Faced with injuries and general exhaustion after a gruelling week, Coventry Blaze went down to Milton Keynes Kings last night.

It was the first time in ten games between the clubs that the Kings had come out on top. Coventry dressed just 14 regular players for action and “borrowed” two players from Birmingham to make up the numbers.

The match was tighter than the scoreline suggested, and Blaze got more shots in than the home side.

But after four goals went in during the first 26 minutes, Barry Hollyhead was pulled off to give Henrik Sjodin his first appearance this month.

Blaze fell behind to an early goal, after just 13 seconds. Former Kings player Dumas scored against his old club, but Coventry never caught up.

Young players Shaun Yardley and Rob Eley, restricted in their ice time this season, were given a good run out.

The game was a Planet Ice Shield game, and Coventry still top the table in that competition, although they have played more games than their rivals.

In BNL terms, Basingstoke did the Blaze a big favour by beating Peterborough Pirates last night in a game that was both a BNL and a Planet Ice Shield fixture.

The 7-5 victory for the Bison means there is now a small gap between Coventry and Peterborough ahead of their double-header this weekend. The home game is on Sunday, face-off at 6pm.

Period scores: 2-1/3-2/2-0

Penalty minutes: 12-18

Shots on goal: 27-38

Attendance: 528

Referee: Paul Shuttleworth

Kings: Smillie 3+1; Long 2+1; Poole 1+2; Breadmore 1+0; Higdon 0+3; Clarke 0+2; Hazlehurst 0+1; Randall 0+1.  Net - Spells 38/3

Blaze: Dumas 1+0; Irvine 1+0; Watkins 1+0; Ruggles 0+1, Soderstrom 0+1; Twaite 0+1; Yardley 0+1.  Nets - Hollyhead (26'23) 10/4; Sjodin (33'37) 17/3