Whether you whisper it quietly or shout it from the rooftops, the fact remains the same: the Coventry Blaze are rolling right now.
Kevin Moore’s squad continued their immaculate New Year form on Saturday [7 February], taking down the Nottingham Panthers (and former head coach Danny Stewart) in a Motorpoint Arena shootout.
Thanks to Adam Robbins’ clincher, the Blaze improved their record to 9-1-0 in their last ten — a run that has seen Coventry outscore their rivals 42-24.
Elsewhere, the Fife Flyers continued their losing streak, while the Glasgow Clan and Sheffield Steelers picked up valuable wins.
Welcome to Around the Rinks our daily summary of every Elite League team’s post-game media remarks.
Around the Rinks: Saturday, 7 February
Belfast Giants 4-3 Fife Flyers
Jordan Kawaguchi, Belfast Giants (Image: William Cherry)
Adam Keefe, Belfast Giants:
I didn’t love the game. However, two points at this time of the year are always valuable. That’s to take nothing away from Fife: they competed hard and put us in some awkward positions with their speed and work ethic. I didn’t like how we managed that and the night was harder than it needed to be as a result.
I’m certainly not going to complain about the two points. We allowed five or six breakaways that Jake [Kupsky] made saves on and that was huge for us. It wasn’t a nice welcome for him, but I thought it was a big turning point in the game.
Some real positives to take out of the game, but we’re taking on the hottest team in the league tomorrow and we’ll have to be a lot better than we were tonight.
Jamie Russell, Fife Flyers:
I thought it was a good hockey game: I really liked our first period, but we got away from our structure in the second. We stuck with it in the third and had some good chances. It was a pretty solid effort from our group and I’m pleased with how we played.
Dundee Stars 2-5 Glasgow Clan
Drydn Dow, Dundee Stars (Image: Derek Black)
Marc LeFebvre, Dundee Stars:
There were a few things [I wasn’t happy with]. The first ten minutes of the game were very poor. And it wasn’t the fact that we went down two-nothing: it was the fact we didn’t play. We had plenty of chances but it just comes down to execution: whether that’s at the net front or making those ten-foot passes. I think we outshot them 13-1 in the third period, but we’ve got to capitalise on our chances. We don’t have time to dwell on it, we’ve got to be ready to go in Sheffield tomorrow.
Mike Sirant, Glasgow Clan:
It was an important win for us to keep ahead of Dundee and catch some of those teams ahead of us. We knew it was going to be a tough game: Dundee’s been on a roll with wins over Nottingham and Manchester.
We played exceptionally in the first period. In the second period, we got away from our structure and Dundee made us pay for that. In the third period, of our second game in two days, we just wanted to play simple and smart. I thought our guys did a good job of that.
Manchester Storm 2-5 Sheffield Steelers
Patrick Watling, Sheffield Steelers (Image: Mark Ferriss)
Cameron Critchlow, Manchester Storm:
You could call it clinical by them or just total garbage by us. I was extremely disappointed by our effort tonight. I thought the first period was fine, we had some great looks and had chances, but we got away from our game in the second.
It’s completely unacceptable: the effort and the attitude. I thought we quit on plays and started putting individuals first. I feel sorry for our fans because it’s a sold-out rink and we came in and gave that effort. They deserve a lot more than that.
We were out-battled, out-competed, and out-willed tonight and it shows. We’re trying to chase down a team in front of us, but it certainly didn’t look that way tonight.
I’m looking for a huge response tomorrow. It’s disappointing overall and there’s not much that stands out positively.
Aaron Fox, Sheffield Steelers:
I felt like we carried over our performance from last week to tonight. We were rewarded, Eamon McAdam made saves all night long, and we got pucks in deep to force Manchester into hard games. I felt that we were on it from puck drop tonight and the result is well-deserved.
Nottingham Panthers 1-2 Coventry Blaze (Shootout)
Coventry Blaze extend win streak to eighth game: Adam Robbins, Coventry Blaze (Image: Panthers Images)
Danny Stewart, Nottingham Panthers:
I didn’t mind our compete, effort, or performance. In the first period, we weren’t at our best, but we grew into the game in the second and third. We probably didn’t get inside enough, but we had enough chances.
At times, we weren’t direct enough, didn’t put pucks on net, and I thought Coventry defended well tonight. They took their chance on a failed clearing attempt.
When you give up one at home and you don’t win the hockey game, the issue is usually that you’re not scoring enough goals.
Kevin Moore, Coventry Blaze:
I thought it was a really hard-fought game. It was like a play — it had different acts to it. Early, it was tight and then it got weird with all the special teams play. Then, it started opening up back and forth.
I thought our team played really well: we were structured and smart with our sticks. We were really willing to make big defensive plays that allowed us to get the puck back. Mat Robson was awesome all night. I thought the penalty kill was great.
It was a gutsy win for our group and fun for me. And it was fun in the sense that it had all of that hard-nosed hockey stuff that coaching nerds love. It was a really enjoyable game for me in the moment and now it’s onto tomorrow.
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