerplay to level the game.
Blaze netminder Mat Robson turned aside 31 shots in a match-winning performance as his saves took the game to overtime.
And Saucerman combined with Boysen on a two-on-one break in the extra period at 63.50 to score the winning goal as Blaze secured a dramatic victory.
Coventry are next in action against Dundee on Friday, February 27 with the face-off at 7.30pm at Dundee Ice Arena.
Blaze then host Guildford Flames on Saturday, February 28 with the face-off at 7pm at the Skydome.
