TICKETS: The Go Goodwin’s Manchester Storm are back in action on Saturday 4th February as we face the Coventry Blaze in EIHL action. Faceoff is at 7 pm and tickets can be ordered online, by calling the box office on 0161 926 8782, or in person at the box office!

The road to the playoffs continues this Saturday as the Go Goodwins sponsored Manchester Storm take on the Coventry Blaze at the Storm Shelter in a 7:00 pm face off.

It’s another big weekend in the playoff race as both Coventry and Manchester look to increase the gap between themselves and the bottom two teams, Dundee & Edinburgh, and solidify their places in the playoffs. 7th-placed Manchester currently have the upper hand in the standings, sitting 3 points and 1 one place above the Coventry Blaze. Storm also have the benefit of having 3 games in hand over the Blaze.

Last Weekend: The Storm put the Scottish triple header behind them in emphatic style as we took maximum points against Dundee and Edinburgh. Saturday night saw the Dundee Stars visit the Storm Shelter when Storm ran out 4-2 victors. It wasn’t plain sailing for the home side as Dundee took an early lead, before the Storm scored 3 unanswered goals from Swindlehurst, Trabucco, and Harding. Stars replied through Joey Sides, his second of the evening, before Darian Dziurzynski rounded out the scoring for Manchester, his 18th goal of the season. Storm then travelled to Edinburgh on Sunday where they eventually won 6-4 in an eventful game. Manchester fell behind early on for the second time last weekend, before a goalfest in the second period saw them take a 5-4 lead. Jack Prince grabbed a hattrick, his second professional hattrick, while Paul Swindlehurst got his second of the weekend, and Mark Heatley also scored before adding an empty-net goal in the third period. It was a Jekyll and Hyde weekend for the Coventry Blaze, as they beat Edinburgh on Saturday night 4-1 before they went down 8-3 in Nottingham. It was another good weekend for Blaze forwards TJ Syner, who scored 1 goal and added 2 assists, and Liam Stewart who grabbed a goal and an assist.

Storm – Blaze this season: The Blaze have been a bogey side for the Storm so far this season, winning both league meetings between the sides. The teams met in a home and home series in early-December. Blaze ran out 2-0 winners in the Storm Shelter in a tight game, Jordan Pietrus scoring in the second period before Brett Robinson added an empty-net goal late on. Brian Stewart secured a 30-save shutout on the night, while Mike Clemente turned away 17 Blaze shots. The following evening saw the Storm travel to Coventry, but it was the Blaze who were victorious again in a 6-2 game. Jim Jorgensen, Ben Davies, Barry Almeida, and Josh Godfrey scoring for the Blaze, before a Kevin Noble empty-net goal and a very late Liam Stewart goal. Mario Trabucco and Cody Cartier with consolation markers for the Storm.

Form: After last week’s 4-point weekend, the Storm have now won 2 of their last 5 and taken another to overtime, resulting in 5 points. Coventry have an identical last 5 games, winning 2 and taking 1 to overtime for a total of 5 points.

One to watch: TJ Syner is currently on a 6-game point streak for the Blaze, scoring 4 goals and adding 5 assists for 9 points. Despite being a late addition to the Blaze squad, he is already their second top points-scorer.

MATCH DETAILS:

• Doors open from 6:00pm
• Face-Off at 7:00pm
• SOTB this evening is #2 Omar “The Boss” Pacha
• 50/50 & “Chuck A Puck” will also be running! Buy your tickets from sellers around the rink!
• Tickets for the game can be bought from HERE
• Webcast for the game can be found & ordered HERE
• Storm will be in our BLACK home jerseys
• Jacks Bar will be open post game until 11pm!
• There will be FREE ice skating & skate hire post game until 11pm!