Game Day Preview vs Blaze

League Record So Far; 26 – 15 – 2, 54pts, 4th Place

L10GP; 5 – 5- 0, Trend = Increased

Devils hit the road for what will be a pivotal and important game vs old foes, Coventry Blaze, who are having a stellar season with just 3 points between them.

This season has seen many spanners thrown around, with many sleeping on the plucky upstarts from the English Midlands and equally many underrating Devils in their bid for silverware this season.

Devils have been on both ends of dominant displays in their L5GP, featuring 4 games with 6 goals, Devils having 3 to their name and one defeat. Both teams have hit 3 wins in that last stretch, with Blaze needing extras for one of them in a shootout win on the road in Glasgow, the recent victors vs Devils, respectively.

Tale of the Tape

As it has panned out so far, the once league leaders have slipped to 4th amongst a back drop of heavy travel, European title success and a plethora of long term, constant injuries.

Meanwhile, across the road, their 10th place predicted rivals have stunned every team in the league and currently hold the middle ground in the battle for playoff spots.

Along the way, the competitiveness and sheer daring from both teams have seen swagger, skill and skullduggery across the benches, making for entertaining games, with a broken nose and Michigan thrown in for good measure.

Devils sensationally consigned Blaze to cup elimination with a comeback win over Panthers but like their league skirmishes this season, their cup exploits against the Blaze have been evens.

With 4 games in league action, they are split 2:2, as with 2 cup games, 1:1.

However, so far, there is no home advantage, as both teams across the EIHL competitions have lost at home more than on the road. Which bodes well for the travelling Devils.

The series so far

This has been an atypical, yo-yo series where neither team has been able to grip the other by the scruff of their collar and dominate the play.

Devils have recorded a shutout against the Blaze, however have struggled to score more than 3 goals each game, the only time a 4:3 win in the cup to keep their charge alive for the knockout stages.

Blaze have favoured better overall, edging the goals column 20:18 in their favour, with three games scoring 5 against the Devils.

Blaze also put a pretty Michigan on their rivals, which at a later date, star player, Regush got his nose thumped in an end of game scrum, which saw Fournier suspended, with the Devils faithfully accepting of the result.

In terms of discipline and how that eventually affects outcomes, there has been 263 PIMS between the two teams, with Devils accumulating 58% of that, taking 170 PIMS so far.

Discipline will play a big part as Blaze have put up 4PPG to Devils 2 in this tie from both EIHL competitions. With both teams boasting the best PK in the league and Blaze holding the best PP, their relentless and tireless, fearless forecheck will be something to be aware of going into this one.

Ones to Watch

Coventry Blaze have a host of forwards that are stacking up the Top10 right now, however, Chase Gresock has been outstanding. He is 2nd on points and leads the league in goals, with MacDonald not far behind him.

Whilst he and former Devil, Alderson both have 8 PPG’s, Nick Seitz leads the league with 9. A dangerous combination for a team that usually finds itself on the PP and the good guys, on the PK often.

Zach O’Brien has been on an absolute heater of late and lead the league in the past month for points, with 5 goals and 10 apples in 12GP. In his L5GP, he has put up 8 points alone and on a 4 game natural run.

Another on a natural run, The Goat, Joey Martin has been scoring for fun, with 5 in his last run of games.

You can find their recent form run down and upcoming milestones here; https://hockeysteve.co.uk/2025/03/06/flyers-review-pt-2-key-observations-milestones/