Cardiff Devils @ Dundee Stars 16/01/11

Devils 1, Stars 2 - Final Shootout

  And it comes to an end... A twenty-two game win streak down the drain!  And to who, you may ask? The Dundee Stars!  The Stars are near bottom and the Devils, who beat them 7-1 last Sunday, failed to defeat them.  What has this world come to?

  It was nerve-wrecking in the Dundee Ice Arena, with the first two periods scoreless.  And it wasn't for lack of trying; both the Devils and the Stars were shooting the puck, but both -tenders were solid in their nets.  Cardiff were out-shooting the Stars but the puck just wouldn't go in.  With no major penalties, the first two periods were pretty uneventful.

   Then comes the 3rd... Every fan in that arena holding their breath, eager to see who would get the goal.  And it would seem the Red Army were the ones to breathe a sigh of relief.  That relief came in the form of Stuart Macrae, no. 18, six minutes and eighteen seconds into the 3rd period, with an assist from Jon Pelle.  The Devils were leading with five minutes left in the 3rd!  Surely they could hold out for five minutes, right?

  Wrong... Although I don't doubt his brilliance, Stevie Lyle, who picked up the 1st star of the night, chose the wrong moment to let the puck slip through his grasp.  At 17.14, Peter Cartwright, of the Dundee Stars, equalized.  With two minutes, fifty-six seconds remaining in regular time, the Red Army waited with bated breathe, to see if the Devils could pull it out of the bag, and win their twenty-third in a row.

  But their hope was in vain.  Regular time ended and overtime passed scoreless; into the shootout we go...

  The Devils' first shooter was Scott Matzka, his shot failing to reach the back of the net; up first for the Stars was Brent Hughes.  Fortunately for Cardiff, he also failed in trying to get past Stevie Lyle.  Then came Jon Pelle; another miss.  For them, Dan Cerman.  Hope remained in the hearts and minds of the Devils' fans when his attempt also failed to make the grade.  Devils faith now rested with Max Bribraer.  In yesterdays match-up against the Blaze, Max failed to score a penalty shot.  Now was his time to make up for it... but he also misses.  The only thing that could save the win streak now, would be for Jay Latuilppe, the Stars third shooter, to miss, forcing another round.  Only, there is no such luck.

  So, a tough loss -the first in twenty-two games- for Cardiff.  However, it's not all bad news.  Devils remain at the top of the Elite League, presently three points clear of Belfast, after tonights game.

  But Cardiff are strong and will bounce back with a vengeance... I almost feel pity for the Nottingham Panthers, as they might be met with a force to be reckoned with, when they journey to Cardiff on Wednesday.

  We can only hope...