The Junior Blaze U16s earned a 2-2 draw in Sheffield last Saturday to stay in contention for promotion.

Elsewhere in a weekend packed with fixtures, the U14s lost 5-3 in another exciting contest in Sheffield, Mercian Menace did themselves proud despite losing 12-1 to Flintshire, and the U19s suffered two defeats, going down 10-4 to Grimsby on Saturday and 7-1 to Bradford on Sunday.

The U16s pulled out all the stops to reverse their defeat by Sheffield the previous week but came up against goal-tending of the highest order. Joe Henry put Blaze ahead, assisted by Tom Pease, only to see Sheffield equalize and then take the lead. It stayed that way until Scott Mulholland connected for the equalizer.

Blaze maintained their composure and pressed hard, outshooting Greyhounds 26-16, but in the end had to settle for the draw. Sheffield’s goalie was a well-deserved Man of the Match winner, as was Blaze’s Martin McPhilimey.

In what seemed at times a battle of attrition – for which the home side paid in penalty minutes – Blaze lost the services of D-men Scott Murray who injured a shoulder. John Roxburgh received a mild concussion from a late, unpenalised check.

Earlier, the U14s contest was an end-to-end game with no quarter given. The lead changing hands three times during the 45 minutes. Manager Carl Smith rated it “a very good game of hockey with the Sabres probably just doing enough to deserve the win.”

The game began at a furious pace with the sides trading attacks. Blaze gained a two-man advantage early on but were unable to score. Sabres drilled one past starting goalie Carl Green only to see Adam Richardson notch the first of his two goals after taking a pass mid-ice from Adam Bonser. Blaze lost first line centre Ricky Bryniarski who injured a hand just before the close of the period. D-man Paul Kennedy double-shifted to fill in.

Blaze piled on the pressure early in the second and went ahead when a blue line effort from Mark Smith being deflected over the diving cageman by Man of the Match Sam Hewitt. Within minutes the Sabres had leveled and then gone ahead again. Blaze rallied, with Sam Owen passed in front of the goal to Adam Richardson who made no mistake and returned the score to level pegging. But before the period ended, relief goalie David Roxburgh was beaten by a deflected shot to give Sabres a 4-3 lead.

With both teams tiring visibly in the third, Sabres managed to extend their lead when Luke Charnock completed a hat trick from close in. Blaze pressed hard but their desperation saw them take a succession of penalties. With five seconds to go, Adam Richardson was harshly assessed five plus game for a retaliatory slash after he was 'jumped' off the puck by two Sabres.

Sabres outshot Blaze 32-19. Paul Kennedy earned the Blaze 100% Effort award.

The U19s faced a big challenge with their first weekend double-header, and while the scores were disappointing, the team performed well.

Having beaten Grimsby at home, the team may have underestimated their opponents and paid the price in a 10-4 defeat on Saturday. Grimsby had the Blaze on the back foot with two quick goals before Coventry leapt back with two short-handed goals, by Joe Law (assisted by James Sullivan) and Nathaneal ‘BT’ Williams. Grimsby fought back and were rewarded with a go-ahead goal before the period ended.

Blaze levelled through a brilliant goal by Man of the Match Stuart Green, assisted by BT, but then Grimsby went on the rampage, bombarded Dale Albutt with shots and scored four unanswered goals. An altercation late in the period saw Wayne Knight heading for an early shower.

In the third period, Grimsby increased their margin although Blaze pulled one back when Aiden Boland set up Joe Law for his second. Dale Albutt left the ice with an injury, and was replaced by Menace goalie James Young for the final minutes.

It was a different game on Sunday in Bradford – the 7-1 score in no way indicates the game that it was. Coventry played with fire in their hearts; Bradford managed only four shots on goal in the first period.

It was 25 minutes into the game before Bradford scored, but their lead was short-lived as Aidan Boland netted the equaliser, assisted by BT. But Bradford, who had themselves underestimated Coventry, upped their game and scored another six before the final buzzer. Man of the Match was BT.

Coach Bill Kelly said: “Despite going down twice at the weekend, I think it has been something that the team will benefit from and will put us in good stead for the remaining three games of the season.”

Mercian Menace gave a good account of themselves against Flintshire despite the scoreline. Menace held their own for most of the game against their faster-skating, more experienced opposition and gave the crowd plenty to cheer about.

Flintshire burst from the blocks but Menace fought back, with the ‘Craig David’ line of Craig Woodfield, David Russell and Ben Hutchinson, backed by blue-liners Ross Kelly and Tom Albrow, particularly effective. Craig covered the ice like a dervish and was rewarded with a fine goal on a breakaway. Man of the Match Liam Walker looked a threat on every shift with steadily improving Rob Owen and Sarah Lancaster making their presence felt. Jamie Hicks did well on his debut.

James Young had another solid game in goal, facing close to 60 shots and being extremely unlucky on two dubious goals.

Reporter: Dan