Coventry Blaze 3 Newcastle Vipers 0
Oct 11 2010 by Peter Adams
HIT for seven on Saturday, the luckless Newcastle Vipers were shut out yesterday.
The defeat was the first time the Vipers have failed to score in the eight games they have played since making a belated start to the season.
Comfortably beaten 2-7 at home on Saturday night by the Blaze, the Vipers did well not to concede an early goal when they had to defend against two early powerplays.
After wasting a one minute and 35 second-long five on three powerplay the Vipers went behind on 14 minutes when Brad Cruickshank struck what turned out to be the only goal of the first period.
A bench minor reduced the Vipers’ skating strength to four a minute after the second period had started, and the team were lucky to kill the penalty as the Blaze missed two open-net scoring chances.
A nasty retaliatory slash by Greg Chambers on the Vipers’ Finnish forward Patrik Forsbacka was the spark that ignited ugly scenes eight minutes into the period.
As a result the Blaze lost the services of not just Chambers who was thrown out for slashing (game penalty) but also Cruickshank.
The latter’s abuse of an official earned him a match penalty as well as an early shower.
In total the Blaze amassed exactly an hour of penalties during the period with the Vipers receiving 15, which included the five John Swayzer received for fighting at 28 minutes.
Shortly after killing Nathan Salem’s interference penalty, the Vipers conceded a second with just under ten minutes remaining, Owen Fussey shooting passed Effinger.
Referee Dean Smith was raising an arm to signal a penalty for a second time just over two minutes later, his decision to send Brian Lee to the home penalty box for tripping giving the Vipers a chance to stage a late recover – but which they couldn’t make happen.
Instead, the puck was flying passed Effinger for a third time on 55 minutes with Sean Selmser scoring his second goal of the weekend against the Vipers.
Despite failing to score, it was a much improved performance for the Vipers who have now lost seven games – one at the decisive penalty shot stage – of the eight games they have played so far.
The Vipers were on the receiving end of a five-goal blitz during the middle period of Saturday night’s game at Whitley Bay.
It began 57 seconds into the period when Dan Carlson made it 1-3 to the visitors.
Brad Zanon increased the score (23 mins) before two five on three powerplay scores, spaced 45 seconds apart struck by Jonathan Weaver and Luke Fulghum, put the visitors totally in control.
With three minutes of the period remaining, Greg Owen’s close-range score made it 1-7 and towards the end of a tame third period, in which both sides iced their back up netminders, Dale Mahovsky was successful for the Vipers (54 mins).
Earlier, a two-goal advantage established inside nine minutes (Selmser, four mins and Fussey, eight mins), was halved when a turnover led to the Vipers breaking away and scoring a shorthanded goal on 12 minutes, with defenceman Kyle Sibley applying the finishing touch.
Yesterday's scorers
COVENTRY BLAZE: Cruickshank, Fussy and Selmser 1+0, Lee 0+2, Carlson, Chambers and Fulghum 0+1.
Saturday's scorers
NEWCASTLE VIPERS: Mahovsky 1+1, Sibley 1+0, Caroll 0+1.
COVENTRY BLAZE: Fulghum, Fussy and Zanon 1+2, Selmser and Weaver 1+1, Carlson and Owen 1+0, Chambers, Cruickshank, Farmer and Neil 0+1.
