Individual News
19th of March 2008
After being runners up in the last two seasons, Coventry Blaze finally got their hands on the British Knockout Cup as they overpowered a brave Basingstoke Bison in the third period to add a second trophy this term, following their league success a few weeks ago.
Bison went into the game with a 2-goal advantage and having beaten Blaze twice in the past week must have felt confident of winning their first ever EIHL trophy. And after only 51 seconds it looked even better for the visitors as Greg Chambers (37th of the season) shot Bison ahead and into a 3-goal aggregate lead.
Blaze however did not dwell on that setback and hit back hard, scoring twice quickly to turn the game in their favour. A powerplay strike by Sylvain Cloutier (29th) at 5.06 tied it at one and then Dan Carlson (28th) edged Blaze ahead at 8.10, the home lead remaining until the first period interval.
A tighter second period saw Bison soak up Blaze pressure but crucially take advantage at the other end with Brad Cruikshank (30th) making it 2-2 on the night and 6-2 Bison on aggregate after forty minutes of hockey.
A huge third period coming up and it was Blaze once again rising to the challenge as they dominated from the off. Bison were outshot 21 to 5 and simply could not stem the flow. At 44.44 Danny Stewart (18th) made it 3-2 Blaze on the night and then at 49.19 the aggregate score was level as Adam Calder (55th) made it 4-2.
Bison had no answer and Blaze went ahead for the first time on aggregate when Carlson (29th) scored at 54.37 and when Curtis Huppe (34th) added a sixth Blaze goal on the night at 56.40, giving his side an aggregate lead of two, there was no way back for the visitors.
It's now a seventh honour for Blaze since the inception of the Elite League in 2003/2004, they remain very much the dominant team in this era of the sport in the UK.
Period Scores: 2-1, 0-1, 4-0
Penalty Mins: 12-18
Powerplay: Cov 1/8 - Bas 0/5
Shots On: Trevor Koenig 31 - Curtis Cruickshank 43
Bison went into the game with a 2-goal advantage and having beaten Blaze twice in the past week must have felt confident of winning their first ever EIHL trophy. And after only 51 seconds it looked even better for the visitors as Greg Chambers (37th of the season) shot Bison ahead and into a 3-goal aggregate lead.
Blaze however did not dwell on that setback and hit back hard, scoring twice quickly to turn the game in their favour. A powerplay strike by Sylvain Cloutier (29th) at 5.06 tied it at one and then Dan Carlson (28th) edged Blaze ahead at 8.10, the home lead remaining until the first period interval.
A tighter second period saw Bison soak up Blaze pressure but crucially take advantage at the other end with Brad Cruikshank (30th) making it 2-2 on the night and 6-2 Bison on aggregate after forty minutes of hockey.
A huge third period coming up and it was Blaze once again rising to the challenge as they dominated from the off. Bison were outshot 21 to 5 and simply could not stem the flow. At 44.44 Danny Stewart (18th) made it 3-2 Blaze on the night and then at 49.19 the aggregate score was level as Adam Calder (55th) made it 4-2.
Bison had no answer and Blaze went ahead for the first time on aggregate when Carlson (29th) scored at 54.37 and when Curtis Huppe (34th) added a sixth Blaze goal on the night at 56.40, giving his side an aggregate lead of two, there was no way back for the visitors.
It's now a seventh honour for Blaze since the inception of the Elite League in 2003/2004, they remain very much the dominant team in this era of the sport in the UK.
Period Scores: 2-1, 0-1, 4-0
Penalty Mins: 12-18
Powerplay: Cov 1/8 - Bas 0/5
Shots On: Trevor Koenig 31 - Curtis Cruickshank 43