By Luke McGinnis
Marc LeFebvre’s men secured a massive home win over the Cardiff Devils last Saturday, scoring four unanswered goals in the third period to upset the Welsh side 5-4.
“I’m proud of the guys for not giving up, it’s nice to play a complete game,” said LeFebvre. “We’re not going to be a pretty team to watch, we know that. There’s still lots to work on, but obviously it’s a huge two points.”
The victory featured Matt Berry’s first EIHL hat trick — including the game-winning goal — along with a three-point night from Spencer Naas and a 38-save performance from Emil Kruse.
Reflecting on the comeback, Berry said, “I think it was just a never-give-up attitude. I don’t think we were playing that bad of a hockey game, so scoring early in the third gave us a little energy and we kept fighting.”
The Coventry Blaze are coming off a disappointing weekend, falling 5-3 to the Nottingham Panthers on home ice before suffering a 4-1 loss to the Glasgow Clan in Braehead the following night.
Alessio Luciani and Matthew Gleason lead the Blaze offensively with sixteen points across all competitions, with returning netminder Mat Robson having impressed with a .927 save percentage and a 2.92 goals-against average.
Last season, Coventry claimed four wins out of the six meetings between the two sides. Luciani led all players with thirteen points, while Spencer Naas and Keanu Yamamoto each scored five points for the Stars.
“It’s always a tough game in Coventry,” said LeFebvre. “The crowd gets on you behind the bench, and they’re a good team, so we’ve got to be ready.”
Dundee and Nottingham have already met twice this season, with the Panthers coming out on top in both encounters.
The first saw Nottingham knock off the Stars in Dundee, with former Stars netminder Kevin Carr backstopping his side to a 5-2 victory. Less than twenty-four hours later, the teams met again at the Motorpoint Arena, where the Panthers survived a late Dundee comeback for the second win of the season series.
Otto Nieminen — who spent the past two seasons with the Panthers — found the back of the net for the Stars, as did Hampus Olsson, Bradley Schoonbaert, Spencer Naas and Griffin Luce.
Nottingham, meanwhile, saw goals from Brendan Harris, David Noel, Didrik Henbrant, Mitch Fossier, Matt Spencer, Ross Armour, Cooper Zech and Bryan Lemos.
“Nottingham has three good lines that can really hurt you. They’re reigning playoff champions for a reason, so we’ve got to be prepared. These games are played on the ice, not on paper, so we’ve got to be ready to go,” LeFebvre concluded.
