Brett Ferguson and Josh Waller goals in the 3rd period were just enough to overcome a Coventry Blaze single thanks to a 29 save showing by Jake Kupsky that ended in a 2-1 Flames win.
Across the opening 40 minutes, netminders Mat Robson and Kupsky engineered back to back scoreless frames to keep both sides each looking for the first goal of the contest as the 3rd got underway.
Spectrum’s tenants were the ones to finally break the ice through Ferguson at 43:20. Blaze levelled about 5 minutes later, but just 25 seconds after that Waller had Flames back in front with what turned into the winner. In the final 2 minutes, Robson left his net in favour of a 6th Blaze skater as they worked to force overtime, but time expired to secure the Flames win.
Kupsky had 29 saves on 30 shots while Robson turned away 36 of 38.
“That was a nailbiter that made the last 10 minutes or so rather uncomfortable so we are glad we were on the good side of the final outcome,” said Paul Dixon.
“Great performances by each netminder made scoring rather hard to come by, but we were able to make the most of just enough of our chances to bank a very important Elite League win.”
“When they tie it like they did in a very tight game like that you never know how a team will react, but what a great immediate reply for the next shift to go grab the lead right back.”
“It was disappointing last night in Cardiff so this is a much better way to close out this week’s game schedule and we look forward to setting ourselves up for next week at Dundee then home to Manchester.”
