CLAN....................................................6 COVENTRY BLAZE.............................8
Clan come off second best in 14-goal thriller
Clan’s winning streak was brought to a halt as they suffered defeat in a nail-biting thriller against Coventry Blaze.
In a first period packed with goals, it was the Braehead side who got things underway. A shot from Craig Peacock was spilled by Jamie Phillips and Matt Heywood was there to open the scoring. However, Clan would not hold the lead for long.
Visitors Blaze contributed to a fantastic opening period. Luke Ferrara had his team back on level terms after a clever tip in front of net directed the puck past Patrick Killeen.
However, Clan were back in front just three minutes later. A smart bit of play from Nolan LaPorte saw them win the puck back in the Blaze zone. LaPorte then played a perfect pass to Roy, who was waiting at the back post to make it 2-1.
The Blaze came roaring back again and it was a fine finish from Evan Bloodoff for the equaliser – an unstoppable shot past the helpless Killeen.
Despite the number of goals, there was some fine goaltending on display. However, Phillips will be disappointed with himself when he was caught out for Clan’s third and Roy’s second to put the hosts 3-2 in front.
It looked like there just wasn’t enough time on the clock as Mikael Lidhammar skated towards the Blaze goal. But Lidhammar managed to beat the buzzer and Phillips at 19:59 to doubled Clan’s advantage at the end of the first period.
Clan expected a response from Blaze, and so it turned out as the Braehead outfit pegged back again inside five second period minutes, Andrew Johnston and Dillion Lawrence on target for Coventry.
However, the Clan would take the lead into the third period after a somewhat fortuitous fifth goal. Rasmus Bjerrum was credited with the goal after the puck was inadvertently knocked into the net by a Blaze player. However, no one inside the arena was complaining as the scoreboard now read 5-4 to the Clan.
The final period was full of goals and controversy as Coventry turned things around in their favour. The game looked to be ticking away to a Clan victory when two goals in quick succession saw the Blaze emerge in front.
Ross Venus first scored a controversial equaliser as the Clan claimed for goaltender interference and then Bloodoff fired his team in front 21 seconds later.
More penalties proved to be crucial as Travis Ehrhardt received a 2+2 for roughing. That saw the Clan up against a 5-on-3 Blaze powerplay. John Curran took advantage and put his side 7-5 ahead.
Roy then completed his hat-trick to give the Clan hope, but Johnston responded immediately to round off the scoring and an 8-6 victory for the Midlands outfit.