[12
SEP 00] COVENTRY CRUSADERS NEWS
New Ice Hockey Side Off To Blazing Start
MK
Kings 4 - 7 Coventry Blaze
Guildford Flames 1 - 1 Coventry Blaze
Coventry Blaze 8 - 2 Slough Jets
Coventry
Blaze have got off to a hectic but flying start to the season, and
look likely to make it through their first major test.
A
five point haul from three games in four days has left the Blaze
looking very likely to qualify for the second round of the Benson
& Hedges competition. They are currently in second place in Group
D of the B&H.
The
top team in the group will go on to face a Superleague opponent in a
single game "Challenge Round" on the BNL team's ice.
The
winners of the "Challenge Round" games move on into the
Benson & Hedges Cup proper facing all the Superleague clubs.
The
losers return to the Benson & Hedges Plate competition and face
the second place team from the qualifying round groups in home and
away semi-final series.
The
final will be held at Sheffield Arena in early December.
The
Blaze ground out an important victory in Milton Keynes last Thursday,
overcoming a number of minor injuries to key players to record a 7-4
win over the Kings.
This
was followed by a fantastic performance on Saturday night in
Guildford. The Flames are the bookies favourites for all the honours
this season, but were given a lesson in disciplined defensive hockey.
The
Blaze took the lead in the eighth minute through Hilton Ruggles and
retained that lead until a disputed penalty shot was awarded in the
fiftieth minute.
The
Flames equalised and then applied pressure to the Blaze goal, but a
fine performance from Henrik Sjodin kept the Guildford team at bay.
Sunday
night saw the Blaze give another disciplined performance to beat the
Basingstoke Bison at the Skydome in Coventry.
The
4-2 win was another display of great character by the tiring Blaze
team. New signing Simon Hunt picked up two goals, with Steve Chartrand
and Mathias Soderstrom getting the others.
There
is no let-up in the schedule in the coming week with the Blaze facing
Milton Keynes at the Skydome tonight, then travelling to Slough to
face the Jets on Saturday before returning to Coventry on Sunday for
the eagerly awaited return clash with Guildford Flames.
This
could be the game that decides the Group D winners and should be a
great game.
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