An evenly fought battle between Manchester Storm and Coventry Blaze saw the hosts take a 3–2 decision after overtime.

A cautious opening from both sets of players was largely unfamiliar when compared with the meetings between Manchester and Coventry so far this campaign. However, a flowing tic-tac-toe play from the Blaze was finished from close range by Robbins, with helpers credited to Saucerman and Mismash in the ninth minute. The next major chance fell to Busby on the power play, yet a superb windmilling stop from Stewart in the sixteenth minute preserved the visitors one-goal lead. For the second night in a row, Nardi struck the iron from close range with just forty-five seconds remaining in the opening period.

The middle stanza began in almost identical fashion, with each side working its way back into rhythm. A fine low-to-high pass from Haden to Jenion brought about the hosts first goal of the game. The British utility man fired a low wrist shot through Stewart in the twenty-seventh minute to level matters. A costly line change while on the man advantage then saw Manchester concede another shorthanded marker in the thirty-fourth minute. On this occasion it was Gleason who seized the breakaway chance and finished through the wickets of DeRidder from a tight angle.

The final period saw Storm pressing from the opening puck drop, and they quickly re-established parity. Only seconds remained on the power play when a point shot was deflected with the lightest of touches just outside the blue paint by Johnson in the forty-sixth minute. The next passage of play handed the Blaze an extended five-on-three power play, which was extremely well managed by a tireless Manchester special teams unit. The remainder of regulation saw each attack largely cancelled out by two well-drilled defensive groups, with the majority of efforts coming from the periphery and handled comfortably by DeRidder and Stewart, sending the game into overtime once again at the Shelter.

The overtime period proved short lived, as new signing Hannoun wrapped up the game with a clinical finish on the breakaway to ensure Storm claimed three points from a possible four this weekend.

Words by: Callum Schora