COVENTRY BLAZE lifted themselves off the foot of the Elite Ice Hockey League table with two wins within 24 hours against the Dundee Stars and the Sheffield Steelers.
The Blaze scored two late goals in both fixtures to transform recent form and secure their first four-point-weekend since the start of the season.
Coventry went ahead twice on Saturday night against Dundee with markers from Josh Godfrey and Drew Fisher.
Two Dundee equalisers ensured the Stars denied the Blaze any chance to solidify their authority on the game.
A late goal with just 59 seconds left on the clock from the Dundee’s Justin Faryna was matched by Blaze forward Cale Tanaka just 26 seconds later – forcing the game to overtime.
A goalless overtime took the game to penalty shots – Blaze goaltender Brian Stewart made three crucial saves before Neil Trimm scored the only penalty shot to earn Coventry the additional point.
The Blaze then travelled to Sheffield on Sunday night where fans experienced a case of déjà vu as recent recruit Jordan Pietrus hit a game winner with just 23 seconds remaining.
Coventry came from a goal behind to lead 2-1 before a Steelers goal from defenceman Russ Moyer at the start of the third period brought the home side level.
A delighted Blaze head-coach Chuck Weber said: “We’ve been waiting for a four-point-weekend desperately.
“The boys battled hard and we tired them (Sheffield) out tonight (Sunday) because they shot the puck in our end so much.
“I am proud of the way the guys battled, we made mistakes but Brian (Stewart) was fantastic and the guys blocked plenty of shots to get us to the victory.
“From my point of view – when we go down late on in a game – it’s thinking of who is up next, who will take the drop if we get a faceoff in the offensive zone and getting the two points that we need to pick up on a regular basis.”
