DEVILS SHUT OUT IN COVENTRY

The Devils were on the road in Coventry on Wednesday night to face the Blaze.  Ben Bowns started in goal for the Devils while at the other end of the ice it was former Devil Taran Kozun in net for the Blaze.  The Devils were without Josh Waller (injured), Tyler Busch (injured) and Chad Pietroniro (healthy scratch).

The opening period saw both teams getting some good chances with the Blaze outshooting the Devils 13-8. The teams traded powerplay opportunities but neither team could convert with the man advantage and after 20 minutes, the score remained 0-0. 

The Devils gave up two breakaways in the second period, but Bowns came up with two big saves to keep the game tied.  The Blaze had another powerplay when River Rymsha was called for cross-checking but again the penalty killers did their job and kept the puck out of the net.  The Devils outshot the Blaze 13-4 in period two but again they could not find a way past Kozun.  After 40 minutes of action, the score was still tied at 0-0.

The home side finally broke the deadlock just 66 seconds into the third period when Johnny Curran hammered in a rebound after Bowns saved the original shot from Tyler Kirkup making it 1-0 at 41:06. 

The Devils had their chances, the best coming off a play when Trevor Cox fed Cole Sanford as he skated in on Kozun and hammered the puck off the inside post.  With just under two minutes to play, the Devils called a time-out and kept Bowns on the bench.  The Devils had two great chances to score but the Blaze defence were blocking shots and doing everything they could to clear the puck away from the front of Kozun’s net. 

As the teams battled for the puck behind the net, Evan Mosey was called for tripping, which took away the 6 on 5 advantage for the Devils. The Blaze held on for the final 37 seconds and Kozun picked up his first shutout of the season stopping 29 shots for the 1-0 win. 

Photos courtesy of Scott Wiggins