The month of December saw the Coventry Blaze’s good form continue as they took at least a point from every game in the month of December, which included four games against the traditional powerhouses of Sheffield and Nottingham.
After returning from Scotland, the Blaze got back to doing what they did best, beating Guildford in any competition they face each other in. A 4-3 away win was good enough, but also expected as the Blaze started to show dominance against teams from the lower tier British National League. A point from a visit by the Steelers to the Skydome was followed up by a comfortable positive result against Bracknell.
This good form also translated into a positive mood in training. Joel Poirier recalled a meeting between himself and head coach Paul Thompson, “When I was playing with the Blaze I was fortunate enough to play a leadership role on the team. From time to time, this meant that I had to experience some very pleasurable and let’s just say, not so pleasurable, moments in the coaches’ room.
“On this particular occasion that I was called into Thommo’s office, I couldn’t really think about what he would want to talk to me about. The team was winning, the guys were getting along in the dressing room and all in all we wanted to win (everything). So I walked into the room and shut the door behind me. I was instantly welcomed with a ‘Joel, I just don’t know what to do.’
“Now as I mentioned above everything was going amazingly so I really didn’t know where Thommo was going with this until he said what came next, ‘I am at a loss here. The guys are playing so well I don’t feel like I have to do anything! I feel like I want to dissect how we are playing but every time I look there is nothing there for me to get (angry) about!’
“At which point, I almost fell over laughing and told him to just enjoy the ride. That was a nice moment for me to experience because although the team was playing well there was something in Thommo that wanted to get even more out of us.”
That seemed to be achieved, as the Blaze continued to win games. The first leg of the Challenge Cup semi-final saw the Blaze take a narrow one goal lead into the return fixture in Nottingham, scheduled for the New Year. After a tough fixture, the Blaze ground out a draw against the struggling London Racers.
This time of year, teams struggle with injuries and the Blaze were no different. Both Tom Watkins and Doug Schueller missed games in December, and with Wade Belak on extended leave over Christmas, Coventry were short-benched and hurting going into the holiday season.
The game at the end of the month saw one of the season-defining moments for the Blaze. However, at the time, it looked to be a tragedy that threatened to take the season off the rails. Pavol Mihalik was dangerous sent into the boards by Steelers forward Jeff Christian, damaging the Slovakian’s shoulder and ultimately keeping him out for the rest of the season. The somewhat unprovoked and malicious nature of the hit drew intense rage from the Blaze fans but Christian escaped from the incident without a penalty and Sheffield went on to take the win in controversial fashion, scoring a goal originally timed at 65.00.
Coventry would not forget the loss of a fallen team-mate, and neither would Jeff Christian be allowed to either. The sides would meet again the following month in one of the most eagerly anticipated clashes of the season.
Results:
4th December 2004 – Guildford Flames 3 – 4 Coventry Blaze (XO)
5th December 2004 – Coventry Blaze 2 – 3 Sheffield Steelers (AOT)
12th December 2004 – Coventry Blaze 3 – 0 Bracknell Bees (XO)
18th December 2004 – Coventry Blaze 2 – 1 Nottingham Panthers (CC)
19th December 2004 – Coventry Blaze 2 – 2 London Racers (AOT)
27th December 2004 – Coventry Blaze 2 – 3 Sheffield Steelers (AOT)
28th December 2004 – Nottingham Panthers 2 – 2 Coventry Blaze (AOT)
The OnFire Files 