COVENTRY Blaze failed to provide skipper Ashley Tait with a dream 700th appearance win as they lost 2-5 to bitter rivals Cardiff Devils on Sunday.
Despite opening the scoring with a well timed breakaway mid-way through the opening period, Tait and his Blaze side failed to expand on their victory against Edinburgh just 24-hours prior to facing the Devils.
Blaze may consider themselves unlucky in the second period, though, as a high-stick appeared to guide their second goal into the back of Brian Stewart’s net.
Two goals for the Devils in quick succession made the third period difficult for the hosts who failed to gather momentum from there.
A frustrated Chuck Weber told The Observer: “They took advantage of their opportunities – two of their goals were unfortunate for us.
“As the game went on a couple of the guys struggled – it’s not easy given that we travelled from Scotland last night, we got into bed at 5am.
“Ashley is the ultimate professional – he wants to win, it’s all about the team and he plays a lot of minutes.”
24-hours prior to their defeat against the Devils, Coventry snuck a 6-5 win against Edinburgh Capitals in Scotland with a dramatic overtime goal from Michael Quesnele.
Coventry found themselves 4-0 up just minutes into the first period – however the Capitals soon fought back and equalised through former Blaze forward Ned Lukacevic.
A Blaze goal was followed by a dramatic Edinburgh equaliser in the dying seconds of the game, taking it to overtime.
Though Quesnele finished the job for Coventry, Weber was disappointed to see such a demanding lead slip.
“It was 5-1 at one point and we let the game get away from us,” said Weber.
“A couple of times we got caught out of position and credit to Edinburgh, they capitalised on their opportunities and I thought we were capable of better.”